Follow Friday has been a part of Twitter almost since the beginning. The idea is to recommend people you follow to your followers to increase the viral spreading and introduce new people they might be interested in. Now…like anything else on the Internet, #followfriday or #ff has attracted a swarm of spamming and “copy and paste” action that has diluted its effectiveness on Twitter. While I always appreciate any mentions on Follow Friday, I too have started to ignore it as the same stuff keeps popping up every Friday like clockwork. So the question becomes…
Has #FollowFriday Worn Out Its Welcome?
While I could ponder this question in a nice, quiet room by myself, that would solely be my opinion and who really wants to hear that anyway?! So…I went to the source. I hit up Twitter and asked…
Does anyone pay attention to #ff anymore? I always appreciate the mentions, but does anyone use it effectively?
Now…let’s take a look at the responses…
@robbsutton I followed 10+ new tweeps today due to #ff. If you only do a couple posts and say why you like, I look at ones that interest me
@robbsutton No, unless the recommending person includes some compelling reason for their #ff choices.
@robbsutton I like the #FF which give reason(s) as to why someone recommends following that person.
@robbsutton I used to do #FF all the time, fell off, but in past few wks have started again. I’ve found really gr8 people in #FF recommends.
@robbsutton I agree. I think that we pretty much follow all the same people already within our interests!
@robbsutton I’ve never found it the least bit effective, too much #ff spam where people recommend entire lists in the hope of reciprocity.
@robbsutton Its still one of Twitter’s biggest trending topics when you look at the figures
@robbsutton I find other beer blogs to participate in when people list out a bunch of people to #FF
@robbsutton I’m trying to figure that one out myself.
Bottom Line From My View On #FollowFriday
As you can see by some of the responses, there is a mixed bag of opinions regarding Follow Friday. I really think it all boils down to quality (like most things). If you are recommending other Twitter users with a reason why, then people pay attention. If you are just copying and pasting every Friday like a machine, you lose the punch that comes with recommending other people on Twitter.
Regardless, I think Follow Friday is pretty much here to stay on Twitter, but to use it effectively…you need to make your Tweet stand out from the rest by providing something different. Do not just throw up #ff and a bunch of names. Try a different tact that draws attention to you Tweet and screams, “THESE ARE QUALITY PEOPLE ON TWITTER!”. Just don’t use caps…that is really annoying.
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