This is Twitter Talk, but it can apply to most social media platforms.

The number of connections you have in your social media portfolio matters.

Except when it doesn’t.

Confused?

Each of us have our own reasons for being connected.

Some are connected to a handful of people that you also have met face to face.

The other extreme are those who are list builders whose objective is to build the biggest, fattest, list possible and pretend that gives them power.

I play in the middle ground.

Every time I get a new follower on Twitter, I take a look at their profile and check them out before deciding what to do next.

If they look spammy, and I hope you know what that looks like, then I don’t follow back.

If I believe they are a genuine person or organization, I will likely reciprocate, unless all of their tweets are in a foreign language.

I also place everyone on one or more lists to help me keep them organized.

You can try this method if you want, it has worked pretty well for me.

But what about those who follow you, and they seem genuine, but you’re not sure why they are following you?

Double check.

Saturday I received a notification in my email about a new follower.

I looked at his profile, like I always do.

In a matter of 30 minutes or less, he followed me then unfollowed me?!!?

This is what my friend Kevin Mullett calls a Me Monster.

He’s playing a game to build up his list of followers and then ditching them faster than I can get a pizza delivered.

Say, If you are in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area Wednesday morning, this is the topic of our Social Media Breakfast.

I’m not sure how many tickets will still be available when you read this, but grab them if there are any left.

Check out the details here:  http://smbfw012.eventbrite.com