As little as two or three years ago for most of us, we relied on information mainly from the mainstream media. Today, the internet is content rich (and of course has been for longer than a few years) and with “everyday” folks like me joining Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, etc. the content available is incomprehensible. I could go into all the stats available to support it, but since that’s not where I’m headed, I’ll skip that. Where I am headed is this: you are defined, categorized, listed, judged and perceived by both the content you post AND the company you keep.
Yes, I said that and—although I don’t have the metrics to prove it—I can tell you from my own personal experience online that it’s very true. I have tweeted “You are what you Tweet” and what I mean by that is this: If you want to be recognized for a certain type of skill, industry, vocation, cause, etc, tweet 80% of content about or relevant to that subject(s). A new 80-20 rule: I tell clients to post 80% about business related content and 20% other stuff. What’s other stuff? I say reserve it for this: fun with other Twitter friends, hobbies, and family—but not too much. I think this is a good formula in general for keeping your “stream” valuable and credible, yet interesting while simultaneously demonstrating that you are indeed a real person with a sense of humor and knack for attracting like-Tweeters. Ah-ha!