How Do I Break-up on Twitter? Tom Whittaker

The question, “How do I break-up on Twitter?” was asked this weekend by my friend and co-worker Sara.  No, she was not looking to break up with a boyfriend using Twitter.  Instead, she was talking about the concept of following in Twitter and whether it looks bad to stop following someone.

For those of you unfamiliar, Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows you to send updates or tweets to the Twitter website in 140 character less that answers the question, “What are you doing?”  I personally am a twitter addict and find it somewhat interesting to know what my friends; co-workers and even Barack Obama are doing throughout their day or thinking.

In Twitter, you can follow the tweets of others and others can follow your tweets.  Sara’s question surrounded the thought, what if she has realized someone she has followed for months, is not someone she really wants to follow anymore.  Will it offend them if they notice she is no longer interested in their random thoughts or updates?  Will they think she is breaking up with them and ending their “Twitter” relationship?

This got me thinking.  Is rejection the same in the social networking world as it is in the real world?  If someone takes me off their friend list in Facebook would I be hurt?  Would I question whether or not I consider myself interesting, if people stopped following my tweets in Twitter?  If my blog dropped from 50 visitors a day to 5, would I start to wonder what I did or didn’t do?  Probably.  No, I would not fall into a deep depression or give it a thought for more than a few minutes, but I would probably question why.  Why did they no longer want to be in my social network?

I guess rejection is rejection, whether in real life or via the web.  I know before I de-friend someone or stop following someone, I will think about it a bit first.

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