Twitterank and TwitterGrader: Real Credibility or Shallow Ego Boosts?

by Nancy Marmolejo on November 17, 2008

in Twitter Marketing

Lately, everyone on Twitter is Tweeting about their Twitter Rank or their Twitter Grade as if these numbers suddenly usher them into an inner circle. Not everyone is buying the credibility of ranking sites like these. Blogger Adam Ostrow recently called Twitterank into question when rumors came about that Twitterank was nothing more than a phishing site.

Using an algorithm described by its creator as “vewy, vewy secwet” based (I suppose) on your number of followers, how many you’re following, how many Tweets you send out, and perhaps your shoe size, these sites give you a grade to show you how cool you are in the Twitter world.

I’m tempted to sing the glories of sites like these because I score very high. In fact, I rank #1 for Elite Southern California Tweeters (considering SoCal has millions of people and a high number of Tweeps, that is pretty darn cool.)

My beef with ranking sites is that they aren’t focused on quality, simply on numbers. I’ve seen people with extremely high rankings or making Top 10 lists, etc, who aren’t really doing anything worthwhile. Many of these rankings are simply ego boosts. At the end of the day, it’s about quality (in my opinion), your contribution to the Twitterverse, your ability to authentically connect with others, and your credibility. No algorithm is going to give you that, only real person-to-person connecting.

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  • Ryo:

    I really appreciate your stopping by and clarifying what Twitterank is all about. My biggest concern is over the number of people on Twitter going all ga-ga over their numbers and rankings. As long as we don't forget about quality, we're on the same page.

    :-)
    Nancy
  • > your number of followers, how many you’re following, how many Tweets you send out, and perhaps your shoe size

    Actually, twitterank uses none of those numbers. You can read more about the algorithm here:

    http://blogs.zdnet.com/collaboration/?p=164

    >My beef with ranking sites is that they aren’t focused on quality, simply on numbers.

    I agree with you, and that's why I don't use the numbers you mentioned. Because Twitterank is based on how other people interact with you through tweets, I'm hoping it'll capture a little more of the social dynamics that aren't so obvious.

    Having said that, the algorithm is constantly evolving (due to its recursive nature, as well as through my tinkering with the algorithm itself), so we'll see how things go.
  • Lisa Almeida
    Wise words from the Diva of Visibility! It brings to mind the question, "If I'm gonna strive to make myself visible, what do I want to be seen for and connected with once I pull it off?"

    Tweeting just for the sake of chasing a high rank is a lot like streaking at the Super Bowl - you'll get noticed by a lot of people alright...but then what?

    In your case, Nancy, I think you have earned the right to take a humble bow for scoring high and contributing well :)
  • It's fun and nothing more. Sure you may have a strong network but that does not mean that they WILL retweet what you tweet. So it is all theoretical.

    http://www.twitter.com/bloggeries

    <abbr>Bloggeriess last blog post..Start a Thread? Join the MINORITY!?</abbr>
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