I encourage and believe that successful Twitter users should follow back, plus a little more.  The idea of being a center of influence begins with stretching outside of your circle.  To begin, it is simply good manners to respond to a relationship by allowing 2 way communication. You can only have that if you follow back.  One of the essential benefits of following back is the ability to direct message.  (If the trust of a direct message is violated by an inappropriate tweet, then you simply 'unfollow' or ‘block’ the offender).  My life experience tells me that I am not always going to receive communication I find valuable, yet I often find value where I least expect to find it.  The ability to communicate and influence beyond our insular sphere begins with taking the risk of relationship.  This is politics at its truest form, and how we win elections.

The idea of “Ambient Awareness” is further benefited by following back.  This gives you the ability to track trends and see the buzz on what is being talked about.  The applications that are available help me filter the noise, yet keep a pulse on the conversations. If I am only interested in those whom I believe will add value, then I miss out on the happy surprises, because you never know where a good idea will come from. Indeed, some of my most valued Twitter relationships have come from those I would not have expected or initiated.  I have found this to be true in life.

As to the follow ratios imposed by Twitter.  The current ratio (after 2,000) is 100% plus another 10%.  If you look at my follow/follower ratio, you will see I follow more than follow me.  This extra follow ratio is due to a few realities:   1. I need time to maintain my account.  Someone may follow me and then upon seeing my tweets, make the decision to drop me.  (This is common when I tweet GOP matters.) I need to take the time to go back and make the decision whether to return the unfollow.  2. I continually stretch out of my comfort zone by seeking new people to follow.  I deliberately seek diverse opinion and also those with content rich tweets.  3. I find value in someone’s tweets, even if they do not find value in mine.

The concept of ‘celebrity tweeting’ is growing.  It is my belief that such use of Twitter misses the mark of how Twitter can enhance your life and it does not use Twitter to the fullest extent of what is possible. I would like to mention that I am opposed to auto follow applications.  While time saving, they also devalue the relationship.  My followers tell me that I am approachable and helpful.  Isn’t that a good measure of a ‘friend’?