The Top 5 Personalities Found on Twitter
People on twitter are just too much fun. Some of the people that I see and interact with just make me laugh myself silly at times…and at other times they make me want to smash my head into the wall.
The truth is that there is really a wide range of personality types floating around in the twitter-sphere. Some of them are obnoxious and some of them are really obnoxious. Although there are far more than five personalities found on Twitter, I’ve decided to sum up the vast majority of Twitter users into the following five categories.
The All-Knowing Guru
Twitter is flooded with Gurus. In their eyes, they are the go-to source for all knowledge related to their field of expertise. They know EVERYTHING about it and they can provide you with irrefutable advice on anything related to their subject matter.
Don’t question their advice. It is right….always.
Often these gurus are brand new to their respective niches but don’t let that disillusion you as to their level of expertise. They know exactly what they are talking about and they won’t stand to have you or anyone else challenge their authority on anything.
The Hyper-Motivational Life Coach
This tweeter’s sole existence is to inspire, motivate and transform the way that you live life. They want to fill you with passion. They want to put a smile on your face. They want to challenge you be better, stronger and faster.
You will hear absolutely nothing negative from this person. They will fill their time-line with inspirational quotes, cheerful greetings, and fun challenges.
The Autonomous Robot
This avid Twitter user pushes dozens, if not hundreds, of tweets per day through their time-line with only one small problem…they are all automatically generated. They are promoting links to their blog, website or product or they are filled with advertisements.
With as much spam as they’re putting out, they need to be careful not to be sued by Hormel Foods for copyright infringements.
Don’t bother sending them a message or a mention because they won’t notice it. They’re probably out on the lake fishing or in the gym playing basketball. The one place there not at…looking at their auto-generated twitter stream.
That’s what you’re doing…not them.
The Shameless Self-Promoter
This person has nothing to say to you. Well…nothing worth listening to. They have only one agenda on Twitter and that is to promote themselves. They are going to bombard you with links to their own site. They’re going to promote their own products. They’re going to praise themselves non-stop.
The Mind-Numbing Celebrity
For years, stalkers sought for ways to keep tabs on their favorite celebrities. They relied heavily on the paparazzi to keep them informed of the latest divorces, fights, and to find out who’s dating who.
And then came Twitter.
Now you can receive email alerts every time Paris Hilton thinks something is just so adorable. Don’t lie to me. I know you follow her. Just look at that smile.
Of course, you’re probably lowering your I.Q. every time you read one of these pop celebrities’ updates but if that’s your thing then go for it.
Conclusion
Now honestly stop in at the comments and tell me which category you fall into.
What’s that? You’re in all five?
Yeah…me too.

Thomas Sinfield said:
To be completely honest until a couple of months ago I was ashamedly and Autonomous Robot. I used a Twitter plugin that would send out a retweet of one of my posts every hour and that is about all I did.
However, I know that was definitely the wrong choice and now I am working had to win back the trust of my Twitter followers.
Right now, I would not put myself in any of those categories. I feel like I am just a regular person on Twitter just communicating and networking.
I can definitely see a couple of people that I follow in a lot of those personalities though!
Nicholas Cardot said:
That’s good that you recognize it and see it. You want to hear something funny? My tweet that announced this post was auto generated when the post was published? I have some tweets that go out automatically but I believe in the concept of “All things in moderation.”
If you can maintain a presence on Twitter that is personal and reaches out to individuals with real conversation then I think that it’s okay to have a self-promotional tweet once in a while or a auto generated one. Obviously if you get caught up in any of the groups above too much then you’re going to look like a total dirt bag. The key, in my opinion, is moderation. Don’t go overboard with scheduled tweets. Don’t go overboard with self-promotion.
What was it that finally turned you away from being an Autonomous Robot? What was it that made it click for you?
Thomas Sinfield said:
I also still have i think it is one blog post tweeted each day, but the one thing that made the change was actually on another of my blogs.
I had been using the auto Tweeter and had actually made a real tweet on this account in a couple of months and when I finally checked my replies I had one from a lady saying ,That last tweet was from a story 6 months ago – slow day hey?’
And it just made me realise that there really was not that much value in having an automated Twitter – the real value is in the relationships.
Nicholas Cardot said:
I completely understand that realization. It’s good that a subtle comment like that can wake you up to a greater way of interacting online.
Have you noticed a change in people’s responses since you started focusing on interacting and building relationships?
Thomas Sinfield said:
I have…but ever so slowly. It is easy to ruin a reputation, but takes a lot longer to regain it.
Now that I have been more active personally, the posts that I do promote of mine get a lot more RT’s.
Nicholas Cardot said:
That’s a principle that you can take to the bank. It’s incredibly true.
Relationships are a lot like bank accounts. You have to make positive deposits if you want to build of credibility.
What most people fail to realize, however, is that when they do something negative, it actually makes a withdrawal that is much larger than they actually think it is.
It’s just like any friendship. You have to treat your friends right day after day to build those relationships.
What’s your Twitter profile? I’d be happy to follow you. Let’s connect on there and keep our communication alive. What do you say?
Thomas Sinfield said:
Your bank analogy is so true! It really does just come back to the basics.
My Twitter is: @StandOutBlogger
Nicholas Cardot said:
Awesome. I’m following you now. Have you hear about our Blogger’s Lounge? We’d love to have you be a part of it.
http://www.sitesketch101.com/your-invitation-to-the-bloggers-lounge
Blog Angel a.k.a. Joella said:
Nice post, made me chuckle.
I think being a nice balance of all five is the best way to go. But achieving that balance is… well, a balancing act. I’m still working on it.
I’ll tell you a little secret though. I hate the “Hyper-motivational Life Coaches”. That much sunshine is bound to leave a nasty burn on your a$$.
I like a good quote as much as the next person, but reality is a mix of sun and cloud. Reality should be embraced if you really want to live a meaningful life. (Yes you can quote me.)
My Latest Blog Post: Followers On Twitter Find The Ones That Really Matter
Nicholas Cardot said:
That’s soooo funny how you put that. I love it. Have you had a bad experience with some uber-motivated person or something or are you just expressing to us that you’re having a bad case of the Mondays? Of course, I’m just joking around. I’m an incredibly highly motivated person myself, but I, like you, also understand that reality isn’t always a bed of roses. Sometimes we have to face hard realities, deal with issues, and then move forward.
Anyways, I’m glad that this post brought you a nice chuckle. Are there some other personalities that you could have thought of that should be added to this list?
Blog Angel a.k.a. Joella said:
Yes I had a bad experience and it scarred me for life! It just takes one bad apple to spoil your day.
I had one of those “motivational” types following me and spamming my Twitter with quotes and repeating several times a day: “Keep Smiling”. It was traumatic for me. No one is that happy all the time. She didn’t seem real.
I think she was a cybernetic life form programmed to perpetually positive. It just isn’t natural.
She gave me the “willies”. I unfollowed her after a few months of being bombarded by sunshine. I can’t afford that much sunscreeen!!!
I’ll be okay now. I just have to…
keep smiling????
And nope can’t think of any other personalities to add. You did a pretty good job of breaking it down.
My Latest Blog Post: Followers On Twitter Find The Ones That Really Matter
Nicholas Cardot said:
Ha ha. You’re too funny. That does sound like a traumatic experience. I hope that you were able to find another life coach to help walk you through the process of recovering from the first one.
P.S. You are my sunshine.
Susan Petracco said:
The images you picked to go along with these personalities is so spot-on! I’m rolling.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Good! Part way through the creation of this post, I decided to see if I could use a celebrity or a reference to a movie in every single image. I feel like I succeeded.
Tia Singh, Ms Awesome said:
Bwahahahah @ Blog Angel’s “I think she was a cybernetic life form programmed to perpetually positive.”!!!
You can do it, you can conquer the world, you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to, you’re the best, I believe in you, oh look, the pot of gold, woohoo! Hahahhaa ok I’ll stop
You forgot the “A** Kisser” – the ones who follow the big names around and keep telling them how AWESOME they are and how AMAZING they are. Oh wait, that sounds like me … umm…
Fun post NC! *giggle*
My Latest Blog Post: The Flawed Search for Courage
Nicholas Cardot said:
I love this because Tia is a coach. I love you, Tia. I’m glad that you enjoyed the post. You’re way too much fun.
Onibalusi Bamidele said:
Wow! Really great and Hilarious post,
The first one made me laugh the heck out of myself.
Those are really funny twitter characteristics.
Which one I am? Uhmm, 1, no! maybe 2, no! I am none of them
Thanks so much for the great post,
-Onibalusi
My Latest Blog Post: 6 Solid Blogging Tips For Beginners
Nicholas Cardot said:
I’m glad that it brought you a smile. Can you think of some people that you’ve met on twitter that fit the decriptions in this post?
Onibalusi Bamidele said:
Yeah Nick,
I have met lots of autonomous robots and they just spam the heck out of my account. My DM inbox is having lots of spam messages now and I am planning to unfollow everyone I am following on twitter and then follow only trusted people again.
Thanks a lot,
-Onibalusi
My Latest Blog Post: 6 Solid Blogging Tips For Beginners
Suzanne Vara said:
Nick
Great fun list. Too bad it is so real that we can poke fun at it.
The key is the balance. I do not auto tweet at all as I am just as happy as doing it in real time as I feel that if I put something out there and I was not here that I could be missing an opportunity to respond timely. Possibly an attention problem.
Too much of anything is well just too much.
@SuzanneVara
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Nicholas Cardot said:
That’s actually a good point about being able to respond in a timely manner.
I couldn’t agree more. That’s sooo true. Even honey can make you sick if you eat too much.
Can you think of anyone that you’ve followed on twitter that really fit one of these discriptions?
Suzanne Vara said:
Oh sure Nick, I have come across quite a few that fit this description. Actually to me the folks who auto dm new followers with a link are the shameless self promoters as they are there only to sell. They do not care about building a relationship. Just the sale.
My Latest Blog Post: Quick Tips for Listening in Social Media
Nicholas Cardot said:
Oh. I soooo agree with you. I’m so sick and tired of auto-dm’s. I just want to punch them in the face when they do that. It drives me crazy. Plus I end up missing out on the real people that send me DM’s because I don’t hardly ever look through my DM’s anymore. Waaay too many of them are just junk.
What do you think it will take to make it stop? What will it take to get it through people’s heads that they are spammers and they need to stop? Am I the only one that feels that way?
Suzanne Vara said:
I hate them. I too miss some real legit dms that I want to get. Seems like the more we tell people we hate them the more we get. I can average 50 to 75 a day sometimes. If I had the energy I would create a twitter list of them and call them out but that would give them attention and the idea is to not give them attention.
I think in their bio they should have to put WARNING: I AM AN AUTO DM’er.
My Latest Blog Post: Quick Tips for Listening in Social Media
Nicholas Cardot said:
Ha ha. They should be marked. They should have to wear a big scarlet letter as they wonder throughout the TwitterSphere. They should have to cover themselves and call out, “Unclean” as they walk throughout the streets.
Glenda Worrell said:
In addition to the All-Knowing Guru, there’s also the Know It All. Same annoying kid you knew in school — you just hear from him/her on Twitter. Come to think of it, things do not change online or off — same mix. Effective piece; made me read it, made me respond. Hey, you actually know how to DO this thing!
Nicholas Cardot said:
Ha ha. That’s perfect. It’s very true that how you are in real life is very much how you jump into Twitter and behave.
So how would you describe your personality on Twitter? Would you fit into one of these or would you have to invent a 6th?
Ed said:
Your site is really starting to be more like Mashable everyday or is just me? Not that’s a bad thing!
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Nicholas Cardot said:
I’m not sure how exactly to respond to that. I like Mashable so I guess that is a good thing.
Ron Leyba said:
I think I am a mix of them all. LOL. But most important of all, I am using twitter for what it is made of; communication.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Actually if you want to get literal about it, Twitter is designed to tell exactly what you’re doing right now. But I agree with you that we should be using it to communicate. Too many people are just completely worthless on Twitter and I hate following them. But there are also a lot of great people there.
Dennis Edell | Direct Sales Marketing said:
I’m the retweeter, which is not on your list.
With 763 tweets as of this writing, very few are not retweets of other posts.
While this may seem amazingly selfless to some, it actually is not really good. I know I need to get in there more personally soon.
My Latest Blog Post: I Figured it Out! Plus – I Need HELP Locating a Plugin
Nicholas Cardot said:
Yeah. You should just say hello or good morning some time. It really makes a difference.
Dennis Edell | Direct Sales Marketing said:
I do, just not a lot, yet. Besides, only a couple followers ever answer back. lol
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Nicholas Cardot said:
That’s not cool that they don’t answer you back. But don’t let that discourage you. Sometimes you just have to keep trying until you find the right person that you can connect with.
Tia Singh, Ms Awesome said:
I agree -if you’re always RTing, it looks like you have nothing to say.
People are following you for YOU and likely already follow those you RT. I keep my RT’s to 3-4 a day, conversational tweets are 85%, links about 10-12%.
My tips to get people to reply back?
Say something relevant to their work or tweets, RT with a note in front of the tweet like “valuable info” or something relevant to that tweet esp if it’s a link.
That shows people you’re not just blindly RTing but have actually read & recommended it —-> builds trust.
I love how aware you are that you need to be more personal, many people don’t even realise that
Well done & happy tweeting!
My Latest Blog Post: The Flawed Search for Courage
Bija Andrew Wright said:
I wonder if the “All-Knowing Guru” is mainly in the eye of the observer, or an effect of the 140 limitation. If someone asks a question in a tweet, and I have an answer for it, I have to cut to the heart of the answer to make it fit, accounting for the space taken up by the @username and perhaps a hashtag. When I’m trimming a reply tweet, often the first things to go are social phatics (“That’s a good question.” “Just a thought.”) and hedges (“In my admittedly limited experience” “You might try…”). So I’ve written something that’s meant to be helpful and conversational, but a reader might assume I’m being a bossy, opinionated know-it-all.
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Daniel said:
I have to agree with the above comment; the 140 char limit will undoubtedly make some people come off as, well, a tool.
As for the 5 personalities, I think I have been in one or all of them over time. My Twitter-sona has undergone some radical changes. As a techy-fan boy, I was on the Twitter bandwagon before it had the fourth wheel (and I’m not tooting my own horn here – 50 followers to-date with that account
), so I’ve had some time.
Currently sitting somewhere between self-promoter and auto-bot…sad as it may be.
ps – great post!
Nicholas Cardot said:
Thanks. I totally understand that the limitation can make us sound a certain way, but the truth is this post was just meant to bring us a good laugh as we stop and think about the different people we encounter and we reflect on the way that they present themselves to us. And the truth is, I’ve tried to be in nearly every category at one time or another also. I’m always learning, growing and maturing.
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Kiesha @ We Blog Better said:
Honestly,
I think I’m the motivational and inspirational and also the shameless self-promoter.
Could we add #6 – I’m also the one who mostly retweets awesome blog posts I’ve found across the web. You’ll rarely hear about what I’ve eaten for breakfast or what color it was later on in the day.
My Latest Blog Post: 5 Basics of a Good Singles Ministry
Nicholas Cardot said:
You’re also the celebrity. Don’t deny it. You know it’s true.
Kiesha @ We Blog Better said:
Okay, maybe a little bit. That reminds me of that commercial where the guy is sitting in his cubicle, the he logs on the internet and suddenly he’s on the red carpet with Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights” playing in the background – yeah, I think that’s me.
My Latest Blog Post: 5 Basics of a Good Singles Ministry
Nicholas Cardot said:
Well I just want you to know that every time you come over and visit us at Site Sketch 101, I feel like I’m talking to a celebrity. I’ll always be happy to roll our the red carpet for you. How does that sound?
Kiesha @ We Blog Better said:
LOL!! Sounds good to me! Oh dear, I think I see paparazzi hiding in the bushes…
My Latest Blog Post: 5 Basics of a Good Singles Ministry
Nicholas Cardot said:
Ha ha. No. That’s just me.
Kiesha @ We Blog Better said:
LOL! Nick, you’re a hoot! Thanks for the laugh.
My Latest Blog Post: 5 Basics of a Good Singles Ministry
Nicholas Cardot said:
So if I get a suite at a hotel would that make it the HootSuite?
Patrick@Reverse Phone Lookup said:
I do not think that I fall in any of the above category.Its important to draw your own boundaries so that people respect you,on social networking websites.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
That’s good. Boundaries are great and it’s also great to just be yourself. What is your twitter ID. Let’s connect.
Reza Winandar said:
The “tweeting every 1 minute” person, that’s what Indonesian people look alike.
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Buy PHP Books said:
‘The All Knowing Guru’ and ‘Shameless Self Promoter’ are the most common ones.I think that you should build your community around your niche and promote yourself (not over promote).In this way you learn new things you never knew and at the same time you can also promote yourself or your product.
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Mahendra said:
Nicholas I must say that this was completely unique and very very interesting post I liked it very much
Nicholas Cardot said:
Thanks, Mahendra. I’m glad to hear that.