Aaron Hoos

CONFESSION TIME
I used to think that I should follow fewer people on Twitter than the number of people who follow me. When I had 100 followers, I felt that I could follow up to 100. When I had 1000 followers, I felt that I could follow up to 1000. The reason? I didn’t want to be a loser.

3 TYPES OF TWITTER USERS
I had divided Twitter users up into three groups based on their ratio between the people they follow and their followers:

• The snobs: These people follow like 5 people but have hundreds of thousands of followers. Well, that might be overstating it a bit, but the ratio is generally at least 1 followed to 10 (or more) followers.
• The average: These people have approximately equal followers; generally a ratio of 1-to-1 (somewhere thereabouts).
• The losers: These people follow lots of people but aren’t followed by nearly as many. Their ratio could be 2-to-1 or 5-to-1.

I wanted to be average. I knew I would never be popular enough to be a snob and didn’t want to be a loser by coming across as a desperate follower. (That sounds a lot like high school, actually, and that’s a depressing thought). I know I’m not alone in this thinking; I’ve heard the “Twitter snob” reference on more than one occasion. And there are lots of apps and resources that talk about getting people to follow you.

I CHANGED MY THINKING
Recently I changed my mind on this issue. The catalyst was my review of my LinkedIn account. On LinkedIn, I’ve indicated that I am an open networker (that’s the “LION” acronym you often see), which basically says that I accept all invitations from others.

I made the change in LinkedIn because I’m a writer. I write more effectively when I’m listening to other people. I want my writing to be relevant, interesting, and to transcend traditional thinking to teach people new things. In order to do that, I need to be widely connected and I need to listen to a lot of people, both inside and outside of my target markets. It made sense to adopt that “widely connected” mindset in LinkedIn and I’ve recently realized it makes sense to adopt the same mindset in Twitter.

ARE YOU LISTENING?
It applies to you, too. I don’t think you need to be a writer for this to be a relevant truth. We all benefit more when we listen: We remain relevant; we build up our Rolodexes; we hear problems and needs; we break down barriers and transcend traditional thinking.

It’s valuable to listen… and that’s why I’m joining the losers by following more people on Twitter.

To say it’s been an interesting week would be an understatement.

On Wednesday, I was offered a writing gig that could potentially change the face of my business. It was full-time, on-site, with a client that could unlock numerous doors for the future.

On Thursday, my grandfather passed away. We were very close: He loved adventure and was gambler and moonshiner. So that should give you an idea of the kind of character he was. He taught me to play poker and chess.

And today (Friday), is my birthday. My 35th, if you’re wondering.

These events have compelled me to pause and think about my life. What am I doing? Where am I headed? What should I do more and what should I discard in my life? That kind of thing.

While the things I’ve been reflecting on aren’t new to me or to anyone who knows me, it’s nice to revisit them from time to time to make sure that what you believe still holds true.

I love what I do. My clients are awesome. The topics I get to write about are compelling. And the freedom and fulfillment I get from this work is unbelievable. I can’t see myself trading it for an on-site, year-long project. Although the project offered was certainly compelling, I would be giving up too much. I needed to think seriously about it, since it had the potential to be a significant opportunity, but I would be giving up too much.

And thinking beyond my career, I have a very fortunate life. It hasn’t always been easy, and I’ve worked insanely hard to get where I am today, but I’ve been rewarded with great family and friends and good health. Every day I have plenty of reasons to smile.

What more could anyone ask for?

Google holds “authors at Google” talks and in this hour-long video Dan Roam talks about how we can solve problems by drawing pictures. I love (and own) his book, and I recommend it to everyone.

Watch this video — Yeah, it’s an hour long so you should watch it over lunch.