If you want a large Twitter community to follow you, you need to provide 90% massive
value and only 10% of the self-served variety. People do not care about you. Rather, they
care about what you can offer them.
That is what Jack Humphrey explains in
his article The 90-10 Rule for Successful

In a nutshell there are six different ways
to add value to your tweets. Do these,
and people will see your tweets have
worth and begin to follow you.

don't stop there. Spend a few minutes each day answering the questions as well as the
comments that one question spawns. Your followers want responses to their questions
and quips. You need to keep the ball rolling and play the thought out as far as it wants to
be carried. So how can you do this effectively?

Look into Tweetdeck. It will display your latest tweets or messages in the left hand
column. The list can be up to two hundred entries. Type the question mark symbol into
the search filter and up pops the questions ranging in order from latest on down. Just
remember to only respond to the ones you feel you can answer with some intelligence or
authority. Don't bluff. If you don't know, or even if you do, open the question up to other
followers. Start the conversation snowballing. Soon, you'll see how this way can attract
and keep followers. In no time, answers will start pouring in from other Twitters
following the conversation. Now you have effectively harnessed the power of
networking. People relate to combined experiences and like-mindedness. Some even
enjoy a bit of controversy in the mix.

Be aware that you do not have to feel obligated to answer every tweet or interact with
each person who responds. No one has time to do that. Pick the top 10-20 you personally
feel the strongest about, or choose them at random.

for their news because they can choose what news to hear or read. Twitter can provide
that filter. You provide the news worth reading about. Sign up for a Google reader
account and subscribe to blogs that seem relevant to you. From there, you can stream the
news from those blogs to your Twitter community and get their reactions.

Another option is to sign up for Google alerts. Choose the keywords for the subjects you are most interested in. When a newsworthy tidbit pops up using that keyword, you'll get an email. Be the first to know.