Top Five Reasons to Automatically Follow Back

Do you follow everyone that follows you on Twitter? If not, what is your true reason for not following back?  Regardless of whether you automatically follow or not, it’s worth investigating what are the beliefs you hold that guide you to act in one way or another.

Twitter can be quite a joyous experience full of wonderful exchanges, growth, learning, and love.  I support my Twitter experience by following back everyone that follows me.  Here are some of the reasons why following back agrees with my view of life:

1) Twitter as a tool for expressing unconditional love – I believe that Twitter, like everything else in the world, can be used as a tool to express love.  When someone follows me, I feel honored and I like to reciprocate the love.  I equate this unconditional follow to unconditional love.  I follow them back without any questions or pre-requisites.  It’s like when someone gives you a hug and you hug them back.

2) Non-judgmental Twitter – Some people say that if you always follow back, you end up following a lot of spam accounts.  It all depends on how you view others on Twitter.  I noticed that when I tried to select who to follow and who not to follow, I felt like I was judging how worthy they were of me following them based on what they tweeted.  Since I am avoiding judging others in general, the logical conclusion is to apply the same philosophy to Twitter and follow everyone regardless of what they say.  This means that I consider everything that everyone says equally important and no judgment is involved.

3) Diversity as growth – When you follow everyone back, you end up with an eclectic group of friends who tweet an array of different views and ideas.  Even though we tend to want to connect with alike people, hearing unusual opinions can stretch us and allow us to grow in different areas.

4) Unexpected friends – I’ve been amazed more than once by surprising Twitter friendships that might not have flourish had I chosen to selectively follow alike tweeters.  People that I would not have thought to connect with before are now a welcome addition to my circle of friends due to a simple indiscriminate follow. A humble approach to following in Twitter can generate unforeseen results.

5) Efficiency – I’m always in favor of optimizing my time.  Previously, it took me a lot of time to review followers’ accounts before selecting to follow them.  Now, since I follow-back no questions asked, I have extra time to spend on my tweet content which is more important to me.

In the end, there is no right or wrong.  Following back is a very personal decision that has to feel right for you and the way you view the world and your relationships.

Your turn now. What is your approach to Twitter following? Do you feel there is a connection between how you follow in Twitter and how you lead your life?  Do you feel that automatically following back provides incentive to spam accounts?  I’d like to hear your voice.

Photo credit