If you’re here, it’s likely you have come across me on Twitter. I’ve put this page together to tackle many of the questions I get from Twitter followers.

Where to Find Me:

I’ve set up a Connect with Me page that provides all of the details on the social networks I am on.

Contacting Me

Please see my notes below about DMs.

I do not give free consultations on Twitter or business issues. The most common questions I receive are dealt with below. To retain my services for something not covered below, please see my website for services I offer or if it’s not listed, then contact my team.

Do not contact me about setting up a call to network or pick my brain. Engage with me on Twitter in the public stream and if appropriate, it will happen.

Media inquiries: please contact me with as much detail as possible. Depending on the nature of the request, it may get routed to my assistant or PR contact.

Qs & As – Twitter

Q. What do you tweet about?

A. I share motivational quotes and links related to business, entrepreneurship, marketing, social media, health/fitness, domains, things that make people smile & laugh, and things I find interesting.

I don’t actively go out of my way to find things to tweet – instead I try to share stuff I come across over the course of a day. I use Cotweet for managing tweets so that followers don’t get inundated with a bunch of tweets at one time. I don’t have tweets go out if I’m not around.

I also share music via Blip.fm from time to time. I used to do this on a regular basis throughout the day but it became more difficult as time went on.

I also do chat/engage with followers. I try to answer any tweets that come my way but often I get behind just because of the volume. Eventually I get to everything From time to time, I also throw out questions to try and get to know followers better - and for them to know me a bit more.

I don’t get involved in debates/arguments. If you don’t like the way I tweet, there’s no need to DM or tweet me and complain. The nice thing about Twitter is that we always have a choice about who we engage with and who we follow. My tweeting style isn’t for everyone. If you don’t like it, simply unfollow.

Q. Do you publish your tweeted links & quotes somewhere?

A. No, they appear just on Twitter.

Q. I am having trouble following more people, any ideas why?

A. There are a few restrictions on following on Twitter: You can follow as many people as you want until you have 2000 followers. At that point, you can only follow 10% more people than are following you. There is also a limit of 1000 following actions per day. Tip: don’t get caught up in the numbers.

Q. How can I get more followers/get followers faster?

A. First of all, avoid bulk adding and the software tools that are out there. Yes, you can build your numbers fast, but numbers alone mean absolutely nothing. Twitter is a social media network which means you’ll derive the most benefit if you actually take the time to interact with people.

Q. Do you accept sponsored/paid for tweets?

A. Every few days, I get someone offering $$$ to tweet links. I do not – will not – do sponsored tweets under any circumstances. If you want to provide me with a sample of your product or service for review purposes, feel free to contact my team.

Q. Will you tweet/retweet my link about ABC?

A. I get inundated with requests on a daily basis from people I have had no prior contact with to retweet/tweet something. Try forming a relationship with me via tweets before asking for anything first. Retweet my tweets first. Let me find your great stuff to share with my followers rather than throwing it at me. Do not DM when you have a new blog post.  Do not send me request to tweet fundraising efforts, missing children reports, donors needed, etc. I get 10+ requests for these a day. It’s not that I don’t care, but I can’t do everything. If it’s interesting & relevant, I will find it on my own and tweet it when appropriate/I want. Do not DM me tweet/retweet requests period.

The types of things I share: blog posts from followers if they pertain to subjects I tweet on, humorous things, quotes that inspire or provoke, news related to tech/social media/science/current events/music.

Q. I want more followers! Can you tell your followers about me?

A. Do I know you? What have you done for me? I often do make recommendations to my followers but it is for those people I have formed at least some kind of relationship with via Twitter. Send me an @ reply to say hi, jump in a conversation, retweet me… something. Let me see how you are providing value of some kind to Twitter users – a reason why I should recommend you. Even then, don’t ask me to recommend you. I will do it when I feel it’s warranted.

Q. I DM’d you but did not receive a response. Do you answer your DMs?

A. Some days I get flooded with DMs. I try to answer as many as I can, but it’s not always practical to get through them all. Please don’t DM me a second time if you didn’t get a response the first time. The best thing to do to get my attention is to tweet me publicly. Please don’t tweet me asking me to respond to your DM.

I am here to network, get a break from work, enjoy myself – just like most other Twitter users. I am not Twitter support. Don’t take this as being harsh but realize that as a highly active Twitter user who also runs a large business, I have to draw the line somewhere. If you tweet me a question you cannot find the answer to versus DM, you may be helping others at the same time.

Please do not DM regarding business matters. Please contact my team.

Qs & As – Business

Q. What is your business background?

I’ve been working primarily online for 2 decades. Over the years, I have owned numerous companies – ranging from shareware mail-order, audiobook publishing, email marketing, database design/management/conversion, website design, Internet marketing. I have conducted several thousand hours of public speaking/training on subjects including motivation, self-empowerment, direct sales, email marketing and business strategy. I have created and sold many companies. I created my first email newsletter in 1997 which grew to over 65,000 subscribers within a few months. I wrote my first e-book in 1998. In April 2009, I sold my 10,000th domain name and have since sold an additional 5,000 domain names. I have created over a half a dozen membership sites that each grossed in excess of $100,000 per year.

Clients I have provided services to over the years have included HighRankings.com, SearchEngineGuide.com, ProgrammersHeaven.com, Tom Peters Company, York International (now Johnson Controls), Harvard Business School Alumni, Porsche, Tivoli, IBM, Minutemaid, AssociatePrograms.com, Ernst & Young, QuePasa.com, Gelco, I2, American Standard, Internet Business Forum, MarketWatch Licensing Division, Barna.org, LifeNews.com and several thousand others in some capacity or other.

Services provided to clients have included: business strategy, marketing strategy, contest promotion, email marketing campaign creation & design, email marketing strategy, Twitter training/strategy, online advertising campaigns, joint venture program design, viral campaigns, community development, copywriting (primarily email campaigns), survey design for usability, domain research & acquisition, project management in many aspects and probably several other things I was at least adequate at.

Although I have over 100 active websites online providing services, my primary ones are Listcast.com (email newsletter management), EmailListCleaning.com (cleaning undeliverables from email lists), Domainate.com (domain name sales/brokering) and Doma.in (domain wholesale sales/training).

I’ve been interviewed/mentioned on CNN, Business Start-ups (Entrepreneur Magazine), NY Times, The Financial Post, BankRate.com, CBC, and several dozen other media sources from radio to television to print and online media. In 1998, my first website created generated over 100,000 visitors within the first 48 hours and was featured as a Yahoo pick of the day.

Q. Are you available to be a guest on teleconference/speaker at event?

A. Due to my current schedule, I am not available for speaking.

Q. Do you provide any business coaching?

A. I am no longer offering one on one coaching or consulting.

Q. Any domain-related questions…

A. Please see Domainate.com for acquisition assistance, Doma.in for domain training and wholesale acquisitions, or WeWantYourDomains.com for selling domains at liquidation pricing. You can also check our blog. If the question is not answered at our site, you can tweet the appropriate account for assistance or fan us on Facebook to ask.

Qs & As – Personal

Q. Where are you from?

A. I’m from Montreal, Canada. I’ve lived most of the last 10 years an hour from the city.

Q. What’s your favorite color?

A. Pink

Q. What are your favorite things?

A. Read my tweets! Chocolate(Ghirardelli is the best), Sushi, Coffee, Music (all kinds – although I am not partial to rap, hiphop and country), Pellegrino, my 4 cats (Tony, Pina, Sasha and Frisky) and loads more

Q. What do you enjoy doing?

A. You mean there’s something aside from Twitter? I love working out but don’t do it as consistently as I should. Running, HIIT, CrossFit, weights and Zumba. I’m going to take kettlebell training soon.

For recreation, I’ve also gotten back into rollerskating.

I love boating/being on the water. Not as hot being “in” water.

I’m adventurous and have done crazy things like spent most of a year in England, took a few month road trip driving from Montreal to San Diego, have gone skydiving… would love to one day have a sailboat/yacht but location is an issue for that. I want to learn how to play golf.

I have a pool table, but need to remind myself I enjoy it and play more often. I have a fully equipped home gym. I love to travel and have done so extensively but there are still many places I want to visit I’m also fiercely competitive when it comes to games. I’m a Nintendo chick & have had every console except DS. I love racing games.

I read a good deal – both fiction and non-fiction. I tend to read a bunch of books by a single author at one time or on a specific subject rather than jumping on what is new. I don’t read books about Internet business. I kick off every year reading Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Each time I read it, I learn new things. The Little Prince is my favorite book of all time. I am open-minded when it comes to fiction but cheesy romance novels have never been my thing. I’m currently reading Ayn Rand’s Anthem. I have a library with several thousand books. In 2011, I’ve only bought a handful of physical books – I’ve been going digital with my iPod Touch. Oh – and I have recently rediscovered my love for the library.

Music – some of my current/old favorites: Depeche Mode, The Cure, Muse, U2, Matchbox Twenty, Portishead, White Stripes, Gorillaz and loads more. It depends on what I am in the mood for. You can get an idea of the diversity of my tastes by checking my Blip.fm blips.

Movies – some of my favorites: Fight Club, Memento, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, The Killing Fields, Mambo Italiano, The Wedding Singer, The 24th Day, Saving Face, The Notebook, Crank, 12 Angry Men, Being John Malcovich, Edmond, Hard Candy, The Princess Bride, Hostage, Saw I&III, Shrek 2.

TV – The Walking Dead, True Blood, Californication, Entourage, Fringe, Scrubs (when I remember), House, Hung, DEXTER!!!!, Gossip Girl (yes, really!), Melrose Place. Older stuff: Arrested Development, Dream On, Queer as Folk, Meadowlands, Seinfeld til the envelope scene, My So Called Life, Get Real, The L Word.

Q. What are you passionate about?

A. I believe that we are not the owners of planet Earth. We do not have the right to do what we want. We should treating the environment, other living beings and, of course, other people with respect. I love animals and am against animal cruelty. I am not a vegan although I wish I was.

I believe in justice and doing the right thing even though doing the right thing is not always easy.

I believe not in simply tolerance but acceptance of those who are different from us in some way.

I believe that a lack of tolerance for others and their opinions/beliefs is the greatest divider.

I believe in separation of the state and religion.

I was raised Roman Catholic but consider myself to be a Humanist first and foremost.

The answer to anything not covered above is 42.