Is this the rudest thing you can do on Twitter?

I had a guy the other day send me an @reply on Twitter at my ew4n account. Here’s what it said:

@Ew4n Unfollowing.

I am continually mystified and delighted at the manner in which people use Twitter, I really am.

If you’re viewing my output on to Twitter as utter arse, there’s an unfollow button.

I am certainly annoyed when people send total bollocks into my Twitterstream (“Just having breakfast. Super.”). Rubbish like that doesn’t help my day and I am wholly unwilling to, as colleague Ben Smith puts it, ‘overlook it’. I have to read and process every single Tweet that I’m looking at.

Here’s how it works:

I read the person’s name or handle. I read their text. It’s ONLY when I have read, processed (and hopefully understood) their message that can I can ascribe value to it. Annoying. But this is how it goes. Twitter is currently binary. You either follow someone. Or you don’t. It’s that simple.

But if you’re totally flucked right off with my twitter stream, there’s no need to send me a public reply to tell me you’re unfollowing.

All that does is focus my razor sharp attention on you. If that was the goal — and I’m sure there’s an element of that — then if I didn’t think you were an arse two minutes ago, I most certainly think you are now.

The real thing that mystifies me is that by *publishing* your ‘unfollow’ message — to all your followers — you give me instant advertising. You’re saying ‘I’m not following him’ — at which point all your followers have to have a wee look and make a value judgement as to why. About 5-10 minutes after the Tweet, I had a heck of a lot of people add me as a result.

Weird.