Different people have different reasons for being on Twitter. Those reasons tend to shape why they might, or might not follow someone, or follow someone back. I want to use this page to make explicit what I’m doing, so that there are no surprises.

Why I’m on Twitter
I think Twitter is a terrific way for me to demonstrate my expertise to a market of potential business partners (clients, referral partners, co-conspirators, etc.) that is fairly quick and easy to do. It let’s people “get to know” me a little bit, and perhaps try before they buy.

I view my tweetstream as a curated display of the various interests that make up Brad Farris. So you are likely to see a heavy dose of information about small business leadership, some info about my passions outside of work (parenthood, the NFL, biking and spiritual issues) and hopefully the occasional belly laugh. I will also include items that might be of interest to all Chicagoans.

Who I Follow

Since this is my intention, my audience is primarily within 60 miles or so of Chicago (Anchor Advisors has a purposefully local focus) or has a lot to say about one of these topics. You are most likely to get a follow back from me if one of these things is true:

1. You have filled in the location field on Twitter and you live within 60 miles of Chicago
2. You are well known in the field of Small Business Leadership, the NFL, Christian Discipleship, or the NFL.
3. You are a friend or business partner of mine.
4. You are a CEO or founder of a creative services firm, or a Vistage member.

I rarely follow people who meet one or more of the following characteristics:

1. You don’t have a bio or location filled in on your twitter account, or haven’t uploaded a photo.
2. You are following four or five times more people than you have followers.
3. You have a thousand followers and 10 replies.
4. You indicated that you are an “expert” or “guru” in social media, Internet marketing, or have a “system” that I can buy.

If I have followed you I will most likely keep following you if one of these things is true:

1. You post interesting and relevant information.
2. You are consistently funny or entertaining.
3. You engage in conversation around the ideas or issues that you and I are tweeting.

I regularly unfollow people who:

1. Tweet the same things over and over.
2. Tweet mostly promotional material about them and their firm.

I’m hoping that by making this clear we can all enjoy a better twitter experience!

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Brad Farris is a small business advisor with Anchor Advisors, Ltd. in Chicago, Il. Since 2001 Anchor Advisors has been helping creative professional firms to grow, by helping them clarify their purpose, get the most from their people, keep their eye on key performance measures, and implement consistent processes.