Angry Twitter Bird sketch by Aaron Riddle. www.acriddle.com

Book promotion coach and social media expert Lynn Serafinn shares her 5 most disliked behaviours on Twitter.

This week I felt I had to express myself. I love Twitter. I love what Twitter has done for my business. I love the people I have met through Twitter over the past year.

But I have been grumbling a bit this past week. My Twitter following has increased a lot over the past month, and there are a few things I’ve noticed in the way some Tweeple  (fortunately a minority) behave on Twitter that really puts me off.

So let me vent just a bit… and let me know if these “Twitter Turn-Offs” ring true for you as well.

Turn-Off Number 1: True Twit

True Twit is a service that allows you to see if the people who want to follow you are “real” people and not “bots”. I HATE it. This is really sending an a-social message to your followers. I’ve made a vow not to bother with people who use True Twit anymore. I’ve got almost 11,000 followers on my main account (nearly 20,000 if you count all 4 accounts I have), and am following over 11,000. I’m tired of having to verify I am a real person. Hello?!

Another reason why I hate it so much is that half of the people who are sending me these True Twit requests are because I auto-followed them in the first place! In other words, I gladly allowed them the “privilege” of following me, but they are asking me permission to follow them. It’s really twisted.

My policy on Twitter is an open door. I would much prefer to weed out the spammers by hand rather than put off new networking friends by making them “work” to follow my tweets.

Turn-Off Number 2: Protected Tweets

Geez zowie, how I hate it when people protect their tweets. From whom? What are they talking about? Are they really using Twitter for sensitive, personal communication?

Basically when I see someone with protected tweets, it sends the following 2 messages:

1)    They don’t really WANT me to follow them and

2)    They don’t trust people very much.

Neither of these messages is very welcoming.

Whenever I go to http://justunfollow.com to see who isn’t following me, the first people I unfollow are the ones with protected tweets.

Turn-Off Number 3: Not following back

People are not OBLIGATED to follow you back on Twitter. However, when I have been following someone for a long time, and even had different @ conversations with them, and they don’t follow back, that’s a turn off.

Again, I prefer to have my account on auto-follow (I use http://socialoomph.com for that) to give the courtesy of following people back who follow me. I think it sends an open message of trust and willingness to connect.

Disconnecting from an unwanted connection on Twitter is far easier than re-establishing rapport with someone who has disconnected from you due to your aloofness towards them. Be open. Be reciprocal. Be trusting.

The only Tweeple who have a valid “excuse” for not following back are

1)    application bots, e.g., @ListNotify

2)    info portals, e.g., @Mashable

3)    large companies that do not represent the thoughts of one particular person, or

4)    Twitter accounts that were set up to send news to fans about celebrities who never (or hardly ever) use the Twitter account themselves.

Turn-Off Number 4: One-Way Tweeting

Ok, I use Twitter for business—a LOT. And I tweet about my business—a LOT. However, I also RT others’ tweets and engage in 2-way conversation—a LOT. I look at people’s profiles and try to address them by first name as much as possible. I recommend them on Follow Fridays. I share the things they post that I think others would like to know about. I meet and make new networking partners, clients and friends on Twitter.

I hate, hate, hate it when someone (unless they are in one of the 4 categories mentioned above) only ever tweets about their business (sometimes the same thing over and over) and never interacts with other people. It tells me they are only there to “get” and not to connect. It’s such a turn-off.

Ugh!

Turn-Off Number 5: Playing the ‘Celebrity Card’

All right, now this one sometimes goes hand in hand with some of the others. In other words, the kinds of people who do some of the above things also frequently ‘play the celebrity card.’

What do I mean by ‘playing the celebrity card’? I mean when people have like 1000 followers and follow less than 10% of these back. Come on! Do you think 1000 followers makes you in SUCH demand that you can actually turn your back on 900 of them and send the message that they are not worthy of your attention? Do you think they will stay following you?

When I go to weed out my non-followers, these are the ones that go next, after the protected tweets.

If you are NOT a ‘legitimate’ celebrity (or, frankly, even if you are), the most inviting Twitter ratio of followers to following is ALWAYS as close as you can get to 1:1. By legitimate celebrity I mean someone whom millions of people want to follow, not because of your tweets, but because of who you are outside of Twitter. You know. Like Oprah. BTW, Oprah has almost 5 million followers, follows only 20 people (all of whom are industry people) but has sent out fewer than 200 tweets. Clearly Oprah does not use Twitter as a business building tool (she doesn’t need to!), but rather as a connection point for people who want to know about what’s happening behind the scenes.

If you are in a similar position with your fans, you can play the ‘celebrity card’ too. But if you are using Twitter to grow your business, don’t play the celebrity card or you will lose your audience fast.

TIP: Ok, so if you are concerned how you can possibly FOLLOW the tweets of all the people who are following you, the answer is: “You don’t have to.” There is an easy solution to the information overload you might experience from following thousands of people on Twitter:

• Make yourself a private Twitter list of your “VIPs” so you can make sure you are catching the updates of your best friends, colleagues, inspirational leader, movers/shakers or whomever else you wish to follow closely.
• Then, create a column for this list in TweetDeck so you can be sure to catch the tweets of your VIPs.
• Then, just scan the “All Followers” column for new people and interesting tweets. Maybe someone new will catch your eye. It’s the easiest way to build your network without going into Twitter overwhelm.

Bonus Turn-Off: SPAMMERS

I almost didn’t bother to mention this because it’s sort of a ‘given’. Spamming isn’t merely a turn-off. It’s grounds for getting you banned from Twitter. DO NOT ever @ someone unless you are engaged in a conversation with them. Sending an @ or a DM message to someone on Twitter (apart from a welcome DM) directing them to click a link is spam. End of subject. I have no tolerance for spammers and feel no guilt whatsoever for reporting them. If I know you, that’s different. If we’re friends, you can send me all the links you want.

Some dead giveways that someone is a spammer:

1)   Their profile pic us usually either the Twitter default pic or a picture of some unknown sexy girl

2)   All their tweets are the same

3)    They have no followers

4)    They @ everyone the same message and it always contains a link. Do yourself a favour and DON’T click these links no matter how tempting they may be. Very often they are phishing for your Twitter password.

So what do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Do you have others to add to the list?

Let’s connect! Here are my Twitter IDs:

• @LynnSerafinn - tweeting about everything I do, business or otherwise
• @SpiritAuthors – tweeting about writing, self-publishing, book promotion, especially for mind-body-spirit authors
• @7GracesMarketng - tweeting about healing our fragmented society by changing the way we do business, and info about my upcoming book, talks, etc., “The 7 Graces of Marketing”
• @GardenOfTheSoul - tweeting about my radio show and book of the same name
• @TeknochikUK - tweeting about cool techie innovations that help you develop your social media platform.

And, if you want to see some “positive” tips about using Twitter, subscribe to my Spirit Authors blog. I’ll be posting my article “My Top 5 Twitter Apps” there very soon.

While you’re there, check out my Spirit Authors course “100 Days to Build Your Online Promotional Platform” (Module 2).

About Lynn Serafinn

Lynn Serafinn is transformation coach, bestselling author, radio host and promotional manager for a long list of #1 selling mind-body-spirit authors. She is the author of the bestseller The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self as well as the upcoming book The 7 Graces of Marketing: how to heal humanity and the planet by changing the way we sell (http://the7GracesOfMarketing.com )

Her membership site Spirit Authors (http://spiritauthors.com) offers training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. Contact Lynn about YOUR book project at at http://spiritauthors.com/contact.

Sign up for Lynn’s bi-monthly newsletter Creative Spirit (fill in form BELOW) packed with inspirational articles, online networking tips, broadcast guide to her radio show, and news about upcoming spiritual author book releases.

Throughout the year, Lynn also hosts large-scale telesummits with world-class speakers on a range of mind-body-spirit topics. Your subscription to Creative Spirit will ensure you’ll be the first to know how to attend these free events.

Maria Gamb, author of "Healing the Corporate World"

Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 5 of the Virtual Blog Tour for Healing the Corporate World by author Maria Gamb.

Written by former Fortune 500 executive, Maria Gamb, who spent more than 20 years trailblazing businesses valued at upwards of $100 million, Healing the Corporate World is a cutting-edge book examining the deep, and usually unspoken, ailment of the modern corporate world, offering solutions for healing at a personal, financial and even spiritual level. By showing the reader “the four cycles of transformational leadership”, Maria provides business leaders, from solo entrepreneurs to corporate senior executives, practical answers on how to transform their organizations from the inside out, and become “Change Agents”, consciously creating their own reality.

Yesterday, Maria visited Liz Pabon at www.lizpabon.com/blog. For today’s stop on the tour, I decided to ask Maria some questions about self-sabotage, feelings of powerlessness in the workplace, and how to rise above them.

*   *   *   *   *

Lynn: You mention in your book that some of us actually sabotage or compromise our own success. In your experience, what are some of the most common ways we do it?

Maria: Often times we engage in competitive behaviors, defensiveness and/or our values are compromised. But ultimately this all goes back to the same thing: we’re afraid that we’ll be found out as “not being good enough” or that potentially we believe there isn’t “enough” to go around. That means not enough opportunities, not enough resources to share, not enough praise or recognition.  These are actually basic needs: to be seen, heard and recognized.  By engaging in these “not enough” behaviors and attitudes, we often alienate those around us who can contribute directly to success.

Lynn: You mention in your book that it is vital to build teams that reflect our core values. What advice can you give for doing that when there are so many different value systems at play, and when some people in the workplace might not even be in touch with their own values?

Maria: It’s important for the individual business professional to decide what is most important to them.  If it’s honesty, for example, then you would need to quantify exactly what that means in specific, actionable terms.  Doing this helps to create a very clear framework of reference rather than an abstract ideal that will be hard for others to fulfil.  More importantly, it will be challenging for the individual to know or experience that value in another human being without this quantifiable method.

People will be different, but that’s the beauty of this.  In fact, my suggestion is to decide on 2-3 core values or beliefs of what they feel is most valuable for their team members to embody and then build that team.  There will never be a 100% perfect match where everyone has the same values, but it is important to pick the ones that matter most to you.  What you’re doing in this process is insuring that you’re all on the same page with regards to your rules of engagement in how you will work together and with others.

Lynn: You talk about “blazing a new trail no matter where you are.” What words of encouragement do you have for people who see themselves as powerless and at the “bottom of the food chain” in their business environment?

Maria: People are only victims if they choose to take on that role.  That is a belief that no one will ever hear them or understand or appreciate what they have to offer.  The truth is that the individual has to believe in themselves first and what they have to offer as truly valuable.  When they do they do not feel powerless.

A majority of the book is based on helping the reader to understand that they create their work environments and outcomes.  They are in control of their happiness and security when they work through the processes outlined.  Those who may perceive themselves as at the bottom of the food chain may not feel they can make any real difference on the scale they’d like.  However, when they begin integrating this work into their lives they first change the immediate environment and effectiveness, which builds to greater influence to those around them.  That’s the point: to use your influence in a positive manner.  But first, you’ve got to start exercising those beliefs and values into your personal and professional life first.

Lynn: A lot of your work focuses on corporate environment and teams. Most of my clients are solo-preneurs who don’t work within the same kind of environment. How can these kinds of people apply your principles? What will it bring them and their business?

Maria: The beauty of the content in the book is that it applies to all those in business, not necessarily just large corporations.  Many entrepreneurs dream of having large businesses with a huge earning potential.  That sounds like they want to build their own legacy within their niche.  The tools, tips and processes outlined in the book are universal. They share what it takes to be a person in business who creates solid, healthy relationships and influence.  With that influence they have a decision to make about how they want to use that success: to take care of themselves and their families only or to help others too.  You see, the concept of commerce was built to bring the flow of goods, services and opportunities, including the flow of money, into the world.  Entrepreneur or executive, both are engaged in this exchange.  So why not use the tools for building a more compassionate and conscious business from the start – when the entrepreneur has the dream or idea then begins to bring it into the world.  What this system brings is positive influence and affluence: the fulfilment of one’s purpose and a deeper understanding of what you’re doing and why it’s so important.

*   *   *   *   *

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Maria Gamb and that you’ll check out her new book Healing the Corporate World, which is coming to Amazon on Tuesday October 12, 2010.

You can receive a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts when you buy the book on the day of its launch, including one from me: a special report called “Why Nice People HATE Marketing” (it’s actually a sneak peek at some of the content from my upcoming book).

In addition, Maria is hosting an exciting FREE 4-day telesummit entitled “Transforming Business from the Inside Out” on October 4th – 7^th with a distinguished panel of 9 of today’s most innovative authors and speakers on becoming the ‘Change Agent’ in your business, in your life and in the world!

If you’d like to attend, all you have to do is request a “launch reminder” about the book, and you’ll receive all the information to attend. If you cannot make the live event, you can download the audio at your convenience.

To find out how to buy Maria’s BOOK and receive these gifts,
including the FREE pass to the 4-day online telesummit, go to

http://www.healingthecorporateworld.com

AND you can read all about the TELESUMMIT and the guests at

http://www.healingthecorporateworld.com/telesummit.html

Be sure to follow Maria tomorrow when the next stop on his Virtual Blog Tour is Geoff Laughton’s blog at www.spiritedmusings.com.

As usual, please do feel free to share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.

5 Easy Ways to Beat the Blues and Feel Joyous this Holiday Season
by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC

Today we continue our series of tips to help you beat the blues over the holidays:

1. Holiday Blues Number 1: Seasonal Affective Disorder (“SAD”) posted 6 December
2. Holiday Blues Number 2: Seasonal Illnesses (in today’s post)
3. Holiday Blues Number 3: Family “Dramas” (coming Sat 12 December)
4. Holiday Blues Number 4: Stress over Money (coming Tues 15 December)
5. Holiday Blues Number 5: Feelings of Isolation (coming Fri 18 December)

TIP: If you want to receive all 5 articles, be sure to subscribe to this blog in the box on the right hand side of your screen.

Beating Holiday Blues Number 2: Seasonal illnesses
In Part 1, we looked at SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). In today’s instalment of my “Holiday Survival Guide”, we’ll look at beating the holiday blues of seasonal illnesses like colds and flu.

Ok. I admit. There is nothing that makes us feel more “blue” than getting ill, especially during the holidays when we are supposed to be having fun (aren’t’ we?). There has indeed been an awful lot of flu going around this year (I had swine flu in September myself), over and above the usual seasonal flu. But what makes the flu season even worse is the fact that during the holiday season, we tend to compromise our body’s immune system to an extreme by:

• Staying indoors most of the time. This not only cuts down on our supply of Vitamin D, which is already in short supply in the winter (as mentioned in previous article), but it also makes us more subject to respiratory illness due to stale air, indoor heating, etc.
• Eating a lot of processed, rich or sugary foods. ‘Nuff said.
• Consuming more alcohol than usual. Admit it… perhaps more during the holidays than the rest of the year combined?
• Shopping in crowded and stressful conditions. I’m sorry, but I take issue with ANYONE who says he/she’s “born” to shop! NOT!
• Going to more parties than usual. Yes, and staying up till stupid-o-clock many days in a row. Yup. Always good for the immune system.
• Getting stressed over money. For some reason we feel the need to spend gargantuan amounts of money at Christmas. When did that happen? So on the one hand we get all stressed out about our bills, but on the other hand if we DON’T spend the money because we actually are broke, we get all stressed out with guilt over not having enough money to spend. Does this make sense? It’s a no-win situation.
• AND so many other things. You fill in the blanks.

Ho, ho, ho…

You know, looking at this, it sort of makes me think that the flu “bugs” are smart enough to know that if they wait to attack us around the holidays, they’ll have a real easy time of it. So, given that these little guys are wise to our habits and know when it’s the best time of year to zap us, I propose that we will at least have a fighting chance if we follow these 3 steps:

STEP 1: Eliminate the negative stimuli that might cause seasonal illness.
It makes sense, first and foremost, to try not to get sick in the first place by relearning your physical, mental and emotional limitations.

• Get outdoors every day, even if for a little while. When to do get outdoors, take time to BREATHE the air and look at the trees, sky, etc. Clear your lungs, your brain, the pores of your skin.
• Go very easy on the food and drinks that you KNOW make you feel tired, sick or lacking in energy the next day.
• Take shopping in small doses and try to go at “off” times. Better yet, buy online or buy less, full stop. OR how about MAKING gifts? I remember when I was a kid I always made gifts, and while they might have been a bit… well…not always the most “practical” (I remember a pencil holder I made for my sister that was in the shape of an alien… the pencils were his antennae), but the point is they were personal, and they showed I had taken the time to make them for the person.
• Say “no” to at least 2 activities this holiday season that simply feel like too much, no matter how much social pressure might be put upon you. The problem with the holidays is that we get caught up in the flurry of activity and we think we “must” participate in everything that pops up. It’s simply not true.
• Regardless of anything else, remember to consume lots of water. The simple fact is, most of us tend to be dehydrated. General “word on the street” is that we need 2 litres a day, but actually if we are carrying a few extra pounds, we need more than that. If you smoke, even more. AND remember, caffeinated beverages (and alcohol) are actually dehydrating to the system, so don’t think that 10 cups of coffee a day will give you your daily requirement of water. Water is necessary for keeping our cells healthy, and it also helps to flush out toxins in the body. Without enough water, we become a breeding ground for all kinds of lovelies to find a nice home in our bodies. It’s one of the cheapest and easiest ways to ensure better health and energy levels, but so many people forget to drink water.

STEP 2: Increase your natural defences
Boost your natural immune system with products like Echinacea, Aloe Vera, bee pollen, elderberry syrup and Vitamin C. If you don’t do this during other times of the year, at least do it during the winter months (Echinacea should only be taken for a few months at a time anyway). But do remember that these are only supplements, not cure-alls, and they will have a lessened effect if your diet is poor and you keep pushing yourself too hard. So it’s absolutely pointless to think that these will “bail you out” if you are still driving yourself to your limits.

STEP 3: Learn how to surrender!
Ok, so here’s where I take my “mommie” hat off and put my life coach hat back on.

No matter how diligently we look after ourselves, sometimes we fall ill. And if that’s the case, don’t fight it, SURRENDER to it! It does you absolutely no good at all to push yourself like a martyr, wallow in feelings of guilt or (worse) try to recover too quickly. When I had the swine flu back in September, it took me a whole month to regain my energy fully, and believe me, every time I tried to push it, my body told me to knock it off.

I can’t tell you how many of my clients push themselves to the brink and then wonder why they are ill or unhappy. STOP it right now! The world NEEDS you, and it needs you in one, whole, healthy piece.

Remember:

• It doesn’t matter if the people at work grumble and complain that you are off sick. They’ll also get ill some day and take their turn off work soon enough.
• Your family will not abandon you if you don’t make Christmas dinner this year. It will be a great opportunity for someone else to learn how to cook.
• The world will not end if you haven’t finished your Christmas shopping. That’s what store vouchers are for.
• Your business will not end if you miss a few days on Twitter (hmmm… look who’s calling the kettle black, here?).

TODAY’S JOY FORMULA:
Turning Seasonal Illness into Joy
So here’s my “Joy Formula” for dealing with seasonal illnesses this year, if you do happen to fall ill this holiday season:

• HOP INTO BED with a hot water bottle on your feet, a cuddly toy on your pillow, a smile on your face, and just sleep as much as you want.
• ASK OTHER PEOPLE to do favours for you. If you live alone, call friends up and ask them to shop for you. You will be amazed how many people will come out of the woodwork to help when you ask for it.
• THANK THE UNIVERSE for sending you the illness, and take it as your “permission slip” to take TIME OUT. See the sickness as a message that your body needs “down time” and just take it.
• UNPLUG YOUR PC and forget about emails. And when you get well, unsubscribe to 50% of your mailing lists (well… except my blog, of course).
• REST AND READ all those books next to your nightstand you haven’t had time to read because you’ve been too busy. Maybe my book The Garden of the Soul is one of them? If not, I recommend it highly.

In the next instalment of my “Holiday Survival Guide” I’ll be talking about how to beat the blues of Family Dramas during the Holiday Season (yikes!).

That’s coming this weekend. Just sign up on the box at the right to be sure you receive it.

Like this article? Share it with others… AND be sure to leave your comments and your OWN holiday survival tips below.