What if, for example, Oprah tweets something interesting that you would have otherwise missed because you are not interested in the majority of her other tweets?

I suppose I’m willing to take my chances on that one. Thanks for reading!

@AJ: Thanks a lot for the support. I agree and would love to see the dissenting opinions turned into articles providing tips on how to best utilize Twitter. Sure you can just say “it can be anything you want”, but folks need a starting point. Thanks!

@Jen: I can respect the choice not to post a photo, but I don’t think quality is a reason not to. It’s Twitter, not a photography competition. We just like putting a face to the name. Thanks for reading!

I would add that if all you tweet are quotes by other people, no matter how inspirational, pithy, or catty each one is, you might be increasing your Twitter DBI. I don’t mind a Ben Franklin or an Eleanor Roosevelt thrown in here and there but I’m starting to see people post tweet after tweet of other people’s words. I know where to find the online quote databases but I follow individuals to get the inspirational, pithy, and catty quotes that I won’t find on the databases.

I also tend to follow the 10 Commandments of Twitter: http://twitter.com/tencommandments as I think that the list is a good starting point.

#9) I was asked to follow a new tweeter to help her get acclimated to Twitter. I did and took a minute to write a welcoming tweet and to explain how I came to follow her. Then I got an auto-DM. I’m so glad that she has so many followers that she has to do an auto-DM to welcome them all. Clearly, she doesn’t need me. Moving on.

Scott) Excellent addition. I think I avoid the add-drop game by simply not getting around to adding new followers for a couple of days (okay, a couple of weeks — sometimes). I like to follow people who follow me and I was feeling guilty about not being more responsive but now I think it might be a good plan to just wait.

I would also suggest to commenters that before you comment, you might want to read the title of the piece or even read the whole article. Crazy, I know. Yes, Twitter can be anything you want it to be. However, one way that Twitter may get to be what Adam and a lot of others want it to be is by writing guidelines. If you want Twitter to be something else, maybe you should spend less time complaining about the work that someone else has done and take the time and effort to go write your own article. Again, crazy talk. Adam, this was a fun article and even though I disagree with the personal picture thing, I will pass it along to all the people in my group who are joining Twitter. This is the Twitter that I would like to see and if the people who participate don’t speak up, it will never happen.

Thank you for taking the time to write such a helpful and funny article.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/05/twitter-future-jack-dorsey.html