Bright Matrices

Writings & musings of Mike Zavarello (a.k.a. brightmatrix), a "red mage" web developer.

Category: Best Practices

Why Do You Unfollow?

September 13, 2013 / / 0 Comments

I’ve been fascinated for a long time about how users interact with each other on Twitter, especially how and why folks decide to follow or unfollow. Last month, I asked my followers what would drive them to make that decision. Here are some of their responses:

I realize this is an exceedingly small sample size, but I believe these responses bring up some common themes in why people decide to stop following a person or feed.

What does this mean for professional Twitter accounts?

  • Stay on topic.
  • Keep a consistent tone and voice.
  • Provide value to your audience: avoid too much marketing or promotional fluff.
  • Don’t post too frequently (unless that’s the service you provide, such as news feeds or real-time event reporting) or all at once (posting to Twitter via a third-party application).
  • Mind your hashtags and scheduled tweets as they relate to real-time events.

What does this mean for personal Twitter accounts?

  • Mind your tone and manners. As Jerry Seinfeld once said, “let’s keep this sophisticated.”
  • Avoid unnecessary updates from third-party applications (games, Foursquare, paper.li).
  • Avoid excessive retweeting.
  • Watch the self-promoting and preening. It’s OK to market yourself, but tone it down.
  • Move long-form discussions and extensive back-and-forth conversations to another venue.

Remember, a lot of folks, myself included, look at Twitter as an information and entertainment resource, not just a way to talk about things ourselves. As such, we’re free to “change the channel” to shift the threads to topics and personalities we find worth the time we spend here.

That said, people are absolutely free to post whatever they like, especially on personal feeds. But, for those who have an interest in learning why their followers drop off, and want to do something about negative trends, I hope this information will prove helpful.

“Use Browser X”? Spare Me This Mockery of Justice!

March 18, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Spare me this mockery of justice!Today, I experienced something that, as a web developer, really burns my blood. When I inquired about a specific web application’s flaws within a certain web browser, I was informed that I should be using “browser X” instead. As the doomed Transformer proclaimed when condemned to the Quintesson pit in Transformers: the Movie, “Spare me this mockery of justice!”

There are exceedingly few reasons why you should ever tell the users of your web application to use a specific browser over another. If you’re on the public domain, or, if your users can pick from more than one browser to get to your application, account for it. Don’t force the users to bow to your decision; it comes across as exclusionary and elitist. The days of “best viewed in Internet Explorer/Netscape Navigator” are far, far behind us.

Of course, there are plenty of whiz-bang features in HTML 5, CSS3, etc. that have yet to be adopted by all browser variants. Publishing experimental or proof-of-concept websites and web applications that push the envelope and challenge previous assumptions on how we interact with the web is perfectly acceptable. However, if you intend to have a product that will be used by a broad audience, alienating a key portion of your users will do you no good, especially if the “unworthy” browsers introduce glitches or errors that break a key feature. Even minor flaws will make it seem as though your product is buggy, incomplete, unprofessional, and sloppy.

Now, I certainly don’t advocate building something that conforms to every browser variant throughout time; that’s a fool’s errand. Your web analytics program can educate you about which browsers and variants your audience is using. Pay attention to that data and use it to establish your lowest common denominator. My basic rule of thumb is to code for all browsers with greater than one percent of your total market share. You can also choose to “degrade gracefully,” where any fancy features unreadable or unusable for less modern or less compliant browsers can still be operated effectively and correctly. Check your statistics regularly, as market share can change quickly. Usage can often differ dramatically between countries, so, if, for example, your European users prefer Firefox over Internet Explorer, make sure that version of your website is ready for them.

Pay attention to your mobile users as well. Those folks using iPhones and iPads will show up as Safari users in your web analytics, so keep track of your mobile device usage in tandem with your browser statistics. You may wish to consider a mobile-friendly version of your web application, a dedicated app, or a responsive web design that transitions smoothly no matter where your users are browsing. Again, pay attention to your percentages to decide what path to take. It never hurts to ask your users directly, whether through site intercept surveys, focus groups, or simple e-mail questionnaires.

There are plenty of ways to avoid the “browser X” debacle. Spare us all the mockery of your self-imposed justice and build your web application for everyone. You have no excuses!

Image source, Google Images: http://www.anivide.com/gallery.html?view=158846&pid=1318514144.

Need to Help Others Understand Twitter? Have an “Elevator Pitch”

March 5, 2012 / / 0 Comments

You’ve heard it all before: “Why should I join Twitter? Who cares what I had for lunch?” or “What am I supposed to talk about?” or, even better, “We don’t have time for our staff to be playing around on Twitter all day.” It’s not like Twitter is the new kid on the block anymore; with over 500 million users and several years of robust growth under its belt, it’s becoming more and more a staple social communications platform.

So what is it about Twitter that makes it so hard to understand?

Its premise is incredibly simple: send a short snippet about what you’re doing for others to read, and read snippets others have written for the same purpose. Sometimes conversations ensue, most times, they don’t. You can be a chatterbox with everyone who’s decided to follow you or an ivory tower who talks to no one. It’s your choice.

Beyond some basic etiquette rules crowdsourced by its users, there’s really no right or wrong way to use Twitter. It can be a real-time news feed, a community of interests, a message board, a chat room, a virtual classroom, a professional development tool; whatever you need.

Twitter is simple, and that’s where the trouble comes in.

In my experiences, many neophytes and first-timers who join Twitter feel lost, despite Twitter’s helpful attempts to ease the sign-in process with suggested topics and accounts to follow. They don’t seem to know what to say or how they should say it.

It’s also a challenge for businesses, who can struggle to understand how to use Twitter to its fullest in listening to their customers and promoting their wares. If clients read about how celebrities use Twitter or who among them are considered “influential,” they can get the false impression that tweeting is frivolous or a plaything not worthy of serious consideration.

I’ve learned that you need to have an “elevator pitch” for Twitter. If you want your friends, family, colleagues, or management to really feel the energy and potential of Twitter, you have to be able to explain it in one or two sentences. Back it up with good examples of people or businesses that really make Twitter shine, and save the arcane jargon (such as retweets) for later.

What’s your “elevator pitch” for Twitter?

Image credit: Unknown

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