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Poll: Will You UnFollow Those That Place Ads in Their Tweets?

posted on November 23, 2009


The above tweet ended a lively discussion I had with @Ed and a few others about the use of 3rd party ads in Twitter. I’ve said before that I am open to the idea, although I’ve not yet posted any ads to my Twitter feed.

Anyway, as this week is going to be a little quiet–what with Thanksgiving coming up–I thought I’d publish a poll and see what your thoughts are on the subject.



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  • http://twitter.com/Ed Ed Shahzade

    I’ve often been accused of being to much of a Twitter purist.
    And I don’t want to sway folks (not that I have ANY sway), but it’s an individual call.

    But seeing the number of folks I respect, who have been good for the online community
    signed up, moved me.
    And- the key factors that inch me toward testing it:
    1) Very few ads per week
    2) I approve/decline each ad
    3) I feel I have shared a tremendous amount of value on Twitter since 2006.
    Those threatening to unfollow if I place 2 ads/day (which quite honestly,
    could balm the bruises from $500K in medical bills),
    are in essence demanding:
    “Give me your best non-stop content that’s valuable to me.
    Don’t dare let this be two-way or I’m gone”.
    Isn’t it?

    If I do, and they leave rather than be glad for me and my kids,
    good riddance.
    Alternatively, pay me what ads would, and I’ll avoid them :)
    I’m still not sure what I’ll do.

    And while I also hope Twitter themselves enjoys monetization
    after 3 years of a mostly tremendous FREE platform,
    (indeed-world changing human connection engine and more),

    I think Twitter HQ should be thrilled for long term users
    who have pumped value into their site, and gotten no more [sic]
    in return than a brand new lurker, in theory.

    More as this develops…
    .-= Ed Shahzade´s last blog ..Ed: @AndyBeal My thoughts are back and forth. Seeing the number of folks I respect and A-List who signed up, surprised me, and softened me. =-.

  • http://twitter.com/MichelleDLowery Michelle

    There needs to be one more option in the poll responses–it depends. If someone tweets ads for things I’m interested in, or even things I’m not so interested in, but I like their other content and conversations, then no. If someone started tweeting ads for porn or something I disagree with or find offensive in some way? Then possibly. It would still depend on the frequency of the ad tweets, and whether the tweeter offered anything else of value in their conversations. It someone converted their tweet stream to a never ending barrage of ads? Then definitely. There are too many variables for yes and no, and “not sure” isn’t the same as “it depends.” I am sure of what my decision would be based on the circumstances.
    .-= Michelle´s last blog ..MichelleDLowery: Started the morning with Internet being down. Ok, bad stuff out of the way so the rest of the day can be good! =-.

    • http://www.JustLetMeVent.wordpress.com jgraziani

      I totally agree with Michelle. It all depends on what’s being tweeted, whether or not it is of value to me, how often, what other value I get from the tweeter, etc. The answer is not black or white — lots of gray area in there.

    • http://www.davidwalker.tv David Walker

      I’m with Michelle here on this. I think she put it succinctly. That it depends on the content, whether it’s useful to me, and the frequency of ads. I don’t want to be bombarded with ads all day every day, I don’t want content I find unpalatable, and I want to get something useful from the ads. If not, I unfollow. Most people have adopted a wait-and-see approach to this not because they mind a few ads, but that they have thought of the worst case scenario, find they don’t like it, and don’t want to commit to that.
      .-= David Walker´s last blog ..Live Webinar – Tuesday 24 November 5pm EST =-.

  • Paul;

    An occasional ad is ok, but why follow someone just to be bombarded with ads? I follow for content, and those who put out ads typically do it very repitively and do not put out actual copntent. I have unfollowed for this reason already.

  • bob

    Michelle ( above ) got it right!

  • http://twitter.com/lisabarone Lisa Barone

    I think this is all very silly. What is the difference between placing a third-party ad and saying “hey, new post over at MarketingPilgrm.com”? They’re both ads. People will follow based on the quality of the stream just like they always have.
    .-= Lisa Barone´s last blog ..LisaBarone: If you’re going to roll over like a dog, don’t look surprised when you’re treated like a bitch. That’s for a lot of you. Later, Twitter. =-.

  • Pingback: The Great Tweet Ad Debate — Social Mallard

  • http://www.onlinefloorstore.com flooracle

    Lisa is right (haven’t I seen that on a t-shirt?)

  • http://mollermarketing.com Nate Moller

    Like @lisabarone said, people will follow based on the quality of the stream just like they always have.

    I answered, “I don’t know” mainly because, if friends begin tweeting things that have NOTHING to do with what I’m looking for on Twitter, I’ll unfollow them. If, however, they publish “ads” that are helpful and informative, more power to them if they’re getting paid to do it.

    MOST, if not ALL, of my tweets are “ads” of one sort or another.

    (Just ask @matt_siltala, I will promote the New York Yankees til the day I die! – but I don’t get paid to do that)
    .-= Nate Moller´s last blog ..3 Reasons Why Press Releases Won’t Get Published =-.

  • http://techcrunchies.com Anand Srinivasan

    I already follow a few tweeters who post ads. But I think the marketingpilgrim crowd is the wrong demographic to ask this question. We have followed these companies involved quite a bit to give a layman’s PoV.

    But among the general demographic, I think it will work a great deal..
    .-= Anand Srinivasan´s last blog ..Mobile Browser Market Share Worldwide =-.

  • http://www.eireads.com John

    We place ads on our tweets but try to do it in a creative way and with a twist. Whenever we are out of time we use twitterfeed but only delivering updates every 6 hours or so. this does not annoy our followers.
    .-= John´s last blog ..Yellow Pages =-.

  • http://visit.makingupguidereviewsnow.com/ Dan Tan

    I personally go through each twitter follower i gain to check their tweets to see i should follow them. I have no big problems with ads placed on my tweet, i think it’s more of give and take.

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