DISQUS

Johnny Beirne · 1 year ago

Hi Paul,

I have only turned Qwitter on and hadn't considered the above. I also asked the question earlier "Can I enter any username in Qwitter and monitor (stalk) their 'quiting' activity? Not that I want too but curious"

Anywho, I will use it for a while but perhaps I should promote my Twitter RSS more than my Twitter.

Regards,

Johnny

Marcus Mac Innes · 1 year ago

Which is exactly why I think this is a disruptive app.
It could potentially disrupt the way people use twitter today... Unfollowing people now has a consequence - they will know and rightly or wrongly this is going to have a bearing on unfollow decisions. Cat amongst the pigeons I say! Well done to Eoghan, Paul, Des and Dave!

don crowley · 1 year ago

spot on Paul. What also misses the mark is the last tweet bit. The last tweet before I unsubscribe means nothing. Last christmas I tweeted like 'Scoble' and lost quite a few followers, once I stopped eating sweets ;) and calmed down again the fallout disappeared

Josie Fraser · 1 year ago

Yep, agree, but also think it's a case of the stable door now being opened. I've previously been chopping and changing my follow list a lot, depending on what I'm doing and what the other person is doing, time they are posting etc, rather than whether I like, respect, admire etc that person. That will probably stop now. One of the problems (and strengths!) with Twitter is that many people use it as a community rather than broadcasting tool, meaning that they only follow the number of conversations they feel able to manage. This works out fine if there are about the same number of people following you as you follow, but can cause resentment if you don't feel able to meaningfully engage with as many people who follow you. I've got the same tactic as you on this - respond promptly to anyone who @'s me. This worked well previously coupled with ongoing following and unfollowing, but I guess if it's going to piss people off I might err on the side of stasis, which is a shame.

Sadly enough, what really interests me about Quitter is the way in which it highlights shifts in community practice - and really points up how far Twitter has come along in terms of being a social networking service, with its own culture, mores and etiquette. No point in banging on about the inconvenience change brings when you choose to work in the social media field :)

Ian Delaney · 1 year ago

Entirely agree. Paul. I took a quick look and it was interesting. But a lot of people take these things *far* too seriously.

No, it doesn't mean you don't like or respect someone if you don't follow them. It just means you didn't get round to it, didn't think about it or have a million other things to do.

Steve Wheeler · 1 year ago

I agree with you Paul, but like Josie has said, the genie is out of the bottle now - no going back. And I only follow people on Twitter if a) I know where to find them and b) they have something interesting to say. Unfollowing is as you say, often when the signal to noise ratio goes bad - it's a temporary measure for many.

robwatts · 1 year ago

I agree too - a handy little thing if you are into some kind of 'people' monitoring gig(theres an idea) but generally, more likely to start a few "why don't you like me type spats" than any positive conversational flow. Some people are still babies at heart, and rightly or wrongly no one really likes rejection, to wit which in essence is what this tool is all about - a means for knowing who mightn't like you (thats how its being sold) without any additional context for a multitude of other reasons that might also exist.

-

Damien Mulley · 1 year ago

Brilliant. If people use this tool and get miffed, great. A tool that lets people know they're not as great as they think they are might be a good thing in the longrun for them. It's not damage. If someone unfollows me because I don't follow them then they may have been following me for entirely the wrong reasons.

Qwitter (bad name given another app with same name has existed for ages) is an app that is causing emotional reactions and changing the status quo on a social network. That's Wow right there. Like Marcus said, disruption.

Andrew · 1 year ago

I've used Twitterless for a while now which does the same basic thing, and found it very weird when I got my first message saying someone had unfollowed me. I felt ... Rejected. I think I may even have unfollowed them in turn purely in a tit-for-tat reaction. Funny how this virtual stuff can feel more real than real life at times. A week on and I'm more used to it. Unfollowing isn't a personal rejection, and could be just a scaling back of activity or a focusing on certain signals. But that analysis takes rational thought and usually we're more irrational and emotional.

I'm wondering if I should quit the service. But then wondering if anyone's unfollowed, and not knowing ...

Alan Levine · 1 year ago

Like you I tried it out of curiosity of what it did technically, and saw my first "Qwitt-ed" notice today... and while there is a minor creep factor (like watching someone on close circuit video), I could really give a rats arse who quits following me; it has zero effect. My eqo is not correlated at all with how many followers I have.

I routinely delete new follow requests unless it is someone I can recognize from the user name; and do more tracking when non followers tweet me via RS feeds for replies and searches.

However, I don't ascribe as much power to tools to think this tool, or some other one will "damage" / "break" a social network -- it's not the tool (which are value neutral) but what people do with them.

That said, I doubt I will use Qwitter at all once I have seen how it works; I am to become a Qwitter quitter.

Keith Brophy · 1 year ago

I think it is a natural progression to see these type of tools come to the fore. There already exists a plethora of Twitter statistical analysis tools that probe, rank, grade, dissect and graph details from follower counts to your follower cost in milliscobles.

Twitter affords this type of introspection and I would argue that the main user base is fascinated with such data. It is a linear progression from web stats and blog subscribers to analysing a users impact in the Twittersphere.

Certainly, some interesting discussions may arise from Qwitter notifications, but I think this debate can only further illuminate how these tools are being used and how they fit into our lives.

People (and machines!) use Twitter for many different reasons - it would be interesting to see how these tools would be used without the availability of such detailed stats.

Eoghan McCabe · 1 year ago

Hi Paul,

A few quick comments on your post:

1. Chill out. Qwitter is for fun only. It's a throw-away app we built in an amount of hours that you could count on two hands.

2. I mailed you about Qwitter on 11 January 2008 (search your mail for subject: "Just saw your Tweet about unfollow messages...") not to get your feedback but because you specifically posted on Twitter about wanting such a service! You wondered aloud why Twitter don't send unfollow messages themselves. Your response was nothing but positive: "do you want me to pimp it?", "The requests are starting to come in, can I give the link out as a private beta to a few people?". It's interesting how your view on this has apparently changed so dramatically...

3. Like you did in January, people really want this service. Many thousands of people are using it just two days after it was launched. I have dozens of e-mails thanking us. It's adding great value to their use of Twitter. We'll know the full extent of this value after a few weeks if we see people cancelling their Qwitter accounts. I'll publish the data.

4. Neither of us (especially you, since your track record on denouncing things as "likely to do more damage than good" is a little murky, to say the very least!) are in a position to say whether Qwitter will do "good" or "bad", whatever those things mean. One way of looking at it might be to guess it could upset those receiving Qwitter messages. In my opinion, that would be "bad" because I really don't want to upset anyone through this. That would upset me! Another way of looking at it would be to say it brought closer to real life the nature of a Twitter relationship. In my view, Twitter is the most natural of the social sites I know of. Unlike being someone's Facebook "friend" which is close to meaningless and encourages people to compile lists of names rather than relationships (you have 940 Facebook "friends"), following someone on Twitter means you have to listen to their shite. That's why I don't follow you, for example. In defence of the value of Qwitter and the "good" I think it will do, I believe it will make Twitter relationships more human. I'll think twice about following someone and (now, thanks to Qwitter) unfollowing someone, just as I'll think twice about starting to go out with a girl or then break up with her or hang out with certain groups or specifically not hang out with them. Damien Mulley understands this: "If someone unfollows me because I don’t follow them then they may have been following me for entirely the wrong reasons." This is what real human relationships are all about.

Anyway, if you don't like Qwitter or think it will do harm, just don't use it and stop promoting it. :-)

webdistortion · 1 year ago

I seriously can't believe this sparked so much debate. To a lot of people take these things *far* too seriously.

If you unfollow someone it's not the end of the world for the tweeter, and the damage done is nothing more than ego-tistical.

I wish the number of followers someone has would stop being touted as a badge of honour. Seriously.

Bernie Goldbach · 1 year ago

Then there's the systemic problem many of us have where Twitter inexplicably unfollows people we have followed. Add that system issue alongside my preference to occasionally unfollow when I'm not within 3 time zones and you have the potential for people to read way too much into following and being followed.

Twitter will never be the only backbone of vibrant social networking so it's hardly worth thinking about the psychological impact of Qwitter.

Marie · 1 year ago

I think the whole point of Quitter is based on what value it brings to your use of Twitter. If you're using Twitter as a way of engaging with an audience from a business/networking point of view, then yes, it brings value. If you're giving a public talk/lecture and someone (who you presumably thought would find this of value) gets up and walks out of the room this is proof of lack of interest (or possibly a weak bladder). Wouldn't you like to be able to pinpoint when people unfollow, too noisey perhaps or not relevant to them, etc?

If on the other hand you tweet for larks then this tool is simply for sh*ts and giggles and chances are your real-life best friends won't unfollow you so you shouldn't get so worked up about people you don't know very well choosing not to tune in to your stream of consciousness. In summation, nope, not damaging unless you have a fragile ego, besides, it's fun to take note of who unfollows you and plan elaborate revenge!

Paul Walsh · 1 year ago

@Eoghan – I couldn’t be bothered to debate why/how I got to see Qwitter in January. I love comments/quotes which are out of context – it completely distorts the conversation.

I have no doubt that Qwitter will be a success as you are right, many people will want to use the service. It’s very good.

As per my last post, my motivation for writing this post was to highlight to some people, that they may be unfollowed for reasons that they hadn't thought of.

The number of emails and DMs I received in support of my opinion far outweigh the number of comments on this blog. Clearly my post was received well. It's only my personal opinion so you shouldn't feel so upset by it.

As for point 4. In short, Qwitter is as negative as you are in person and as you are on your blog – which I read for short while, before being depressed with your constant negative output. You’re only one of three people I blocked on Twitter. That by the way, is not why I commented on your product. I knew my post would help promote it, which it did, quite well it would seem.

Paul Walsh · 1 year ago

Thanks for leaving comments guys. I don't want you to think I'm ignoring you, so...

Taken from the first paragraph of my post which followed this one:

My last post focused on the negative side of a good tool called Qwitter. My motivation was driven by the urge to provide a little insight to how it ‘could’ be used in the wrong way. It wasn’t my intention to slate the product. So, there are good reasons to use Qwitter, but at least digest my post and remember not to make too many assumptions when people unfollow you.

http://paulfwalsh.com/why-i-love-tweetdeck/

John Kennedy · 1 year ago

Eoghan, you should repurpose the app for Facebook. Imagine the carnage when people become aware of who's "unfriended" them. Seriously, I think you'd clear up!!!

Paul Campbell · 1 year ago

"I knew my post would help promote it, which it did, quite well it would seem."

So far your post has sent 33 people. Thanks for the link!

Paul Campbell · 1 year ago

@John Kennedy Was thinking that over the weekend. I think facebook are a bit more strict on the usage of their API. Probably worth a punt though!

Paul Walsh · 1 year ago

@Paul C - Glad to see you picked up on something constructive. It's not necessarily about the number of people who hit your site from this blog - other blogs have covered after reading about it here. Also, most would have come from Twitter. It's not a numbers game.

You're like kids who live in a tiny rural village - who get upset because I had commented on the cons of your app. Grow up.

Sigh. I can't believe I spent my time writing that comment.

David Barrett · 1 year ago

Personally, I can't believe you made a comment like that, then demanded Contrast grow up. There's only so much irony I can take in one day.

Oisin Prendiville · 1 year ago

This is great fun.. Long may the baiting and bashing continue!

Lar Veale · 1 year ago

Hi Paul,

Where you saw negativity, I saw raw energy, passion, playfulness, freshness and honesty in Eoghan's blogging.

This is now being added to by tremendous thought provoking insight from Des.

It's quickly becoming the best blog in Ireland so I'd encourage you to give it another look.

Say Hi to Aido and enjoy HK.

Lar

stef · 1 year ago

I thought I'd try it out to see what happened. I clicked on your profile and unfollowed you, then clicked follow again, then I waited... This morning you're no longer following me! ;-P

LukeM · 1 year ago

Didn't realise people are so sensitive about un-following!

I follow those that interest me, entertain or bring some kind of value. I stop following those that don't.

When someone stops following me, I don't see it as an attack or snub. I'm not even interested. Clearly I have nothing to offer them that they want.

I would never un-follow someone in order to offend them - as insults go, it's a bit 'Pathetic Sharks'!

Christian DE NEEF · 1 year ago

Since I am on twitter, which is not that long, I am not particularly tracking who is following me (I learned the other day that you can receive an email for every new follower, a feature I am happy I didn't discover/use) and whilst I tried qwitter out of curiosity, I don't intend to use it to track who is UNfollowing me... To me, twitter is a very loose community, so why bother about followings? It's not about the numbers, anyway!