‘Old Skool’ vs. Direct: ReTweet Me, Please  July 16th, 2010

I like to think of myself as a social media geek. From social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn, to social games and virtual worlds (a little less interesting to me, but I have a few friends who can barely manage to tear themselves away from their Café World accounts), and social publishing sites like Blogger and Wordpress — Web 2.0 has it all. But most of all, I love Twitter. I am a Tweep.  My friends complain that Twitter, “Is the same as Facebook statuses.  And more people are on Facebook.”   While the latter may be true (for now — Twitter reported a 1,382 percent growth rate in the span of just one year) Twitter is so much more than Facebook updates.

Trending topics, lists, Twitter clients, direct messages, “@ replies”, celebrities (something Facebook can only provide through Fan Pages), and ReTweets — the list of Twitter advantages goes on and on. While I love them all, I would like to focus in on one in particular: ReTweets.

What is a ReTweet?

For those not familiar with Twitter, a ReTweet is the act of taking someone’s Tweet and re-broadcasting it through your own feed, with attribution. There are two ways to ReTweet (RT) content:

  • “Old skool” RT: This option allows you to comment on the original post before re-posting it to your followers (must use “RT” then @reply to count as a ReTweet). 

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  • Direct ReTweets: This is an automatic ReTweet feature created by Twitter (after “old skool” ReTweeting was already a popular trend) that lets users click on a ReTweet icon on the original Tweet.  This feature also shows how many other Twitter users ReTweeted the same post.

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    Which style of ReTweeting is best?

    These two styles are the fundamentals of ReTweeting, and also the subject of disagreement between “old skool” RT fans and those who prefer the new direct ReTweets. I love to ReTweet, and I do it quite frequently. The style of ReTweet I use is a conscious choice based on certain considerations: who am I  ReTweeting, am I adding to the post, who do I  want to read the ReTweet? 

    If I am ReTweeting a distinguished news source or a thought leader, I usually use the direct style ReTweet for two reasons: I like the direct ReTweet icon, and I want to keep the post in its original form since Tweeps are more likely to read what the credible source has to say than my satirical comments.  However, if I am ReTweeting a friend or colleague, I usually want to add my opinion before re-posting it to my followers.  Something to consider: are your followers more likely to read the ReTweet if they see your avatar, or picture icon, next to the post (using old skool  RT) or if they see the avatar of the original tweeter (via direct style)? 

    A very unscientific poll of @TogoRun’s followers

    When TogoRun took a poll of ReTweet preferences, we found that the majority of respondents prefer the direct ReTweet function. . Said Twitter user Bryce Laumann, “[direct ReTweets are] easier to use and [I] don’t have to remember someone’s username.” (For an old-skool ReTweet you have to type in the original Tweet source).  Although direct ReTweets won in this poll, old-skool RT fans were more vocal about their choice. One user complained, “Don’t think I like the twitter Beta ‘Retweet’ feature- can’t comment on the tweet and I like the RT at the beginning, qualifies it from begin.” Another user expanded on this last idea: “RT makes it more clear at-a-glance that it’s a retweet.”

    Twitter “clients,” –  third-party apps  that help users  navigate and update their  Twitter accounts from a desktop  computer, mobile phone and even iPad, give users the option of choosing the ReTweet  style they  prefer. Clients such as Tweetmeme and Echofon let users choose old-skool or direct ReTweet styles with every ReTweet.  Seesmic and Hootsuite make users choose an  option when they  first sign up.  This is not popular, as preferences change depending on the post. One disgruntled Hootsuite user complained in a post titled, ‘Allow us to choose which type of retweet on the fly rather than in settings,’  “It’s a pain having to go into Preferences each time.”

    The ReTweet Effect

    ReTweeting is a bit like the telephone game that we all played in the sixth grade; you pass along a message until it keeps spreading.  Same idea goes for Tweets: the more people spreading the message the better.  Below is an example of what I like to call the ReTweet Effect, the process of how ReTweeting can spread your message beyond your followers to the masses.

     

     

    The main point of ReTweeting is to spread a message.  It doesn’t matter what style you choose to use or whether you have 5 followers or 5.2 million (like Ashton Kutcher): just one ReTweet can have a multiplier effect far beyond your original circle.