The Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog

Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing



This blog post is meant to serve as an informative blurb about the limits Twitter has placed on user activity. Twitter places limits on the types of actions a user can perform on any given day as a way to monitor for suspicious activity. Twitter notifies users when they are approaching a certain limit, or once the limit has been reached, and some of these limits include:

• - 1,000 total updates per day, on any and all devices
• - 250 total direct messages per day, on any and devices
• - 100 API requests per hour
• - Maximum number of follow attempts in a day

The first limit in this list seemed rather strange to me because, if my math is right, 1,000 updates per day would mean that in a 24 hour period, the user is updating over 41 times per hour! This seems like a rather loose limit because, honestly, who needs to update their Twitter status every 60 seconds? What could someone possibly have to say that is so unique and interesting every minute of the day?

Twitter also implemented limits on the number of followers a user can have, and it largely has to deal with the discrepancy between the number of followers a user has, and the number of people they are following. According to Twitter:

“Follow limits are based on several things, one of which is our belief in a person’s good standing and intention. The behind-the-scenes portion of follow limiting varies by account, relationship, and changes over time. Based on current behavior in the Twitter community, we’ve concluded that this is both fair and reasonable. While we figure out what works best for everyone, the limits may change occasionally, but this is the nucleus and future limits will be based upon the success of these.”

To learn more about Twitter limits, ethics and best practices, check out their support page here or if you’d like to discuss, Tweet me @Brad_Wellman on Twitter.

Brad Wellman
Spyder Trap Online Marketing

Many of you Minnesota tech junkies have likely read his insightful and informative columns in the Minneapolis St. Paul Pioneer Press. In his new book, Julio Ojeda-Zapata examines the social media micro blogging site Twitter and the pros and cons to it’s business application. I first met Julio after presenting his new book “Twitter Means Business – How Micro Blogging Can Help or Hurt Your Company,” at a Social Media Club meeting. Julio and I recently met up to discuss Social Media and to learn a bit more about his book and his findings.

What I found fascinating was simply how many companies Julio was able to touch base with and interview. From Zappos to Comcast, and even Whole Foods, companies both large and small are quickly finding ways to use social media within their marketing and communication mix. As Julio examines in his book, many firms have adapted Twitter as a viable channel to market to, and even better yet communicate with, consumers. Julio notes that brands who successfully adapt Twitter are those who engage in communication first; their brand simply comes along for the ride.

Chapters of Twitter Means Business include: “Twitter: Why you should care” ; “Five Companies Using Twitter” ; “Still More Firms on Twitter” ; “Twitter and Public Relations” ; “The Twitter Experts Weigh In” ; “Twitter Tips, Tricks and Tools.”

To learn more about his book or to place an order, visit http://twitin.biz/ or Tweet me at @MikeRynchek and I can get you pointed in the right direction.