The original gently rising path that marked the growth of my Twitter followers has recently taken a sharp upward path, due in part no doubt to my (cut short) discussion of Twitter on the Jonathan Ross show on BBC television, broadcast in the UK in the third week of January.
Thank you 80,000 Followers © Samfry Ltd 2009
I cannot tell you how touched and pleased I am to have so many loyally following of my tweets. It won’t need much imagination on your part to understand that with the number reaching 100,000 it is very easy to miss the twitterings that come in. They come in from all parts of the world at a great rate and – even if I were to sit in front of a giant Tweetdeck screen all day long it is unlikely I would see everything, let alone be able to respond to each tweet.
However, I love to see your tweets: I love your wit, your kindness, your observation, your occasional mean streaks of bitchiness, remorseless logic and your long memories that pounce on my all too frequent inconsistencies and rashly made promises. I love how Twitter confirms my all too often assaulted belief that most humans are kind, curious, knowledgeable, tolerant and funny. The absurd constraints of the 140 character tweet seem oddly to bring out the best in wit, insight and observation.
There are just one or two suggestions I would offer to make life easier. By no means are these house rules or commandments, the spirit of Twitter should reflect the spirit of the internet which has always been – to some of us at least, one of openness and freedom.
1. If you are mystified by a reference, it’s best not immediately to post a “WTF?” “Please explain” tweet, but rather to look back along the timeline (http://twitter.com/stephenfry) or even to use good old Google or your search engine of choice to chase down the reference. It’s a little tiresome for everyone if I have to keep repeating what project I’m embarked on, where I am and so forth. This is not exactly an RTFM suggestion, but it’s close to it.
2. I am afraid I cannot respond to any professional/speaking/interview/public appearance requests through Twitter. I would ask you to go through the usual channels if there are any enquiries you want to make. You can find out who my agents are from this site. It’s important to me that Twitter is a friendly, sociable entity and the followers and followed should constitute a cheery sodality where business and PR are excluded.
3. While I will certainly let you know of a new audiobook I’ve recorded, or the release of website t-shirts or whatever, I am absolutely not looking to use Twitter as a market stall. I will mention but not push new ‘products’, just as most Twitterers do and just as we all do when we announce any posting to our websites or blog spaces. For me Twittering is not a commercial or PR activity, it’s a fun and fascinating way to interact with all kinds of people who have so much to say. Since the primary function of Twitter is to answer the question “what you are doing?” my tweets will sometimes, obviously, involve news of publications or openings or events. Just be assured I am not using Twitter to advertise!
4. Please don’t be offended if you Tweet or DM me with a direct question and hear nothing back: as you can imagine it is very easy for me to miss the traffic of tweets. Incidentally, while I like to be DM-ed, public tweeting and replies are the default and preferred way to use the service: save DMs for genuinely private or personal messages. Although I will often myself respond to a public tweet with a private DM, you can choose to reply through either channel.
5. I like to follow as much as be followed, but I am afraid the numbers are getting so high that it is almost impossible to follow each of you individually. Have you any idea the RSI risked by pressing that damned follow button a hundred times, let alone fifty thousand?! If you ask me and I catch you asking and I am using a Twitter app that allows me to (or a web browser) then I will probably consent and follow you, but don’t be offended if your request passes me by.
I think that’s it. Be assured, these are not rules. It is absolutely not my place to lay down anything other than vague suggestions as to how “your twitter experience might be enhanced” … To sum up: a) if confused by a reference try and find out first, b) no appearance/interview requests c) don’t be offended by a lack of response. I might be busy and have missed you.
Most of all. Welcome to my twitterworld, I am delighted to have you as a follower. Let’s enjoy ourselves and to hell with those who don’t get it.
Love from @stephenfry
That all sounds eminently reasonable. Any recommendations of interesting people to follow on Twitter?
@heracliteanfire, fwiw
I first learned of Twitter in December, and joined just to follow you. I have enjoyed every one of your tweets (well almost every one). I love the personal nature of it. I love being able to get up in the morning (I’m in the US) and see that you are up and well. It’s funny, it is one of the first things I check in the morning. How is Mr. Fry today? It feels like one of the most personal interactions I have on the web (other than e-mails to my friends and family). I am definitely not very tech savvy, but I am learning things from you, and may be able to do more with the internet through Twitter and other applications you have mentioned. It is a fun site, and I am so happy that you have helped to make it what it is. I will continue to follow your tweets and hope that it does not become too overwhelming for you. We love you, Stephen.
re Following, this is one thing that confused me about Twitter at first. To me “follow” means “I want to see your Tweets on my home page”. So, for that to work well, there can’t be that many of them, or else they won’t get read. Signal-to-noise is everything.
So, while I’ve Followed quite a few people by now, I do not see that as requiring that they Follow me in response. Conversely, a few strangers have Followed me, and I have no idea why: if they are looking for me to Follow them in return, well, it depends on whether I want to see their Tweets on my home page. In most cases, the answer to that is no, since I look at their feeds and see nothing there worth Following. (Are the Pet Shop Boys on Twitter? They were never Being Boring..!)
Twitter is a brilliant tool, but in regards to the previous commenter, I have to agree. Twitter, as with anything online, has become another “I want the most friends” which is a bloody great shame. I’ve got people following me, for absolutely no reason other than they want me to follow them and it’s ridiculous, it happens with everything and it annoys me a lot. I would use twitter a lot more if it weren’t for the people trying to use it as a business tool or a way to gain friends.
Thanks for being thoughtful enough to offer an explanation of your perspective for your followers. I wish more public persons using twitter thought to do so! Perhaps, with luck, some will see your efforts in this regard and think to follow your lead and similarly offer their twitter philosophy. Good luck in your further adventures, I’ll be happy to read along as @ejly.
P.S. Your L contest was ridiculously amusing and kept me busy for a while finding all the alternate word spellings in British English which had a double L where the American spelling of the word did not. It was the first time I had opened a dictionary in ages as I can usually find word related data online but this was not easily found. Bravo!
Very reasonable suggestions/requests.
@bnt and @citricsquid: Yes, it’s a shame that there are so many spamers. But we can be thankful for twitter being such an inefficient tool for spamers, it’s easy to simply ignore them and they won’t bother you.
People have all kinds of more or less silly reasons for following each other. Twitter isn’t the place to be paranoid.
Thank you for posting this, but I’m afraid I’m a bit pessimistic about it. If one were the sort to read and follow these suggestions, it seems that he would also be the sort to read past tweets and try to discover the protocol prior to posting a WTF? Explain!
Disclaimer: This next bit will make me sound like a terrible snob. The great thing about following you back in the old days of 10-50k followers was that it was mostly about following YOU. Lately it’s seemed to be mostly about the throng of those wanting something from you.
I await the next turn of the tide!
Excellent set of suggestions.
These should be called “The Fry Standards” and all tweeters should adhere to them, regardless of how famous someone is.
(At the rate Twitter is growing, we may all one day have more than 100k followers.)
BTW, if you get a second, you’re welcome to follow me: @jayoatway
However, please apply The Fry Standards to all your tweets to me. Thanks.
I am so glad to see so many people following you on twitter. Its great to see Celebs like yourself keeping upto date with modern technology, it does really show different sides to you all.
I have also noticed many more celebs coming online in the twitter world who regularly keep twittering!
Keep up the twittering! Everytime my phone goes off my Wife always says to me is that Stephen Fry again, whats he upto! 9/10 it usually is you!
@criticsquid – I have the same – I use my twitter account so it shows everytime I update my blog posts so my friends can see when I update / put a new post etc, since I have started doing this I have had (not alot of new followers) I think around 9 or 10 who I don’t know – there could be a genuine reason for this, either they have just searched twitter for something and one of my blog posts has shown up and they enjoy, so would like to read more. Or like you say they just want to see who can more friends.
I can understand people following celebs like @stephenfry or @schofe as these are people in the public eye and its nice to see a different side to them.
Twitter Feed is @rhodzy
Great advice Stephen – I’d love to see how many people will actually take it to heart
Citricsquid, Twitter, like most other ‘social/web 2.0 services’ on the net, closely resembles a large town in the offline world – it attracts people from all slices of life, the good and the bad. There will be neighborhoods that seem more attractive, while others will be downright off-putting (to remain polite about it).
Personally, I registered my Twitter account ages ago but never really found any use for it until very recently. Should someone follow me ‘out of the blue’, I’ll take a peek at their twitter page, see what they’ve had to say in the past, and will almost always follow them back unless I find their use of Twitter obnoxious or even offensive.
Generally I don’t mind businesses making use of Twitter – as long as it’s done intelligently, it can be a real bonus for the respective business as well as me, the user. There are quite a few examples of companies that seem to ‘get it’ … the two software companies / online services Dropbox and Evernote, for example use Twitter to announce new versions of their software and to keep tabs on people having issues, quite useful to me. Another great example is the US supermarket chain ‘Whole Foods’ that uses Twitter for loads of good stuff from real-time store locator, to an avenue for customer complaints, and general communication tool.
As mentioned above, pick your favorite neighborhood, get settled in, and – above all – don’t forget to venture ‘out’ every now and then. The most fascinating things are often found outside our regular comfort zone.
I’m a big fan of yours on Twitter, you hit quite a few of the expectations Ihave of people I follow – entertaining, intelligent, humourous and interesting. It’s been amazing watching your twitter followers increase so rapidly in numbers and Kudos to you for attempting to follow all those that follow you and the time you spend reading and responding to your followers tweets. This is surely one of the reasons for your twitter success.
You should perhaps add to this manifesto the correct (or accepted method) of retweeting and referencing yourself. As I’ve found tweets referencing you pop up all over without a common system it is quite chaotic!
I’ve even created a Twitter Storm aiming to crown you King of the Tweets where tweets from you, to you and about you are regularly updated. You may find your iPhone does this better, but it may be interesting for your followers!
Happy Tweeting and good luck on the 100,000 followers goal!
Good suggestions Stephen.
You’re definitely on the forefront of a new wave of celebrities using twitter and their ilk to reach fans.
I was recently in Sydney at the same weekend as you and saw your tweets about visiting the Apple store and thought how funny it would have been to bump into you.
The next day I remember being at the Opera house and reading your tweet with a pic from your hotel room. I was looking in almost the same direction at the time! very trippy! Your tweet, my tweet.
The whole reason I was in Sydney was to see Throwing Muses, @kristinhersh’s band. Seeing her tweets in the build up to the two gigs I went to was a great back channel into her experience of Australia.
very sensible thing to put bytes to screen on your twitter life.
I can imagine having 60k + followers is quite daunting sometimes when you look in tweetdeck.
I’m fairly new to twitter, it took me a while ot get the hang of what it is/how it works.
Although i work in software i’ve never bothered with any of the other ‘social network’ type sites.
I love twitter because of the short, instant nature of it. It’s great to keep track of people i know and it’s great to follow people like yourself, as it allows a shared experience of daily life with someone you’d not normally cross paths with. Occasionally i will tweet a reply in a giggly novelty .. tweeting to Stephen Fry type way, I’d never expect a reply, but it’s nice to be able to tweet anyway.
You’re irrepressibly sweet and brave and patient and moist and sticky and lovely to be on Twitter and communicate openly with your legions of admirers. Your tweets make me, and many others I’m sure, tee-hee! with delight. I hope Twitter stays fun and frolicsome for you. x
/sychophancy.
Thanks for the tips, Stephen. I just took my first faltering flutters as a fledgeling twitterer … no, that’s far too many ‘fuhs’ there, sorry.
I fell foul (god more ‘f’s) of the 140 characters rule at my first attempt … thought it would be the same as an SMS message, which is of course 160!
Ya gotta learn!
@cbleicester, BTW!
B-)>
@dahnielson Who said anything about being paranoid? I was talking in terms of signal vs. noise, or “attention conservation”, as it’s sometimes called. If someone “follows” me, that’s not spam, since it has no effect on me unless I return the favour, and I do not automatically “follow” anyone.
Spam is not the only potential problem I see; I have just as little time for legitimate users who (t)witter on to excess about their daily routines. I think @stephenfry has hit on a happy medium on that front: not too much, not too little… just right. Now, if only someone could have a word with @wossy ..!
Fry’s Standards – I like that; a universal standard of internet etiquette.
Personally, if I were you, I’d stop following all the people that follow you. Your personal page must be awash with mundane comments from people you’ve never heard of and render it useless.
We’re happy to follow you and not be followed ourselves.
Rest assured Stephen, all sensible twitterers (tweeters?) surely know what an inordinately busy man you are and won’t take umbrage if you are unable to reply to their tweets. I for one regard it as a great privilege to be your follower and am not in the least piqued, perturbed or put out if you don’t reply to me. I shall continue to enjoy your musings, observations, complaints and curiosities regardless. Thank you for having the largesse to share them with me.
Awesome Stevie baby – you rock! I’ve just started twittering all because of you. I truly ‘get’ it. Thanks.
Stephen these hints are genius…
I will happily favorite & retweet this link for you & share it with other actors, TV writers & screenwriters and potential celebrity tweeters I know so that hopefully they will learn from your experience & wisdom.
By the way I can see a sideline of income for you in advising the Twitteratti of the future (privately of course , we in the peanut gallery do not need to know how everything in the global entertainment business works
how to *follow* as many Twitterers as you do (tens of thousands, the mind boggles at numbers like that!).
I know you might pooh-pooh my idea but given how things are going with SAG & new media residuals (horribly horribly wrong if you ask me, you might well expect to never be paid them given the abrupt regime change in leadership at SAG and also given that the WGA is mired in arbitration over payment of new media residuals owed under it’s months old agreement) it’s something to keep in mind. I fully expect you’ll ignore me and advise them out of the goodness of your heart though, the same way you’re so gracious with all the rest of us in the masses.
For the record, I don’t mind the occasional tweet of ‘hey I’ve got a project coming out’ or ‘hey here’s a TV/media appearance of mine’ from an actor or writer or celebrity I follow. Twitter isn’t as blatantly commercial as say Squidoo. I also don’t mind gaining & losing followers as their interest in what I say waxes & wanes.
The only followers I block are those with not safe for work/family Twitter userpics, those promoting all the usual not safe for work/family ventures (pornographic online ventures and can you believe those who trade in infringing media?) and those who are out to sell the usual sorts of things that used to be the subject of spammy emails (Twitter usually dumps them for me every so often).
But I empathize with the people who get overwhelmed by followers they would rather not follow and for feeling annoyed with those who want to use Twitter as a nonstop 140-character-at-a-time commercial making machine.
Stephen perhaps we could devise a very short code (3 characters or less, the wordy among us like me usually need the full 140 characters) to let you know no reply is necessary like maybe NRN or #NR or some such thing so that you know in advance that we won’t be offended with a lack of a reply?
So when you get a ‘good morning’ or ‘this is FYI’ tweet with NRN or #NR in the message you know that you don’t have to reply.
Thoughts?
Wow, according to the date stamp I’m posting this in the future.
Hello future me!
> Hello past me, how’re things?
Not bad.
>Don’t forget to post on the Stephen Fry site!
I’m doing it right now.
>Cool, see you later….or earlier.
Yeah byee!
The word limit’s good for what it does. Is the next big thing a blog with a twitter feed coming into it? While I’m here btw- two things about one thing that may interest you- a company who already do open-source software for Govt Departments as you seem to approve of have designed something else you may enjoy- an argument mapping system with the New Economics Foundation and LSE- and you can make your own for free here http://www.amap.org.uk/ leading to some occasionally hilarious submissions from people all over the world- excellent fun in yet another subtly different form of human communication to have arisen in the past few years!
A question of Twetiquette?
It is of no surprise that Stephens Twitter has exploded recently, the growth over this last fortnight has probably equalled the last year. You only have to take a look at the @stephen comments here to see the torrential flow, at certain times of the day it seems like 10 a minute!
I hope Stephen can keep his head above the waterline long enough for the surge to pass..
A nice set of suggestions, as one of the people who fall into the category of following but not followed or sent a message with no reply, honestly it’s what’s expected and reasonable. Reciprocal actions would be nice, but even the following is an odd wonderful curiosity not normally available to those who are a fan of another
.
Dear Stephen,
You cannot fail to like people when they are being so open and honest about themselves. I am in admiration, applaud and admire you for it. It is a pleasure and a priviledge to be allowed to follow your tweets. At present, I will not be joining twitter I have no need, I can follow your tweets via your website. You have more than enough to deal with……. My partner had the priviledge of talking to you in the green room of a QI recording last summer and said you were utterly charming. I like “ginj” above look forward to logging in the morning to just to see how you are……..Here’s to the thoughfulness of those 80,000 plus tweeters.
Love Jen X
It really doesn’t matter if you don’t add me as a follower, just don’t give up on the twittering, it is a joy to read and I am sure most people will feel the same. Only downside is that you have created a monster twitterer and I was bad enough before!!
All very sensible, thank you.
I signed up to Twitter early last week (I think), only to then hear you talking of it on Wossy.
Suffice it to say “I get it!”.
@bnt Yes, that’s what I meant. The “paranoid” bit was just tongue in cheek –>
Hello Stephen,
Sorry that you can’t follow my tweets. I tweet Dutch.
Btw, the Dutch version of QI is surprisingly good. I always see you on the BBC and didn’t think it would work in Holland, but it actually is QE (quite entertaining). Although, the presenter can’t do such a good impression of Benny Hill like you do.
Kind Regards
Harald
Thanks for nice words and congrats with such growth of followers. Reading your tweets is great pleasure for me and excellent chance to take delight in your linguistic style and find some news from you. English’s not my native language, I just try to accustom myself to Twitter, so thanks for involuntary help.
yes I thought that your followers would explode after that show
@svgrob <– here
Admin dude – WordPress 2.7 is available! Please notify the site administrator. (its very good… upgrade
)
I’ve found myself using Stephen’s tweets as a rolling word inspiration conveyor machine, the short to the point messages are ideal for quickly browsing. Stephen, as we all know, has a lovely turn of phrase. I don’t… maybe some will rub off.
Anyway, can I suggest Fryttering, the act of scrolling through Stephen’s tweets in the hope of nicking some gorgeous words for when I want something to spice up a boring email.
And to think, I was among the first 30 k. Yet another claim to fame, along with going to school with Aled Jones and peeing next to Ron Wood.
@simondyda
You, Mr Fry, are an absolute delight. Long may you reign in Tweetland.
Love your tweets, it´s nice to see you´re well and in good spirits (I still remember those sad moments in TSLOTMD…).
Your “vague suggestions” sound more than reasonable. (WTF?? How rude! Courtesy rules, hence: WTF PLEASE! ;o) – only joking! )
“I love how Twitter confirms my all too often assaulted belief that most humans are kind, curious, knowledgeable, tolerant and funny.”
How kind of you to say so! Your own sweet nature must be acting as the “irresistible force” in this case… well, I can only speak for myself, of course. Love GSK
Just had to point out the sheer length of all these comments, for twitterers it’s very hypocritical! (Was that under 140?)
@twirrim on twitter. I’ve been following you on there for a while, first started out as subscribed to your RSS feed on there, but this month bit the bullet and started twittering myself.
At the moment I have just 73 followers, but am following a hundred or so. My general practice (at this stage when it’s still practical) is to grab a quick look at their twitter profile and timestream, and almost always follow. Over the next day or two if I’m not seeing anything worthwhile from them, I un-follow
Officers Mess rules apply et al and quite right too. Happy, polite, interesting and witty twittering to you all.
x C
Officers mess rules apply et al and quite right too! Happy tweeting x C
Hi, Stephen! I’m so glad you’re on Twitter. I’m both amazed and grateful that you follow so many who follow you (I am among the lucky ones!), and further amazed that you find the time to reply to some. Generally, when I follow famous people, I don’t expect them to even read my messages, let alone reply to them. The fact that you do read and reply to as many as you do sets you apart from them. I always loved The Actor Stephen Fry, but now, because of having seen your off-stage personality via Twitter and your blogs, I also love The Man. You are a true treasure.
Those do seem like reasonable suggestions. I’ve been guilty of the “WTF” post, not so long ago (note to self: no more Twittering before coffee).
With the number of followers you have, it’s pretty amazing that you get to read everybody’s tweets, let alone reply at all. As has been said before, I’m sure most people understand and don’t take offense.
@spyderkl
Ah, how could anyone be rude to you?!
I think your sweetness and generosity of spirit are awe inspiring. Any rational human being could never begrudge a “non-reply” considering the number of people who follow you and even if only a fraction were to message you, I imagine it would be a full time job to sit and read and reply to them all, a person would need a fully equipped call centre to cope with the sheer volume.
I would hope that nothing any of your followers has said or done may have caused you any stress or weariness, myself inlcuded.
I believe that most of us are here as we thoroughly enjoy and are touched by your humour, encyclopedic knowledge, seemingly endless patience, and the incredible kindness which you display unfailingly in your daily Tweets. Your current level of “tweet reciprocity” astounds me, as you are plainly a very busy person.
Thank you for being so easy to appreciate. A x
I like the random stream of thoughts you see on twitter. Replies and DMs are useful but it really shines when people just put down what’s on their mind at that point.
‘Followers’ and ‘following’ are just great ways to drop in on peoples thoughts.
People really are very nice.
Hey Stevie boy.
Love reading your tweets, you sure are an international playboy!
Anyway for anybody interested, I use Firefox web browser and there is a very good plugin called ‘TwitterFox’. Tweets pop up at the bottom and you can reply or tweet from it, most useful.
I would not use this yourself, Mr. Fry, as 1E6 tweets poping up every second would be most annoying.
Tweet you later Tweeters.
ah – so now i know why you never answer!
seriously, i’m loving twitter. yes, i do find the race to gather as many followers as poss bewildering and yes, it does seem odd that there is somehow an inherent reciprocity required when someone follows you. i’ve even started explaining that i’m not going to follow fellow etsians if all they do is spam me with product. for my sanity i need to keep the number i’m following low so i can interact.
but i do have twitterfeeder hooked up for my blog posts, shop listings, etc and even have twitter updating my facebook page status – my online presence is now incredibly intertwined.
i’ve found some fascinating new local tweet friends, can keep up with online friends at a distance and learn soemthing new everyday (even if it is how many escort services are using tweet apps)
Well aren’t you just a sweetheart! The fact that you tweet at all is really enough for us fans, I honestly don’t think any of us expect you to follow us back or to reply to our tweets!! We’re just touched that you take the time to update us on what you’re up to and, I know myself, I like to believe that maybe one of the tweets I send you may fall under your eye and bring a smile to your face.
And as for the suggestions they really are very reasonable and the bare minimal we can do for you. I’m sure you could suggest we all stand on our heads while reading your tweets and guarenteed we’d all out buying yoga mats and cusions by the end of the week. The Fry Standards are really just a matter of politeness and consideration.
Keep the tweets coming,
Lots of Love, Hugs ‘n’ cuddley stuff,
Vonnie.
Stephen,
If you ‘did’ want to follow all those that follow you, you can do that automatically using a site called SocialToo (http://socialtoo.com).
It has a bunch of features that allow you to automatically follow everyone that follows you, and it will send you a summary of what has been going on at the end of each day too.
It also has a feature that allows you to unfollow those who unfollow you (after a pre-set time). As you have seen, there are a lot of people who use Twitter for marketing and will follow people in the hope that they will auto-follow them back. They will then unfollow them so that they end up with a large number of followers, but not actually following a large number themselves.
(If you have a large number of followers and a low follow count, then you are considered to have be “authoritative” which is a term the marketting/social media types like to wave about).
If you make a small donation to them, they will even go back over all your followers and sign them up for you, (so you can catch up with all those you have missed).
It does have a feature that allows you to “auto DM” a welcome message to people when they follow you, but some people are against “auto DM’s” as they see it against the ‘principles of Twittering’. If used for a welcome message, there isn’t much harm done.
If you need any other info on it, drop me a line via my email (in my account), or Tweet me at @shinerweb (http://twitter.com/shinerweb)
Keep up the great tweeting. You’ve done more for Tweeting in the UK than they could ever have wished for. I’ve loved following your technical exploits in the past (I subscribe to your feeds via Feedly). Following your Tweets is a great real-time way of keeping up with your exploits.
Regards
Chris
Dear Stephen,
Loving your work! I love reading your blog cus I like to know what you’re up to. It’s so boring here being in bed 24/7 so it’s great to know what other people are up to.
Your tweets in particular always manage to raise a smile or a laugh when I log on in the morning, and oftentimes I can be heard chuckling throughout the day still thinking about it.
I can’t always comment myself and I know you must get thousands but every tweet is read and inwardly digested but most of all appreciated.
Keep up the good work x