Twitter Talkback: What Makes a Quality Tweet?

That was the title of a blog post by Soren Gordhamer on Mashable.com retweeed by @spanishsam. Research indicates that "40% of Tweets are Pointless Babble"

So what are "Quality Tweets"? Accordig to the post, "Quality Tweets" are...

1. informative, help us learn something
2. humorous
3. personal, they say something about us as a person
4. inspiring quotes that can increase the quality of our lives

Mmm...
I would definitely agree with the first one. If I have not learnt anything reading a Tweet, I would definitely dismiss it as “Pointless Babble”, but the learning does not have to be just finding out about facts. It could be finding out something about somebody’s background that explains their position on certain issues or it could be sharing a picture that we have found useful to talk about a specific subject.

I do not agree with the second one as humour is such a culturally-biased thing. It is as likely to offend as it is to make people smile. As far as I am concerned, humour is definitely DM territory...

I would agree that a quality tweet must have a personal touch but that is not to say that I enjoy tweets about the details of people’s lives. It is sometimes good to see we are not alone in having to pick up the kids at school and tidy up the house but reading about this all the time is definitely not uplifting.

I am not that keen on sharing quotes although I don’t mind reading them. For them to be meaningful, they need to connect with some aspects of your life-personal or professional- at that particular time and that just happens so rarely...

The post has generated lots of comments that are just as interesting as the main post, but my own views on "Quality Tweets" is that:

1. They teach you something: you learn new facts, you share inspiring ideas and resources, you find out about people who interest you.
2. They make you think and challenge your own perceptions.
3. They keep you up-to-date with your area of work.
4. They provide you with professional emotional support: you are not alone in trying to do what you are trying to do.
5. They support you in your job in a practical way by pointing you out to useful resources

Any more?