Gail,
I was thinking of our recent Tweets when I wrote this, but then ended up keeping the focus on the more narrow issue of following habits. What I realized from our discussion was the effect our own perspective can have on the way we perceive a particular Tweet.

I had posted a link aimed at educating the people who follow me in hopes of getting more followers so they can build their numbers. These are the people who come off as spam or who don't provide enough information in their profile or Tweets for me to decide if they are worth following. I get several of these each day. But if I were a reader who wasn't getting such requests I can now see how the link could take on a different meaning. In that context it might be read as suggesting that everyone should be trying to acquire followers. The same Tweet could have 2 (possibly more) entirely different interpretations.

I think I'm going to explore this idea more in a future post about meaning and context. We all read things through the eyes of our own experience. The character limits of Twitter can make it quite easy for things to become misconstrued, but I think it also applies to Web content as a whole. As content developers/writers we are challenged to ensure that our words convey the complete picture, not one that is only recognized by those sharing the same perspective. Thanks for your insights!

For that I set up Twitterfeed to automatically post daily news releases, then I sought out people via Twellow and other sources who seemed to have some interest in Case Western Reserve, be they alumni local media, students or others. I followed back all followers who seemed sincere (as in not spammers) then tried to read through their Tweets periodically and reply when appropriate. I wanted the account to be more than just a publishing mechanism. That said, I also wanted to make sure Tweets had a university focus, so I wouldn't reply to discussions of food and movies they way I might on my own account.

Escorial, your experience sounds like my first few days on Pownce, a now defunct micro-blogging service that allowed for long discussion threads, video, photos, etc. "What do I do now?" was my first reaction, but people took me under wing, showed me around and in no time I was devoted to the service. When I finally joined Twitter sometime in 2007, I already knew many people there from Pownce, so they were the first people I followed. This made it easier because we already had a rapport. The trick then was to figure out how to communicate in only 140 characters.

I think the character limit does make it trickier to get to know people on Twitter but I have gotten to know a few folks and then connected with them on Skype, Ning or in person. This makes a big difference. For instance I met a number of folks in higher education first on the University Web Developers site, started following them on Twitter, then met several—including Mark and Karine— at a conference. Many of us also contribute to Blog High Ed so we also read one another's blogs. I've found that I start to get a much better sense of people when I'm also connecting with them in other spaces like blogs and Ning, because there I can see their thoughts more fully flushed out—rather than just the abridged versions found in Tweets. I've had a similar experience with Cleveland Tweeters involved in the Cleveland Social Media Club. We have a Ning site but also meet in person on a monthly basis. Thus when it comes to developing online relationships with peers, colleagues or others, I think Twitter is but one tool I use in conjunction with several others. On it's own, it might not be as powerful, but when Twitter leads me to people's blogs and other resources it acts as a conduit to keep the conversation flowing in a variety of online and offline locales.

Your insight about people demanding some sort of ROI is intriguing. I think we should get a good return on investment from any tool we use—but it doesn't have to be monetary. We can each define our own ROI. For some it may be about selling more widgets, but I think for many of us it is more about having fun, sharing ideas and striking up a conversation.