Most of the tricks you learn aren’t that helpful, except for making numbers go up. Your new “followers” are not even interested in the topics you tweet about.

Last night, tweeting for a client, I came upon a Twitter party. Using a hashtag, hundreds of people participated in one huge conversation on Twitter. The “party” was relevant to my client’s business, so I joined. Chatted it up with dozens of people. Added a bunch of them to my lists. And I TRIPLED followers on Twitter for my client.

TRIPLED! Even I was shocked!

Because we were all attending this Twitter party, using the same hashtag, these new followers are all interested in the same things. That means they are relevant to my client.

This can be looked at from two sides. Obviously, as a tweeter, I was able to connect with kindred followers. So joining these Twitter bashes is clearly beneficial. Then there’s the organizers. Pick a day and time, and start spreading the word around Twitter, to key relevant people, then let the party start. Give away prizes. Ask questions that participants can answer. Spark conversations. It builds recognition for the brand/person organizing the party. Your company/brand gains tons of good will from people participating.

Once every few weeks I take part in the #journchat Twitter parties. Monday nights, 7:30pm EST. Dozens of journalists, editors, freelancers and more take part.

What Twitter events could you take part in or organize to promote your brand?

Or something along those lines.

Well, despite my best efforts, I’m still alive, so I must be getting enough comments, right? No, not really. Look through these pages and you’ll see that I maybe garner 1-3 comments in a post.

Most of my comments come in the form of tweets. On twitter, my link goes out, and me readers and I spend a few minutes discussing the post. It’s very interactive, and since I have Tweetdeck open all day, I don’t have to log in and out to check them.

Comments within the posts, on the other hand, pop up in my email at the most inopportune times, like when I’m about to hop on the subway or I’ve just shut the computer down for the night. So it will take me a while to approve it, and even longer to respond, if it’s something I can respond to at all.

Dee Barizo over at Performancing put up a post yesterday about how to get more comments. Her post includes a few tips to drive the right kind of traffic and spark the right kind of conversation in order to receive the most comments.

For me, I’m not fussed either way. I’m getting my needy personality catered to over on Twitter. But what about you? Do you thrive on comments?

You can either leave a comment here, or if you prefer, I’ll be over on Twitter.

CAUTION: I’m very no-holds-barred, no-filter on Twitter. Not for the faint of heart.

Post journalists must refrain from writing, tweeting or posting anything—including photographs or video—that could be perceived as reflecting political, racial, sexist, religious or other bias or favoritism that could be used to tarnish our journalistic credibility. This same caution should be used when joining, following or friending any person or organization online. Post journalists should not be involved in any social networks related to advocacy or a special interest regarding topics they cover, unless specifically permitted by a supervising editor for reporting and so long as other standards of transparency are maintained while doing any such reporting.

Post journalists should not accept or place tokens, badges or virtual gifts from political or partisan causes on pages or sites, and should monitor information posted on your own personal profile sites by those with whom you are associated online for appropriateness.

It’s far more detailed than that little blurb gives away. Worth reading and more importantly – discussing. Should journalists have fewer rights than the average Joe? Should the average Joe also adhere to these guidelines?

The fact is, people have been talking trash on the internet since its inception. Many have been using aliases, but those are getting easier and easier to track every year. Do you really want to have your name, your job and your family associated with some of the things you say online?

Perhaps I’m the wrong person to be asking that question, given my own Twitter habits. I swear, get into arguments etc, all under a pseudonym that everyone and their donkey knows belongs to Wendy Sullivan. My “good name” is ruined.

Or is it?

For some, outlandish behavior on the internet – under a real or assumed name – is part of their “act”. For me, hyperbole and polemics rule the day. I get attention. Perhaps people don’t want to separate the wheat from the chaff where my musings are concerned, but enough do, and that makes my shtick worthwhile.

If I worked for the WaPo, I wouldn’t have the freedom to do that. I wouldn’t have the freedom to develop my own deranged little niche.

So what’s fair here?

I have to admit, the Twitter habit has gotten a little out of control. I was working on a project yesterday, and kept getting distracted by life in 140 characters or less. Perhaps I should have attempted to write my synopsis 140 characters at a time – it might have gotten finished!

It’s Sunday morning, you’re up early, the house is still quiet. And, like any self-respecting blogger, you take this time to meditate, set-up your day and plan what you’ll do with the family, today. Not!

That’s what you know you should do. But, instead, you wander over to your computer, check your blog for comments, check your subscriber and traffic stats and maybe crank out a quick post or video. Then, you jump on twitter to check your timeline, follower numbers and reply to any @’s or dm’s.

A few minutes later, the kids wander out and your day really begins. Breakfast, then the day’s activities. It’s all great fun, yet, you still find yourself reveling in those random moments in the rest-room, where you linger a few extra seconds to check your e-mail, IM, twitter and stats once more on your trusty iPhone.

The above is from ProBlogger, a guest post by Jonathan Fields. It kinda resonates.

Woke up midday today – normal for a Sunday – and reached for my CrackBerry first thing. Sent some SMS messages, replied to an email, checked Twitter (naturally). I basically stayed in bed an extra hour to do this. The synopsis still isn’t written, but I’ve done two blog posts already (this will be my third). Not so much with the productive!

So I guess when I say – like I did at the start of this post – that I spread myself thin, I mean I spread myself stupid. There’s no reason why I can’t get my work done and play around on Twitter and email if I so desire. It’s all about prioritizing.

The synopsis will get done today. Just watch me.

The idea of social networking has been around as long as the Internet has, with chat rooms and BBS. But now it is becoming more streamlined. Facebook helps you find friends you haven’t seen since childhood, or set up an action committee. MySpace launches indie bands and gets bored teenagers into trouble. LinkedIn is a networking site for professionals and their communities. Twitter is for the little ADD in all of us.

I use LinkedIn so that people seeking writers might find me there. There’s a Q&A section that can not only be very informative, but can help spread your name and recognition. I keep my work info as updated as possible so that people know I am active.

Twitter is where I go to a) hang out, b) bitch about politics in 140 words or less, and most importantly c) tell people what I’m working on at that moment.

Are you using the Internet to its full potential? Every single gig I have gotten has come through some type of blog (including my own) or on-line job site. In writing my own blog and in reading others’ I have been able to form relationships that have led to writing or research jobs. Someone who reads me hears that I’m looking for work, and someone who reads them drops me an email. All of a sudden, I have clips. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know!

If you are not involved in social networking yet, get on it! Sign up for a free LinkedIn account and tell people what it is you do. Tell them your specialty. Tell them who you’ve worked with/for in the past and what you have on offer now. And send me a contact request!

And if you’re not blogging, why not? Back in February, Deb from Freelance Writing Jobs (bookmark her site – do it now!) wrote about why writers need to blog.

Talk to Other Writers

One of the reasons I stuck with FWJ for so long is because of the great discussions we have here. I do believe this is the best community. I learned so much from the other writers who visit my blog. Many times my community inspires my blog posts. I’m always touched by how willing everyone is to share information and ideas. I wouldn’t have met many of you if not for blogging.

Build Up a Reputation

A blog is a great way to build up your online reputation. If you offer useful information, people will trust you not to steer them wrong. They’ll also recommend you for gigs.

Learn About Other Resources

Through blogging I learned about other blogs and bloggers, great websites, books and tools to help make our job easier.

I suppose I could write an e-book called Everything I Need to Know I Learned From My Blog… Stay tuned – maybe I will! And if I do, naturally it will be available here on my blog. You’ll hear about it on Twitter…