Just like blogs, we can "thin-slice" a Twitter profile with decent accuracy of determining authenticity and engagement levels (if that's part of our purpose for using Twitter).

When looking at a profile, keep a simultaneous, three-pronged question in mind (we call this "What the H's?"):

• What are they Hiding? – Are we seeing their real name, real face, web site info?
• What are they Hoarding? – Are their sharing info, engaging with others? Look for links and "@" replies
• What are they Hawking? – If there are links, are they all pointing to their own stuff? If there are no links, are they not engaged (and therefore not listening/reading what others are "tweeting?"

This thin-slice takes a matter of seconds, shaving and saving time in the long run. Let's take a respectful look at two sales professional, both of whom I follow and respect:

Jeff Garrison – @JCGarrison is pretty new to Twitter, but he's sharing resources, inspiring quotes, questions, event dates – and not always his own. He has a smattering of "@" replies to show he's engaged.

Jeff Gitomer - @Gitomer has been on Twitter for awhile. And he adds value with his statements (which is why we buy his books, yes?). Rarely engages or shares resources not his own.

As I said, I follow and respect both JGs Twitter presence. But if didn't know either (and I do coach Garrison, so add bias and the advantage), Because of the thin slice shows more knowledge/resource sharing and engagement, I'd follow Garrison before Gitomer.