Just say NO to TrueTwit!
If you aren't familiar (at least partially) with the TrueTwit service, then you probably either aren't on Twitter or haven't been on very much or for very long.
Mostly for those people: it's a service which validates your new followers to make sure they are real, not bots.
Sounds good, right?
Sort of. There's an ugly truth about the service. Most people don't like it because it's a pain in the @#$ to get validated.
Too much work just to get one new follower. And even that isn't guaranteed. It's not like the person has to follow you after that. It simply means you are a button pressing, captcha-entering being.
Sneaky little App
A lot of people who use the service don't realize they do. They agreed to let the service use their Twitter account early on and don't know how to turn it off. They probably didn't even realize what they were agreeing to.
If you do use the service and want to stop, simply go to your Twitter settings and revoke access to the app. No need to give their website anymore traffic.
What about the bots they stop?
Sure, the people who use the service probably don't have very many bots following them ... but who cares?
I have tons of bots, out-right spam accounts, and other unsavory folks following me on Twitter, and it doesn't affect me one bit whatsoever.
In fact, because of Twitter follow limits, their follow allows me to follow someone else instead of them, so it's in my interest to allow anyone and everyone to follow me. It's one BIG reason why I have so many followers.
TrueTwit limits the accounts that use them.
I've checked these accounts several times. They almost always have fewer followers than they follow. In fact, a lot of people are sitting at following 2,001 people with only a 1,000 followers or so.
They are never getting out of that hole. And although I'm not saying it's all TrueTwit's fault, that's one big reason.
TrueTwit limits you so much that what good you get out of their service (and even that's debatable) is defeated in your lack of exposure and growth.
Should you care about growth on Twitter?
Unless you are the type of person who strictly uses Twitter for conversation with only a few dozen folks, you should care about growing your Twitter following.
If you are an author, think of Twitter as an alternate email list. The more people you have following you, the more people you can reach with news about your writing.
If you are a blogger, you should be using Twitter to drive traffic to your blog.
Your turn — what do you think of TrueTwit?
Leave a comment below. Even if you like the service. I won't bite your head off. I may bite, but not that hard. Who knows—you may have a good point I haven't thought of. (Doubtful, though)
