Professional Twitter Use or Twitter Spam?

More people seem to be using twitter than ever and a higher percentage of Twitter use seems to be completely oriented at “give me your business”. Pure marketing with no level of personalization.

I have grown a bit weary of Twitter in the last year for a couple reasons. I have become cynical of those who follow me that show no personal side and only want to sell me on what they do. Come-on Twitter pros, like thousands of others don’t do this over Twitter already?

When I first started using twitter I did so to make connections with other professionals and share information. I wanted to also help grow my blog, you know the information part. I have learned a lot from those I have connected with on Twitter that share information with me. So why do I feel like I am just being spammed now?

Perhaps Twitter has become to big. First; don’t send me auto direct messages if I choose to follow you. I don’t want to deal with robots. Second; I look at your short bio. If it only tells me what you do for a living, I’m probably not interested. There are to many people on Twitter now. I don’t want to waste my time with people whose sole purpose is to strategically market “at me”. Yes, there are plenty of you telling me how you can get me more clients. How about asking who my clients are and if I want more clients… How about the people telling me they can show me how to network with CPAs… Obviously they are spamming me and haven’t noticed that I am a CPA. How does that look?

I am guilty as well, like auto-tweeting 2 bloggers. A little bit robotic? Sure.. But I do it because I have grown to respect what they write and want to help share it. That’s it. I am also following way to many people. How am I supposed to filter the garbage from the good information while following 1000 Twitter users?? I have even considered changing my @taxguycpa Twitter name to something that says more about me, but I recognize that I am still their to network professional and share information. My use has been a learning experience as well. And these are the things I have learned that I am sharing. Don’t take my critique as a way to put myself on a pedestal, because I have made Twitter mistakes as well.

If your trying to generate business from Twitter, fine. I get that. I think you will be much more effective doing so by creating actual relationships, not throwing mud against the wall and hoping some sticks. I follow people to create relationships, but have created about 20 out of 1000 people I have followed. That should tell me something.

After a couple years of Twitter use and some great relationships made with other professionals who are willing to help each other I can end this by saying, make it personal and put in real effort. Professionals like myself are a dime-a-dozen. It’s about who you are and being real to those around you. Otherwise, it’s not for me and it’s probably not for a lot of the people who want to be real and helpful. I wonder, do you feel differently?

If you haven’t received it, here is IRS Tax Tip 2012-15. A quick rundown of some parental tax benefits provided by the IRS.

1. Dependents In most cases, a child can be claimed as a dependent in the year they were born. For more information see IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

2. Child Tax Credit You may be able to take this credit for each of your children under age 17. If you do not benefit from the full amount of the Child Tax Credit, you may be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit. For more information see IRS Publication 972, Child Tax Credit.

3. Child and Dependent Care Credit You may be able to claim this credit if you pay someone to care for your child or children under age 13 so that you can work or look for work. See IRS Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.

4. Earned Income Tax Credit The EITC is a tax benefit for certain people who work and have earned income from wages, self-employment or farming. EITC reduces the amount of tax you owe and may also give you a refund. IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, has more details.

5. Adoption Credit You may be able to take a tax credit for qualifying expenses paid to adopt an eligible child. If you claim the adoption credit, you must file a paper tax return with required adoption-related documents.  For details, see the instructions for IRS Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.

6. Children with earned income If your child has income earned from working, they may be required to file a tax return. For more information, see IRS Publication 501.

7. Children with investment income Under certain circumstances a child’s investment income may be taxed at their parent’s tax rate. For more information, see IRS Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents.

8. Higher education credits Education tax credits can help offset the costs of higher education. The American Opportunity and the Lifetime Learning Credits are education credits that can reduce your federal income tax dollar-for-dollar. See IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, for details.

9. Student loan interest You may be able to deduct interest paid on a qualified student loan, even if you do not itemize your deductions. For more information, see IRS Publication 970.

10. Self-employed health insurance deduction If you were self-employed and paid for health insurance, you may be able to deduct any premiums you paid for coverage for any child of yours who was under age 27 at the end of the year, even if the child was not your dependent. For more information, see the IRS website.
1. Dependents In most cases, a child can be claimed as a dependent in the year they were born. For more information see IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

2. Child Tax Credit You may be able to take this credit for each of your children under age 17. If you do not benefit from the full amount of the Child Tax Credit, you may be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit. For more information see IRS Publication 972, Child Tax Credit.

3. Child and Dependent Care Credit You may be able to claim this credit if you pay someone to care for your child or children under age 13 so that you can work or look for work. See IRS Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.

4. Earned Income Tax Credit The EITC is a tax benefit for certain people who work and have earned income from wages, self-employment or farming. EITC reduces the amount of tax you owe and may also give you a refund. IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, has more details.

5. Adoption Credit You may be able to take a tax credit for qualifying expenses paid to adopt an eligible child. If you claim the adoption credit, you must file a paper tax return with required adoption-related documents.  For details, see the instructions for IRS Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.

6. Children with earned income If your child has income earned from working, they may be required to file a tax return. For more information, see IRS Publication 501.

7. Children with investment income Under certain circumstances a child’s investment income may be taxed at their parent’s tax rate. For more information, see IRS Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents.

8. Higher education credits Education tax credits can help offset the costs of higher education. The American Opportunity and the Lifetime Learning Credits are education credits that can reduce your federal income tax dollar-for-dollar. See IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, for details.

9. Student loan interest You may be able to deduct interest paid on a qualified student loan, even if you do not itemize your deductions. For more information, see IRS Publication 970.

10. Self-employed health insurance deduction If you were self-employed and paid for health insurance, you may be able to deduct any premiums you paid for coverage for any child of yours who was under age 27 at the end of the year, even if the child was not your dependent. For more information, see the IRS website.
Courtesy of the IRS