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Twitter Suggested Users – Today’s Studio 54 Velvet Rope

July 17, 2009 by Adam Sherk

One of the ways that higher profile Twitter accounts have built up large numbers of followers is by being included among the “suggested users” shown to users signing up for a new account:

Twitter recommended profiles for new users

Each new user has a group of 20 Twitter profiles suggested to them; one click of a button and they’re automatically following each one. It’s not the same 20 every time – Twitter randomly shuffles in 20 profiles from the group it has deemed worthy of recommendation.

Since new users aren’t always sure exactly how to use Twitter, this starter group can be quite helpful, so the profiles that are featured do end up getting a steady stream of new followers.

So the question is, how do you get on the list? I hear this question asked a lot now, with the most common answer being you have to know someone at Twitter. I also hear that Twitter is bombarded with requests to get on the list, so they don’t like people asking anymore.

All of this conjures up images of the infamous velvet rope at Studio 54. How cool do you have to be to get recommended by Twitter?

Studio 54 photograph by Peter L. Gould, nymag.com
Photograph by Peter L. Gould, nymag.com

It’s also important to emphasize that number of followers is a very weak metric for measuring success on Twitter. It’s understandable that companies focus on this, since it’s an easy figure to monitor. However things like level of engagement, referral traffic and links to content are much more worthwhile barometers of success.

UPDATE:
After posting this today I came across a post from Twitter explaining their selection criteria: Suggested Users

I also noticed that just last night on Search Engine Land Danny Sullivan published an extensive look at who’s on the list: Who Does Twitter Love? Breaking Down The Twitter Suggested Users List

Related posts:

  1. MLB Teams on Twitter and Facebook: Two-Year Growth Rates
  2. An Early Look at News Media Twitter Lists: Not Much Traction
  3. Diversified Twitter Strategies for News Sites
  4. The Most Popular MLB Teams on Twitter and Facebook
  5. Should Browsers Display Only Canonical URLs to Users?

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About Adam Sherk

Adam Sherk is an SEO and PR consultant helping publishers with digital strategy and audience development, including enterprise SEO, public relations and social media marketing.

Adam is VP SEO and Digital Strategy for Define Media Group.

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