So you’ve started using the twitter social networking site and you’re tweeting regularly. Suddenly you’re deluged with different kinds of twitter messages from people you’ve added back  and you don’t know what they all mean? It’s not as confusing as it seems. There are actually only so many types you’ll meet on twitter, and it will help if you know what they are:

Multi Level Marketers – you will know them immediately by the DM’s about making money or looking for “investors.” Run, don’t walk.

Parents at home — A lot of jokes about the trials of having small children.

Pet people – Animal lovers, bond together! Speak in the voice of your pet! Make jokes about “my human”  or “the two-legged creature!” Twitter can be a pet paradise where animals finally get their voice.

Newswire services — often focused on a region or topic. These are usually great until you read about some appalling violent crime that you didn’t know about and you wish that you still didn’t, and it happened in your area, not in Dallas, which doesn’t have anything to do with us here and anyway,  anything can happen in Dallas.

Publically PR people — usually sane and witty. For whatever reason, they don’t generally tweet about work. Though some will blog about it.

Privately PR people – this is those celebrity tweeters that are actually written by a ghost writer. You won’t be able to recognize them, generally, unless you pay close attention. But if someone says he’s the Dalai Lama, be aware –it’s possible that the Lama takes time off from meditating to tweet, but it’s more likely  some freelancer in LA who’s got a publicity gig. Or it’s a complete fake, that’s happened too.  If he DM’s you and wants to offer you a great way to make money, again, run don’t walk.

Writers — often looking for an agent, working on a novel, or slumming as copywriters. Or already wrote a book and trying to promote it.  Or they’re a really  sucessful writer and they’re tweeting because their agent said they have to. In that case they’re not really “into” it. Yet. But they will be. Soon. They promise.

Professionals who are networking — could be teachers, engineers, headhunters (oh I mean corporate recruiters, sorry) or anyone who can derive professional benefit from meeting others in their field.  Or other fields.

High Techies — their tweets make zero sense to me, because I don’t know how to “code.” However, they are some of the best tweeters to know, because they can help you when you’re buying a computer or fixing up your WordPress site.  Just explain first that you don’t know the lingo.

Drunks – Unlike the high-techies, these tweets half make sense and often use bad language. They can be funny but you might want to be careful about following if you have children who are big enough to read your tweetdeck board, as I do.

People with a Political Ax to Grind — there aren’t as many of these as you’d expect, but they’re out there. Take it with a grain of salt — much political writing isn’t very well thought out, but when you take a few seconds to write a tweet, it’s even more casually constructed. Perhaps they didn’t mean it. They’re probably nice people.  Really. Even if you don’t agree with them. But if it goes on too long, yes, you may want to unfollow.

Exhibitionists with really cool lives, whose twitter job is to make you worry about why they’re always in some foreign country on the beach, and you’re at work, and they just go from one exciting adventure to another. If you need proof that life is not fair, this is it.

There are probably more types, but there are the main ones I’ve seen. Twitter gives you the world at your feet — the good, the bad, the ugly, and those who won’t be quiet. Feel free to add any other types you’ve met in the “comments” section … I’d love to hear if there’s someone I’ve missed!