There is a difference! I’ve been calling it automated tweets all this time, but what I really mean to say is scheduled tweets. Even if it’s recurring scheduled tweets.

Read this article on WeblogBetter: Scheduled Tweets vs. Automated Tweets – There is a Difference.

Excerpt:

Automated tweets are just automation in the absence of human engagement. Automated tweets are those that repeat at regular intervals, with no interaction, mentions, replies or anything else in between.

Scheduled tweets, are different. I schedule many of my tweets and even RTs in order to spread them out. I’m still present and active online, but I use the schedule feature as a courtesy to my followers so they don’t feel as if I’m dumping tweet after tweet into their stream. I also try to spread things out so that my followers who aren’t presently online might also see my tweets at a later time and also when I’m unavailable.  This doesn’t mean I’m not socially interacting and engaging people. It doesn’t mean I’m not checking in regularly.

I’ve been using TweetAdder for a couple of years now, but lately I’ve had nothing but trouble with the scheduled tweets. The other parts of it still work great, but my biggest use for it is scheduled tweets, as that’s what drives people to my blog(s). I even write about it and recommend it in my book Publishing & Marketing Realities for the Emerging Author.

I don’t recommend it anymore. I’m currently searching for a better way to schedule recurring tweets, as part of my four-fold Twitter approach, but the second edition of my book won’t be recommending TweetAdder. In fact, so much has changed in the last year in social networking and in the publishing industry, that I’ll have to jump on the second edition very, very soon.