I was a reluctant Twitter convert. Twitter already had 300 million users when I joined in April 2011. Was I too late to the party?

I’d long been a Facebook fan. Yet after spending close to a year on Twitter, I now view Facebook as if it were a family or class reunion, while Twitter is a crowded, noisy cocktail party held in the wild wild West. On Twitter, anything can happen – and often does.

Like any social gathering, there are some common sense guidelines to follow or you are liable to get into big trouble. Here’s my advice.

Twitter is not just about you. It’s about the community. With the exception of some celebrities, business titans and politicians, Twitter is the great equalizer. You have to be informative, generous and entertaining in order to be popular on Twitter.

Follow the Golden Rule. Not everyone will do the right thing, but be a good example. You will quickly flame out if you constantly attack others, use gratuitous profanity or are simply gross. On the flip side, if you don’t like what others are saying, then ignore them, block them or, if all else fails, report them. You’ll encounter irritating and inappropriate people online, but there will also be some great contacts and new friends who will enrich your life.

Keep It Real. Nothing is more annoying than a person who only tweets quotes -- and a lot of them. Original thoughts and perceptions are what will draw people to you. Another irritant is when someone tries relentlessly to sell a product, a service or themselves via Twitter. I guess there must be a conversion rate, but honestly, it’s just not a good Twitter strategy.

Stay in the Game. If you don’t tweet, you are asking for people to unfollow you. On the other hand, don’t just swoop in once a week to post 40 or 50 tweets in five minutes. Twitter is not an intense race with a finish line. Pace yourself and you’ll be a winner if you concentrate on a positive journey.

Nobody Likes a Narcissist. "I’m with my hubby at the Park City Grill in Phoenix." Ugh. Sorry, but you lost me at hubby. Tweets with meaning and substance will win the day. I’ve run across people who have tweeted close to 100,000 times. Do they ever sleep? Do they have a life other than Twitter? Must they tweet everything about their life? It is compulsive behavior and a bit creepy.

You are Not a Number. People become obsessed with their followers. That number will invariably go up and down. Tweet and interact with honesty, personality and goodwill and the followers will come.

To sum up my advice: Create your online presence with thought and care. It’s a big wide internet world with possibilities for making new connections that can turn into actual real-life friends or business associates – or both. I’ve seen it happen to others and I’ve had it happen to me – especially via Twitter.