Twitter is one of my favorite ways to keep track of local news here in the Tri-Cities. And not just news, but it’s also great for keeping in touch with some of the great local people I’ve met through business networking and local events.
A lot of these folks follow me, which is very kind of them (thanks!), but some get a little disjointed when they learn that I’m not following them back.
But actually … I am following them, just not in Twitter’s normal way.
I follow close to 500 local Twitter users via a Tri-Cities Twitter list that I’ve made. Everyday when I launch TweetDeck, the list is right there and I see tweets all day from local friends and businesses … even though I don’t directly follow most of them.
Like yesterday, when the first snowfall of the year arrived, there was my Tri-Cities Twitter list going nuts with tweet after tweet about the weather.
I do this because Twitter is, for me, a business tool. I directly follow a lot of accounts that I need to have in plain view because of my daily news work as Executive News Editor at Search Engine Land (and soon in the same role at Marketing Land, too). So I purposely limit the number of accounts that I follow directly.
Still, I want to be able to see what my Tri-City friends are tweeting about, so I created that Twitter list and it’s been a great way to keep connected to local folks and local businesses.
So hey — if you’re one of my Tri-City friends/contacts and you’re wondering why I don’t follow you, I actually do. Just not in the traditional sense of Twitter following.