Following and Befriending People In Social Networks

OK, I'll be your friend on Facebook, follow you on Twitter, and comment on your blogs.  But don't ask me, please, to follow you everywhere you happen to have an online presence. In the real world, I forget faces, but if you say “hello” to me, I will answer back because I don't forget voices. Online, I usually forget people who never say anything (the voyeurs), people who only talk about one topic, or people who seem to force me or everybody to respond to their too-one-sided-point-of-view (like people who are too republican or too democrat). If you don't have your own online voice and identity, I may not follow you.

To be clear, if I become your online neighbor is because,

1)IWe know and like each other,

2)You are my coworker or a member of my family, and not having a virtual relationship sounds fishy,

3)You are or were my student, BUT you are a good student, 

4)I see that there is a certain value on what you do and I want to learn from you,

3)You are an important piece in my Personal Learning Network (PLN),

4)You are from a far away place, and it is always cool to have the opportunity to know what people in other parts of the world are doing,

5)You are famous and important, and it is always interesting to hear what you have to say.

BUT, if we are friends and it seems that

A)You are stalking me--by following to every single social network or online service--and we're not even good friends or acquaintances ,

B)You hate a group of people because of the color of their skin, their religion, or their culture/language,

C)You never interact with me, but you want me to comment and praise your online presence,

THEN, I will stop following you.

Also, if you believe that I am not a good online friend, follower or contact, then stop the relationship. I will not force anybody to follow me, because that doesn't feel alright.

If you feel that you need to rest from my reading my comments and looking at my photos, go ahead, take a break from following me. Unless, of course, you're my husband... that's something that can be discussed off-line.