Sep 302009
So I was thinking this evening while ironing in a hotel room… why do I “Protect my Tweets” on Twitter, requiring one to ask for permission to follow me. However I do not require that same level of identification on this blog.
- Is it the content is different?
I am not sure that is the case as I am aware that one can take something out of context and the idea of some obfuscation on the Internet. - Is it that I take more time to craft a blog post so it has more “content”, more signal to noise, so I am prouder of it?
That could be, but I am sure that Malcom Gladwell would say I am doing it wrong. But then again I disagree with Gladwell. - Is it that it is easier to protect a Twitter feed than it is a self hosted blog?
I am sure I can find a solution for that, make it a forum feed, require logging in… etc.
Any ideas or comments as to why? Should I unprotect my Tweets?
Protecting tweets is a personal choice, and if you’re comfortable with the sense of security, etc. it provides, don’t sweat it.
I’m not a fan of protecting tweets, as the openness it provides has led me to follow people I never would have discovered otherwise. You get bot followers of course, and they tend to come in waves. Once a week or so I go through my followers and weed out the bots and undesirables. It’s a 3-4 minute task, and a small price to pay for some great follow discoveries.
My daughter and her 16-yr old friends protect their tweets of course, but for less vulnerable users the precise value of tweet protection is unclear. FWIW, most users (including myself) generally avoid trying to follow protected users. I like to review people’s tweets before I choose to follow them, and protection prevents that process. Protection creates one-way access in a two-way social medium, and thus will always have limited appeal.
My best suggestion is to unprotect for a while and see if it works for you. If it doesn’t, go back. No worries. It may open some unexpected doors and alter your Twitter experience in a positive way. Or the porn, real estate and marketing bots may creep you out.
Good luck, and let us know how it works out!
One’s desire of sense for privacy doesn’t always need to be rational.
Sometimes people just like the sense of security that protecting one’s Tweets would give, even though unprotecting those Tweets probably wouldn’t really change your reader base or your risks.
I say to keep ‘em protected. I tried to publicize mine at one point recently, and I got SPAMMMMMMMMMED. People search the public timeline for hash threads and then reply to your posts with (what they think) are related threads. It’s not worth it.
[nick]