To Follow, Or Not to Follow

That is the question. All of you in the Twitterverse are faced with this conundrum on nearly a daily basis. You get that e-mail notification that someone is following you, and you ask yourself, "Should I follow back?"

I've seen some people who don't follow anyone back; they just broadcast: @algore. There are some who follow everyone back: @wholefoods. And then there are others who selectively follow back people, like me: @mattsnod.

Whatever approach you take isn't going to be the "wrong" one. It varies based on their Twitter strategy. For instance, CNN (@cnnbrk) doesn't follow anyone, because they're intention is to broadcast breaking news -- not engage in conversation. They handle conversation on a more personal level with on-air personalities who "get" Twitter, like @ricksanchezcnn. Ford Motor Company, however, actually wants to engage in conversation about their company on Twitter by using @ford.

What I show here is only my own guidelines on deciding who to follow back or who to follow.

1. Follows to follower ratio: Twitter added a great time-saver by including your follower's number of followers and number of people they follow in the notification e-mail. This can be a quick "delete" or "proceed" decision. If the ratio of follows to followers is really high (>100:1), then I usually don't follow back. For example, I'm sure you've gotten a follower who is following 286 people and has 1 follower. Don't bother.
2. Profile Page: If you can't glean enough information from the follow-notification e-mail, click through to their profile page. This can really give some insight into them and their personality. Specifically, read their bio, check out their URL link if they have one, and view their page background.
3. o_O: If your new follower still has the brown "o_O" icon as their avatar, they're a newbie. Proceed with caution. They may be a well-intentioned friend who just doesn't know how to change their avatar, or they could be a spammer.
4. Updates: If the follower has a fair amount of follows and followers yet has one lonely update (one Twitter post), then they're probably not serious about it.
5. Bad Marketers: When I get to a Twitter profile page and see that the person is merely selling something (products, sales tips, life empowerment, etc.), I usually ditch out. This is not the case when I have an actual interest in them or their field, for instance @WOOD_Magazine.
6. Hot Girls: If the avatar is some way-too-gorgeous-for-Twitter model in a suggestive pose, it's a scam. Back away slowly.
7. Updates (part 2): If you really want to know if your new follower is someone you'd like to follow, read their latest page of posts. Nothing gives more insight into a Twitterer than what they write. Are they funny? Witty? Are they serial retweeters (posts that start with RT @username:)? Are they merely selling their wares?

Again, don't consider the above "rules." Only use them as a helpful guide to navigating your way through Twitter.