The other day someone asked me how I sorted through my following/followers list on Twitter. I find that this can be quite a daunting process when you have numbers in the triple digits.

What I look at immediately: Profile picture, bio statement and number of updates/followers/following.

I start the sorting process the minute I am notified of a new follower. I always go to their profile and check their stats: how many followers do they have and how many times have they updated? If they’re following 100+, but only have 1-10 followers, it makes me feel a little odd about returning the follow. If they’re following 100+ and I can count the number of times they’ve updated on one hand, then I definitely don’t follow.

Twitter is not a numbers game. I look at Twitter as an opportunity for conversation. I can have a quality conversation with one or ten people. If you make it obvious you’re only after a number, I will block you.

I admit that sometimes it’s easy to fall behind on a busy day and not have time to check out each profile. In that case I look at my followers list and let my mouse scroll over a Twitter username. If a bio pops up, I’m more likely to click on your profile and follow you back. Sometimes, depending on your bio, I won’t even check the profile – I’ll just follow. If you don’t have a bio, or if your username looks like “jslihgisae,” more times than not I will check out your profile, but proceed to blocking you.

So how do I find new people to follow? One of my favorite Twitter tools is Mr. Tweet. You start out by following Mr. Tweet and within a few hours, you’ll receive a DM with a link for you to click on. This link will show you who you should be following, based on who your followers are following. You can also see who is following you, but you aren’t following back. This is also a great place to recommend tweeters for others to follow.

Another great tool is #followfriday. #followfriday is a way for tweeters to highlight some of their followers or people they’re following. Check out your followers picks and recommend a few of your own.

Don’t underestimate the awesomeness of a tweet-up. Many people ask if they should go. Do you have Twitter? Yes? Then you should go! A tweet-up is just a meet-up for folks on Twitter. If you’re in Chicago, check out Chicago Tweetups for a list of all the fun tweet-ups happening in and around Chicago (follow them on Twitter and Facebook, too!) Outside of Chicago? No problem. Check out Happin.in. It shows you what’s being talked about in your city, including tweet-ups.

Here’s a great post from Mashable: 9 Ways to Find Twitter Users in Your Town

How do you find new people to follow on Twitter?