Social networking is all about meeting new people and connecting with folks in a variety of platforms, right? So when is it OK to say no? When is it appropriate, or even prudent, to block a Twitter follower? As a reformed dysfunctional pleaser, I often worry about blocking someone or denying a friend request. Thankfully, those days are gone!

Guilt Free Twitter Blocking
Spammers. First email spam, now Twitter spam. These resourceful yet annoying people follow hundreds, thousands and even hundreds of thousands of people with the hopes of driving traffic to their websites. Think about it – if you’re checking out new followers, you typically click on their website links, right? Before automatically clicking on websites, read the bios and check out the tweets. If it looks like spam and smells like spam, it probably is. If any part of you thinks it’s spam, don’t even bother with the website. Block them. If you’re not sure, check it out and if you discover it’s spam, block them! Don’t retweet their @names nor pass along their URLs. The more times they’re blocked, the more likely their accounts will be closed…eventually.

Leisure Suit Larry. You know the guy. The first thing he does is come to your pool party and pee in your pool. He talks only about himself and never contributes anything of value to the conversation. He pushes only his stuff (blog posts, websites, product) and that’s that. Block away my friend. No remorse.

Party Babe. I’ve recently been intentional about blocking sex pistols and party girls. While those tweets may have entertainment value for some – not so much for me. I’m just sayin’. If the avatar looks like an audition headshot (or more) for Playboy, I’m pretty much going to block her. No worries.

The Perp. I was once followed by a guy whose entire following was made up of young, beautiful women/girls. Don’t get me wrong; I was flattered to be in the company of so many young beauties. Somehow, however, images of him reading my tweets in some dark room filled with cigarette smoke and the smell of days-old alcohol was enough for me to block him right away.

Sailor Mouth. My impressionable children sometimes watch me Twitter. I chose not to expose them to unnecessary profanity. Additionally, I do social networking presentations for groups (some of which are faith based) and don’t want to offend any of my own audience participants. I’m not so worried about an occasional word here or there. I’m talking consistent and crude. Reminds me of something I once heard, “people who curse do so because they have a limited vocabulary.”

Other Social Networking Invitations
I’m not sure my friending strategy is as well thought on LinkedIn, Plaxo, or Facebook. For the most part, those are more static platforms. The value they provide is different as is my level of engagement with each.

For another perspective, read Louis Gray’s recent post - As I Get Older, Some “Friending” Gets Creepier.

So now I’m curious.
Have you thought intentionally about who you allow to follow you on Twitter or friend you on other platforms? What’s your conclusion? Have you ever posted your policy? If so, share the link here. Keep the conversation going.