One of the most interesting social aspects of any social media outlet is the progression from almost no users to a bazillion users. It goes something like this:

1. New social media outlet launches.
2. Users try to figure out what it is, they’re just messing about. Hey, fun.
3. Users bring their friends because they want to mess about with others, too.
4. Users start changing the original intent of the outlet, according to their needs and how they think.
5. If it’s truly useful or just plain awesome, new users arrive in droves and start asking what is this thing all about and how do you use it?
6. People start creating rules for how it’s “supposed to work.”
7. Everyone claims to know the answer when the reality is… there is no answer. Everybody is making it up as they go.

Back in December I wrote a post about Twitter Rules.

My view hasn’t changed (except that now I don’t do the auto-DM anymore by personal choice). It’s interesting that since then the amount of people who claim to know the correct, “approved” way of being active on Twitter have multiplied. Use Twitter for three days and you’re an expert. I love the internet.

If you’re new to Twitter, there are some great blogs that will hold your hand through the basics and give you suggestions about how to use it for various purposes. That’s awesome. People sharing their experience and tips is what good social media (and the internet) is perfect for.

Then there are the Rules. Try not to break them, or you will be cast into social media limbo forever without friends or clients.

“It’s not about the numbers.”

“It’s about the numbers.”

“You can’t possibly interact with 10,000 followers in a meaningful way.”

“I follow everyone who follows me.”

“I hate the auto DM.”

“Auto DMing won me three projects!”

Yowza. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? How can you follow twitter rules that change every other tweet? Who’s writing the rule book?

Guy Kawasaki says that it is about the numbers if you’re marketing. Seth Godin doesn’t use Twitter, at which some people gasp in awe and then start rethinking their entire existence (should I shave my head, too? Maybe that will bring me business. I just don’t know…. is it my sweater? My e-mail app?).

Seth Godin doesn’t watch television, either. Ready to throw out your set? Hmm, thought not.

What does it all mean? How can you keep track of all the changes in the unofficial Twitter rule book?

Duh, you can’t.

Before Twitter, before Facebook, before e-mail, before “authenticity” became a 2.0 buzz word, before telephones, the way to market your product or become part of a community was exactly the same as it is now.

Be true to yourself. Be yourself. Get to know people. Support them. Respond to them. Learn from them. Help them with your product or service if it’s relevant to them.

Rules are meant to be broken by those who understand where they came from. The people who desperately try to seek out and adhere to the latest rules will consistently be unfocused and reeling from all the contradictions.

Move on. Do your thing. Keep it goin’. Don’t sweat the rules so much, k?

David Billings is an illustrator, animator, and writer. He is the head dude, lead rule-breaker, and creative director of Sparky Firepants Images.

Sparky Firepants Images is focused on creating unique and wacky images that help kids have fun while they learn new stuff. A unique perspective on children’s publishing and the business of illustration can be found on his blog, Art is Work.

David lives with his wife and children on an alpaca farm near beautiful Mount Hood, Oregon.. No, they don’t really smell that bad. The alpacas, that is. The family typically smells very nice. They don’t own a television but embrace the internet via satellite.