The social network pruning series is a collection of brief articles, each covering a technique you may wish to use to prune your social networks to a more manageable size. You can read last week’s post (#1: Full names only) by clicking here.
Social network pruning heuristic #2: Eliminate cross-posters
Considering the popularity and ubiquity of status-update social networks (e.g., Twitter, Pownce, and Facebook Status), it’s rare that users have every single one of their friends on one service alone. Rather, most individuals likely want to keep up with, and broadcast to, friends on a number of networks. So what do these people do? In the interest of time, they use cross-posting tools to send the same message to a number of different services. While these tools such as Hellotxt and SocialThing! make broadcasting a bit easier for the user, they have the unfortunate side effect of creating noise for those that follow that user.
Fortunately, the solution is simple, albeit time-consuming: take a few minutes to unfollow any individuals that repeatedly send the exact same message to a number of services. An aggregator such as FriendFeed or SocialThing! can help determine the duplicate content perpetrators, but tracking down these individuals can be a hassle even still.
When making the decision to unfollow someone who updates, say, to Pownce and Twitter, it’s important to consider which social network fits that individual better. Does someone use a third-party client to push all their Twitter updates to Pownce? Drop them on Pownce. Does the individual often take advantage of Pownce’s lack of character limit and file sharing capabilities? Unfollow them on Twitter. Chances are good you’ll be able to intuit the location that’s best for them.
Of course, before you take any drastic action, it never hurts to let someone know that they’re causing more harm than good with their double-posting; perhaps a gentle nudge will encourage them to change their spammy habits!
Lastly, make sure not to eliminate individuals that contribute different and quality updates to more than one site. For instance, blogger Zakk Forchilli often has different things to say on multiple networks, as shown in the image below:
Make sure not to cut loose a good friend like Zakk!
Does this tip remind you of anything you do to help cut down on social network noise? I’d love to hear it; please leave a comment!
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That is a good tip and I am one of those cross posters. I also try to make sure to add to all the services and not just post an update in one service and send it out to the other services. For example I will make comments on pownce that are never seen on twitter.
Hehe, thanks for following the light side of the Force by using different platforms for different content! I have a hunch all of your friend lists thank you– it’s less convenient for you, I’m sure, but a breath of fresh air for everyone else.
Thanks for the comment!
That is a good tip and I am one of those cross posters. I also try to make sure to add to all the services and not just post an update in one service and send it out to the other services. For example I will make comments on pownce that are never seen on twitter.
Hehe, thanks for following the light side of the Force by using different platforms for different content! I have a hunch all of your friend lists thank you– it’s less convenient for you, I’m sure, but a breath of fresh air for everyone else.
Thanks for the comment!
Andy, excellent how-to. As you’ll probably know, it’s something I’ve been doing for some time, part of my 3 rules of social media.
It’s a harsh thing to do, but it’s not just about ourselves, it’s also about those following us.
What’s inconvenient to us is a nuisance to others. And we could just as easily be unfriended because of it…
Andy, excellent how-to. As you’ll probably know, it’s something I’ve been doing for some time, part of my 3 rules of social media.
It’s a harsh thing to do, but it’s not just about ourselves, it’s also about those following us.
What’s inconvenient to us is a nuisance to others. And we could just as easily be unfriended because of it…
Hey Wayne! Glad you agree– it’s mostly common sense, but I figure individuals new to the bevy of status-update sites and so forth out there might appreciate knowing what some of us consider the dos and don’ts of such sites.
Heaven forbid anyone unfriends me! I really hate that on Facebook, where they’re mainly people I know in person!
Hey Wayne! Glad you agree– it’s mostly common sense, but I figure individuals new to the bevy of status-update sites and so forth out there might appreciate knowing what some of us consider the dos and don’ts of such sites.
Heaven forbid anyone unfriends me! I really hate that on Facebook, where they’re mainly people I know in person! ><
Andy, thanks for mentioning Socialthing! I just wanted to let you know that we’re about ready to release our version 2.0. In this next version, we’ve eliminated this problem, and automatically “de-duplicate” cross-posted messages.
We’re also bringing the technology to services like Tumblr, so that when we integrate it, you won’t see things like duplicate pictures or videos…
Basically we let you know where the original content came from (in the form of the various service icons the content was posted on) and then show you the content. Since we allow for replying on most of this content, you’re able to choose where you want that reply to go back to.
Hope that helps!
Andy, thanks for mentioning Socialthing! I just wanted to let you know that we’re about ready to release our version 2.0. In this next version, we’ve eliminated this problem, and automatically “de-duplicate” cross-posted messages.
We’re also bringing the technology to services like Tumblr, so that when we integrate it, you won’t see things like duplicate pictures or videos…
Basically we let you know where the original content came from (in the form of the various service icons the content was posted on) and then show you the content. Since we allow for replying on most of this content, you’re able to choose where you want that reply to go back to.
Hope that helps!
Hey Matt! Thanks for taking the time to comment. I absolutely LOVE Socialthing! and the more opportunities you give me to say it, the more I will.
I think what you’re describing sounds absolutely phenomenal, and I’m looking forward to the new features rendering this post null and void!
Hey Matt! Thanks for taking the time to comment. I absolutely LOVE Socialthing! and the more opportunities you give me to say it, the more I will.
I think what you’re describing sounds absolutely phenomenal, and I’m looking forward to the new features rendering this post null and void!