Besides the buzz about whether Twitter’s list function will make people feel left out, there’s a lot of talk about how lists will be used to measure influence. Like so many things in the social sphere, most of these commentaries are shallow and don’t really consider all of the variables.

Besides the buzz about whether Twitter’s list function will make people feel left out (Chris Brogan; see also Robert Scoble’s rebuttal), there’s a lot of talk about how lists will be used to measure influence. Like so many things in the social sphere, most of these commentaries are shallow and don’t really consider all of the variables. But I can’t say I’m shocked.

The short-sighted claims

Skeptic Geek recently posted the following links as in intro to it’s analysis of present Twitter influence metrics (from Analyzing Twitter Lists-Follower Ratio As An Indicator of Influence):

• Using Twitter Lists to Judge Influence
• How Twitter Lists Influence…Influence
• Twitter Lists: What Is Your Respect Ratio?
• Twitter Lists to Followers Ratio: The New Social Media Metric

A common sentiment among these posts is that more lists = more influence. As Jaremy Rich (@jaremy) argues on virology.com:

“Only if a user genuinely cares about and engages with another Twitter account are they likely to add them to their List.”

And Personal Branding 101 and Ryan Rancatore (@RyanRancatore) claim:

“If you have 100 followers and are on 60 lists, it shows that your select group of followers really values what you have to say.”

Why numbers don’t equate engagement or influence

Eh…maybe. The posts featured above focus mainly on the quantitative nature of lists. Anyone involved in social media metrics knows that quantitative analysis on it’s own doesn’t tell the whole story.

Here’s the problem: what if all of your lists are named, “friends,” or “[insert-your-city],” or “[insert-your-profession].” Just because you’re listed doesn’t mean that a user is engaged with you, it just means they’ve categorized you.

And what happens if you’re on a bunch of lists like this: “people-to-block,” “douchebags,” and “morons”? If lists are measured by quantity only, then all of these would help your influence rating.

Does it not it make sense that a list named, “pr-comm-rockstars” should have more weight than “coworkers”. It’s the same principle that a follow from someone like iLuvBritney1015 shouldn’t count as much as a follow from someone brilliant and selective like Brian Clark (@copyblogger – 39K followers and less than 600 friends).

But names only go so far too. If a you’re on a list that’s called “amazing marketers” with a bunch of scammers, you’ve got a problem. Any sort of influence analysis in the future will have to measure not only the number of lists you’re on, but also the influence of people you’re listed with.

Shut up, Relax, and Measure Quality

So when it comes to measuring influence with Twitter lists, I’d suggest we all just shut up and relax. For now, stop calculating lists-to-follower ratios and start looking at the names of the lists you’re on and the people you’re on them with. If you’re not on many quality lists, ask yourself why.

Take a look at what sorts of lists your followers are creating. Maybe they just haven’t gotten around to it yet (I know I have good intentions, but I’ve only made two so far). Maybe they’ve made some quality lists. Maybe they’ve randomly selected friends.

In any case, once you know how your followers are categorizing their friends, then take a look the people featured on lists you think you should also be included on. See how those people are interacting and gauge their influence using pre-list metrics (like Klout). See how they’re using Twitter and try to determine if their maybe more engaged, post more interesting content, or have a killer blog that’s helping them.

In the end, I’d say the key to increasing the quality of lists you’re on is same key to increasing the quality of your influence—and that comes about by adding value to peoples lives. Plain and simple.

Do you have any thoughts on Twitter lists, influence, and its measurement? Please share.

-Andrew