I do think it’s a good idea to follow back as many people as you can simply because then they can DM you. And I also agree that you should try to @ to everyone that you can. I know I sometimes miss some if it’s during #blogchat or something similar, but you can’t take for granted if someone pays you attention.

Octopusgrabbus and JustinRyan – I agree I follow most people back but if they do something that annoys or offends me I unfollow. If someone is just broadcasting (basically shouting with a bullhorn)and not interacting then it’s bye bye.

I follow:
* People I know. Friends, coworkers, colleagues, etc.
* People I’d like to know.
* People/companies that I like, even if they won’t follow me back, just because I like them. (Favorite band, favorite clothes company, etc.)
* People who interact with me – if someone @s me and starts a conversation (or answers a question, or whatever), I’ll follow them.
* People who seem fun or interesting – if I see a friend tweeting with someone who makes me laugh or makes me think, I’m likely to follow them.

I don’t follow:
* Spammers. (Obviously.)
* Self-proclaimed experts who broadcast but never engage.
* People who follow me because they’re following everyone who [does whatever]. A lot of people follow me because I write for Linux Journal – I don’t follow ones who are following everyone who is involved with Linux.
* People who turn me off – people who are excessively negative, hateful, closed minded, etc. I’m just not interested in knowing them.

Every couple of months, I go through the list of people I follow. If I don’t know why I’m following the person, I look at their profile. If I can’t see any reason to continue, I unfollow. If I do see a reason, I make a note to take more notice. (Since, obviously I’m not if I don’t know who they are.)

I admit to keeping a list of about 30 people (about a fifth of the number I follow) that I pay close attention to – they’re my Tweeple. (And, of course, you’re one of them. ) I don’t completely ignore everyone else, though.

Put into a single sentence, I don’t follow anyone out of obligation. When I click the follow button, I’m saying publicly that I like and associate with that person. I’m just not going to say that unless it’s true.

I think it’s critical that businesses follow people back, especially local people. I don’t know how many times I’ve “plugged” (@ mentioned) a business that I’m following, for example a restaurant, and they never acknowledged the mention or followed me back. To me, this is bad customer service. It’s as bad as not answering an email. I personally don’t hold it against them, because I realize they’re probably new to Twitter and don’t yet understand the etiquette.

In my opinion, before a business gets started on Twitter or Facebook, they should have a plan and be trained in social media. If they don’t have the time or aren’t savvy enough, they should hire someone like you to at least get them started.