Every once in a while you get a new Twitter follower who makes you think about the whole Twitter numbers game:  Followers, Influence, C(K)lout, Lists, etc.  There seems to be more and more emphasis put on metrics than content and participation in the community.  Here’s an example of a new follower:

44,000+ followers, listed on 37 lists, and  8 tweets (not indexed on Klout – Twitter.grader score 99.3).  IMHO, there is more to social media than accumulating friends, followers, and connections, but those numbers seem to beget more numbers.  I always take the profile or bio that mentions Twitter followers  or Facebook friends with a grain of salt.

There will always be ways to game the system.  I could make 100 twitter lists and put you on each of them, and, Shazam, you would “listed” 100 times, ratcheting up your clout and influence scores.  Go ahead and try it.  Lots of folks are already doing it.

I would like to hear about your favorite Twitter metrics tools, why and how you use them.