Hello, it is me on Twitter!

Hello and welcome. You might have come here from my Twitter profile or because of a tweet I sent you. Here I will quickly say and retain for re-use what my Twitter usage is about and how both you and I can enjoy what I do here. You could call it my Twitter manifesto, but that sounds too hoity-toity. So here goes:

What I do on Twitter

1. I use Twitter as a channel out. I find something, I send a link/picture to share.
2. This is me, so it is unfiltered. About 70% is technical web stuff (great resources, talks, videos, conference coverage), 25% is fluffy or awesome things on the web (hedgehogs, kittens, puppies…) and 5% is me doing stuff (trying restaurants, telling people I am meeting IRL where I am, wondering about things). I use naughty words, I find it hypocritical to add a * where an i or a u should be. I try to use them less though, but there might be things that make you blush.
3. I tweet a lot – I know quite a few people who keep unfollowing and following me because of that reason.
4. If you do not want the noise and just the meat, there is a way – I linked my Twitter to pinboard, so all the links I send out are here.
5. I monitor Twitter for great things and see how you come across on it, too. This resulted in the past in people I liked becoming my colleagues or them starting to write for blogs I am editor at. It also resulted in people speaking at events. I like introducing people to each other. If you come across too aggressive, demanding or simply out of line, I will also take note of that and answer accordingly when people ask me about you.
6. If I post something in quotes followed by a link, this is a quote, not my view. Don’t tell me your problems, tell the author, please.

What I don’t do on Twitter

1. Advertise. I work for Microsoft, but I am not the marketing channel for Microsoft, there are other places for that. When I tweet about Microsoft stuff then it is because I think it is great, same way I tweet about Google, Mozilla, Adobe, Twitter, Facebook and many many more.
2. I will not fix your problems. If you have an issue with a Microsoft product, there are official channels. If you have an issue with a Mozilla product (where I was for quite some time), the only – and let me repeat this – the only, best and fastest way to get something fixed is to file a bug in bugzilla about it. I don’t have a magic power over engineers to fix things faster or force them to do things. If your problem is a real, fixable issue and you are explaining the issue and what needs fixing, things happen. If you shout “this sucks, no wonder your competition is winning” then it is no wonder when busy engineers don’t really listen to you. You want your problem fixed, talk to the fixer. I will not fight your fights for you as I don’t feel your pain and can only guess the details.
3. Plan and automate my tweets. This is all raw, nothing here is automated and yes it is only me. So when I am not in, I will not answer. Mostly this means I am on a plane.
4. I will not retweet things you beg me to retweet*. I have quite some reach and I will retweet things I like and consider useful. If you tell me about something I might retweet it, I might not. This could mean I don’t like it but in many cases it just means I am too busy to do so. Nudge me again reminding me why something is cool. Begging or threatening to call me stuck-up and not helping struggling new people on the web will not get you anything though. If you look at what I do, you know that I am not the kind of guy to not support a great new thing or cause.
5. Spread personal things. I have a real life and I will never share all the boring or sordid details about it. Both you and me are busy.
6. Follow much and favourite. Both of these things are random in my case. My faves do not mean much – I found people favourite to read later. I never do that. I keep the tab open, read and then tweet about it. I have a full inbox, no need to also have a full faves list. Following is also not a sign of how much I like you or that I don’t appreciate you. I use Twitter mostly as a channel out. My information I get from RSS - I am oldschool like that.

Shit that can happen

1. If you tell me once about something, I might miss it – this is a fast paced medium with a terrible search functionality. So email me about important things, too.
2. I can be out of line – if you feel annoyed about something, please tell me. I am happy to follow you so you can DM me – I am always happy to improve.