Controversial Tool on Twitter Builds Your Twitter Following Fast (Potentially)--My Thoughts About TwitterGetter--Proceed with Caution
Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 09:15AM 
Below I wrote about Tweeter Getter and suggested you proceed with caution. Now I'm a bit more enthusiastic about the potential. We need to be mindful of some things, but here's an updated article I've written about Tweeter Getter.
An Email I Sent Earlier Today...
This is very controversial tool on Twitter. I've hesitated to share it but after studying the debate I've decided to let you know about it. This is half social experiment and the other half exciting...
But for some it's a really bad taste in their mouth--I'll explain.
But First, Why I Think This is Exciting To Be Able to Watch Close Up (since it just launched yesterday and the buzz, controvery and 'list building effect' has only just started)...
An opportunity like this is rare (viral opportunity on a monster social site that's growing in high gear)... it is doubtful that something like this will be available again for Twitter and the buzz will end quickly.
This tool certainly does have the potential to give you a short cut to building your Twitter follower list. The faster you take action (takes about 30 seconds) the bigger it can grow your list. See it at: http://www.tweetergetter.com/mikeklingler But review the rest of this email before deciding to use it.
The controversy: Promoting this link is considered by some on Twitter to be quite annoying. If you go to search.twitter.com and type in tweetergetter you will be able to read from all the people who hate it (and some who like it).
I've been watching this all night and, indeed, many of those who used the tool and promoted it have very fast growing Twitter followers. Even some newbie types have been able to see growth with it. So from that standpoint it does work (but I am sure not for long). The problem is that many 'non marketers' do not believe in short cuts to building a list or following.
On the other end you have people who love the power of exponentialism (usually marketers looking for a short cut). Some of the marketers with big reputations won't promote it because they are rightfully afraid of how that will be perceived by 'non marketers' or other 'successful' marketers who frown on short cuts.
Taking Short Cuts... I don't like short cuts because I don't believe they typically work. I have a feeling that this will work; however, for those that move on it before the buzz ends. Many people will say that you should NOT use this tool because you should build your Friends list the "old fashion way..." one follower at a time providing value. While I agree you should emphasize value in your approach and I understand why some consider a tool like this annoying (to see marketer types come in and build huge following lists quickly with a gadget)---the reality is that many of the big name reputable marketers applied these kinds of viral strategies and were applauded for it. It is a risk of reputation if you promote this.
I, for now, have decided to share it and use it as a social experiment. It is possible that the tool may be shut down by Twitter (but there is no way they will penalize all who use it). It is just as possible that they don't care about this tool and may even be quite curious themselves to watch this unfold. If you decide to use this tool, I suggest you don't share it much on your Twitter--focus on sharing it through other channels and discuss the pros and cons as I have to the best of your ability.
Play at your own risk. Partners in success, Mike Klingler See it at:
http://www.tweetergetter.com/mikeklingler P.S. Note this is a Leveraging the News Event you may consider reporting on and following even if you don't use the tool yourself.
Mike Klingler
How I'm Promoting TwitterGetter, what I've seen so far... and why I'm doing it despite the controversy.
There are places out there on the net where marketers hang out. These are the kind of marketers that often have little money but they have desire. Therefor, they love viral marketing and what mainstream may call pyramid tactics (you know, you refer a few who refer a few and so on). Well, people who love that exponential effect hang out on Traffic Exchanges.
They would love this little Twitter program. Remember to market to your target audience right? If a lot of people on Twitter don't appreciate the viral tool... why not market it to people who would?
Then it's value.
So... if you're in Renegade Professional or Renegade University, you know about one of these Traffic Exchanges and you likely already have an account set up... it's called Traffic Swarm.
Most people think these don't work... well, they can. But you have to be marketing the right thing at the right time. Once something that can be successfully marketed online sweeps through for a while, these Traffic Exchanges aren't a good place to be... they get saturated fast. However, if you want to promote a viral thing as buzzy as this Twitter Building Tool, a good place to do it right now would be on Traffic Swarm
I went in this morning and changed all my ads over to the Twitter Tool... people there will like it because this is where the viral marketing enthusiasts hang out. And they're people too... interesting in business, they can make good prospects if you're marketing to business minded people.
My Twitter is growing faster than ever so the move is working so far. Time will tell how it all plays out but overall it's sort of fun to watch.
By they way, for those not familiar with Taffic Swarm and Traffic Exchanges, these allow you to surf the web and accrue credits which allow you to advertise to others surfing the web... I wouldn't spend too many hours or days in there. I set my ads up and left. Done. I decided to buy a little credits to use so I don't have to surf but back in the day when $200 was a lot of money I used those to surf and get exposure... and sometimes, such as in a case like this, it did work.
I'll keep you posted on the results and news associated with this Twitter Builder tool. It could get interesting. It could just die down. It could be a huge raging buzz. It has the potential to be any of those.
Mike Klingler
Just found a video by Jim Hickey about his thoughts on Tweeter Getter. I've been watching Jim on video for a while and like his style of communicting. I also like that he somewhat challenged me in this video about a seemingly conflicting message of promoting TweeterGetter while teaching 'providing value' as an emphasis in my training. This makes for an interesting discussion. See video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrURqXGNjf8&feature=channel_page
In response to Jim's question posed in his video about how you can be providing value on Twitter if you're growing your list with Tweeter Getter:
As my Twitter List grows through the Tweeter Getter tool (and it is growing) I will continue to provide value to that growing list along with everyone else on the list. Since most, if not all, of the people who use such a tool are marketers or business minded, this is my target audience who are quite open to the types of training and products/services I offer. As I continue to use Twitter to engage my Twitter followers in conversations and dialogue that interests them, and as I continue to share valuable content through Twitter, I also continue to use Twitter as it was intended... it's just now I am able to do so with a bigger list.
Going forward, when you see things like this come up (it will be less and less as the old West of the Internet fades... and these tools are completely not allowed) you will get to decide if and how you use them. I stay open to things like this though I rarely see use in them. With this particular tool, it seems potentially promising and it is growing my list. But you have to decide for yourself how and when to use such things. If/when you do ever recommend such things, I suggest you do so by transparently discussing the pros and cons as you'll notice I had done, rather than just blatently promoting about it. That way it is still value based in nature.
Reader Comments (1)
That is sound advise, sometimes we get side tracked by the quick and easy way.