The Power of a Twitter Handle - Yemi Olutayo

With the geometric increase in the number of new people that sign up for Twitter monthly, many are in need of positive guide so as to be relevant in the social media world. The ones that don’t get this guide usually end up constituting nuisance to our online environment. Naturally, everyone wants to be reckoned with; no one wants to be left out, irrespective of what we do, we always crave support and acceptance from fellow humans; even the terrorists and armed robbers wants to be friend with the media. Twitter happens to be one of those few platforms where such an attention is gotten; with the way it is structured, the longing for high number of human supporters (followers) can be disturbing if not properly managed.

True, Twitter is an online platform, we chat with people we don’t see, we interact with people we don’t know and all sorts; so there is the tendency of wanting to exhibit rotten, ill-mannered behavior; it’s like doing something where no one can see you but your actions can be seen. I used to be among those who say “Twitter is just an application”, we say stuffs like ‘’it is not real’’, ‘’ don’t take my tweets personal” and so on. It was difficult coming to the realization of how real it is; after numerous experiences I have had on it, personal and other wise. The first shock I got was when I heard of a man who was arrested and prosecuted in Asia over a tweet; I got over that one too soon, but the millions in cash people were making got me thinking, I have not recovered from this one yet. I looked at what I was dealing with and thought to myself this must be some real sh*t.

I don’t belong to that category of people who holds Twitter responsible for whatever outcome we see on it, nor do I fully agree with those who say there is a negative effect twitter has on its users; it’s just like blaming the innocent earth for the right and wrong doings of the humans in it. There is an adage in Yoruba that says ‘your name takes after you,’ so also, our twitter handle takes after us, it is who we are, it represents us. Twitter does not guarantee a change in character, in fact that is where the real you is mostly displayed; you don’t exhibit new characters on twitter, you display them; however there is the possibility of a change in character after plenty months of following the right/wrong people. In this age and stage of technology, one of the best ways in getting to know who someone really is by checking up on what they do online; I won’t necessarily call it stalking, it’s just checking up.

In real life, if you are responsible, hardworking, you tend to gather lot of followers without asking for them; most people including me prefer to associate with successful people, we want to be known with responsible people, we enjoy being around those who add value to our lives; that is how it is on twitter also; Before I follow people on Twitter, I scroll through their tweets; their short BIOs are not enough. Don’t envy those with large number of reasonable followers; they did something to get it; if there were no Twitter most of them will still have large followers naturally.

You are what you tweet, your tweets define you; they say a lot about you. Modern companies have started screening applicants based on their past online archive. It used to be drink wisely, now it is tweet wisely. The power of that Twitter handle lies in you. It is not the twitter handle itself that is powerful but the individual behind the twitter handle. The brain behind it is what people respect.

You want to generate large followers? It is very easy; generate them off twitter first. Read books, add value to people’s life; change their world with your words. Your worth and value should not change on twitter. They should remain the same (Only if they are worthwhile). If you are well respected off twitter, you should earn the same on twitter.

The power of your twitter handle lies in your hands; it is what you exhibit offline that will first follow you online.

Source: @yemiolutoye