After being on Twitter for some time, most people quickly discover that there are several different types of Twitterer. I thought it would be fun to categorize these users into complete arbitrary groups for those that are having trouble placing them.

The Burnout

Like a shooting star, this Twitterer started with a flurry and ended with a whimper. After being so enamored with the site upon joining and tweeting multiple times throughout the day, this user has since moven on to greener pastures. It is often hard to discover this Twitterer until you do a search for areas of interest. You will then see the tell-tale sign of a burnout: Time/Date of last tweet….sometime in 2007, 2008, or 2009.

The Oversharer

From breaking up with their partner multiple times per week to letting us know about every meal or the latest drama at work, this Twitterer is prolific in his/her ability to tweet about the most minute details of their life. Despite the ability to quickly share each and every thought in his/her head, readers of these tweets are either laughing out loud or feeling really uncomfortable….almost like unintentionally walking in on someone using the bathroom.

The Politician

Shaking hands and kissing babies, this Twitterer recognizes that you have to give to get. Generous in their support and recognition but lacking key details, you know there is something about this person that doesn’t quite seem right. But they are so personable and helpful that you love them anyway. Unfortunately, you are not quite sure what office they are running for. At some point, you know they are going to ask for a favor to capitalize on all their goodwill.

Mr. / Ms. Roboto

Auto Follow, Auto DM, Auto Quotes, Auto UnFollow, Auto Reply, Auto RT. If you’ve used Twitter for any length of time, you have had multiple opportunities to interact with a robot. These Twitterers are so enamored with the platform that they have completely automated ever aspect of it. Unfortunately, most folks eventually get pretty tired of following a robot.

The Shameless Promoter

Its all about me for this Twitterer; my company news, my quotes of the day, my webinars, my new blog posting, my new YouTube video and my job postings. Rarely does this Twtitterer tweet about anything but themselves. There tweets are typically signed not with a searchable #hashtag, but please RT. This basically means please let me use your network to promote me so I can increase the spotlight on myself. No thank you. These Twitterers are typically shameless in their self promotion, so I’m just as shameless in my blocking.

The Global Citizen

This Twitterer gets it…or at least as much as can be gotten about this tool. They work hard to uncover and share content that is relevant to their network. When they have a point of view on a question posed, they respond. When they see an awesome tweet from their network, they don’t hijack it for themselves but RT to their followers. Each time they EARN a new follower, they send a targeted DM thanking them for following. Each time, they add a new follower they organize them into one a list so they can make sure to keep track of the different areas of interest.

The main difference between The Global Citizen and other Twitterers is they have taken the time to learn all that they can about how to engage using this tool. As I’m sure you can tell by now, most people in the Twitterverse would love to follow The Global Citizen.

-Omowale Casselle (@mysensay)

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About the Author: Omowale Casselle is the co-founder and CEO of mySenSay, a social recruiting community that connects college students and corporations.

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