To follow, or not to follow, that is the question: Is it nobler to suffer the tweets and musings of those who don't interest you or is it better to click the unfollow button? While Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Plato quotes are fun to read and it may be interesting to view pictures of the day from certain Twitter users, there comes a time when you must manage your Twitter stream. As with most of Twitter, the seemingly simple step of unfollowing someone has its complexities.
First, consider why you followed the person in the first place. If you're following a dear friend but can't stand the endless chirps about her favorite X-factor contestant, her feelings may be hurt when you unfollow her. Will she understand that you don't share her fascination with pop music? Is your relationship strong enough in person to handle a virtual abandonment?
On the other hand, if you followed someone because you thought that they might be interesting and they aren't, the decision isn't nearly as difficult. However, before you click that unfollow button, you might want to check and see if this same person is following you. If he is following you, then consider whether you would be hurt if he unfollowed you in return. In this case, it's not hurt feelings, but rather hurt interactions. Does this person have the potential to become a major client? Is this someone that you eventually hope to do business with?
Understanding who is following you helps in deciding whom to stop following. For example, if you're following someone and she is not following you back, you have a one way Twitter relationship where you see her tweets, but she doesn't see yours. Most likely, she doesn'’t even know that you exist. A good rule of thumb is to give the people that you're following two weeks to follow you back. If they don't, consider them uninterested in what you have to say and unfollow the ones that are spammy, boring, or otherwise unfollow worthy.
Managing your Twitter stream by unfollowing disengaged people will improve your overall Twitter experience. The quality of the tweets that you see will be better and you will be interacting with people who want to interact with you. To follow or unfollow? It's not that difficult of a question.
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