ANALYZE THIS!

As many of you know, I've been Tweeting now for about eight months. I've learned a lot about how valuable Twitter is for me, but I haven't really known how to figure out whether my Tweets are valuable to anyone else. I know that I get responses and retweets more frequently now, but I still have a fairly short list of followers (about 220 at last count; they come and go like Glenda the Good Witch"). What can I do to make my Tweets more valuable and interesting to others? How do I expand my "sphere of influence" on Twitter?

Take heart, buds. Now I have some answers to those questions. I've discovered a site called Twitalyzer.

Twitalyzer analyzes your Twitter performance against five key measures: influence, signal, generosity, velocity and clout. As I read about each of these categories, it became clear to me that there's a lot more to Twitter than is apparent at first glance. I'll give you a quick summary, and you'll see what I mean.

The first measurement is influence, and for the most part it's pretty obvious. Twitalyzer gives you a score based on the number of followers you have, how many times your Tweets are retweeted (a sign that others find them of value), how many tweets you post in a day or week, how often you retweet the messages of others. My score is pretty low so far, although it's improved in recent weeks as I've gained confidence in the Twitter arena (would that be the Twitterena??)

Second, Twitalyzer measures "signal." This is the substance of your tweets. Although many people think Twitter is nothing more than a series of "I'm brushing my teeth now" messages, the fact is that the majority of tweets are much more substantive than that. The more you provide links to useful information, references to other Tweeps (including their @ names), retweet the meaningful posts of others, and comment on current topics, usually identified by hashtags, the higher your "signal" score is. My performance has been rated "astonishingly high" in this category. So we know that I'm putting out lots of good stuff, but not many people are seeing it yet.

The third key area is generosity. I think it's cool that Twitter performance is judged in part by how generous you are in retweeting the posts of others. Being retweeted makes a person feel that what they have to offer is of value, and giving that kind of reinforcement freely makes you a very effective Tweep.

Velocity, measurement #4, is simply the frequency of your tweets, measured against a "theoretical maximum" of 1500 tweets per week. Since I'm now averaging between 100 and 150 tweets per week, my velocity score is quite low. I think this is directly linked to confidence and understanding of how Twitter works; the more you feel comfortable in this environment, the more frequently you're inclined to participate. (I can't imagine what it would take to get me up to 1500 tweets a week.)

The last area is clout, which is measured by the number of times other people refer to you in their tweets. If they retweet your posts or mention your name, that enhances your clout score. Mine is still very low, but it has increased in the last month, a sign that others are starting to notice some of what I have to say.

Everyone has a different purpose when they engage in social media, and Tweeps are no exception. Some are in it to have fun and meet people; others are deadly serious about promoting their products and boosting the public profile of their businesses. I'm somewhere in the middle--having fun, growing my network, looking to increase my own visibility, and at the same time, learning how to use these tools effectively so I can advise my clients.

The best thing of all about Twitalyzer is that it's like a blueprint for becoming a more influential Tweep. It's all there in black and what. Read what it takes to become influential, and then do what it says. You'll do great!