The saga of
my recent Facebook ousting continues. Not only have I not been able to get back
on FB, I still have no idea as to why I got “excommunicated” in the first
place.
However, I
have found the experience to be one of introspection. As a matter of fact, many
people, myself included, are evaluating our past, current and future
involvement on social networks in general.
Take Twitter.
With the ability to automate the Direct Message feature, the number of emails clogging
inboxes everywhere with useless messages has gotten way out of control. For
those who don’t know about this feature, basically you set it up so when
someone follows you an automatic welcome message goes to the person who just
requested the follow.
Although
this may seem like a great idea in theory, in reality it is a pain in the
backside for most of us. Here’s my experience; daily I was getting lots of auto
DMs from folks I don’t know who immediately tried to sell me something, encourage
me to look at a site with useless information, or what not.
Admittedly,
I had my Twitter account set up so the minute you followed me, you
automatically got a DM with something like, “Thanks for the follow. I do all I
can to tweet useful information.”
Although a
nice welcome, how many people actually read the message compared to how many
get very annoyed with yet another blanket message arriving in their inbox?
Think about
how many of these messages you get from your Twitter connections. How many of
the automated ones do you actually read? Initially it may be something you get
excited about, but in short order it gets to be very annoying and a huge timewaster;
especially if you try to read every single message. Once you realize that it is
automated, the frustration mounts.
After realizing how annoyed I was with all the
junk mail (and knowing I was likely annoying others), I disengaged the DM
feature. Now when someone gets a DM from me it is manually done which means I
really wanted to send you a message of value.
I also
disengaged the automatic DMs I got from others. Daily I was getting dozens,
even hundreds of useless messages that I never read anyway. Now I know that
when I get a DM it is the real deal and the sender actually wanted to send me a
message of value.
Yes, dear readers, many folks are taking a good look at the process and becoming
more selective about who we follow, befriend, tweet, twoot, hoot, capture or
whatever the latest and greatest term happens to be for any specific social
network communication we are involved in.
The whole
idea of social networks is to create value in the relationships we develop. At
least that’s what we would love to think.
Although
automation is great on the one hand, on the other hand it is something that has
impersonalized how we communicate and has become a huge annoyance more times
than not.
Let’s bring
back the days we actually welcome messages and announcements rather than
cringing when we see our inbox cluttered with useless garbage.
As a sidenote, to see what others are thinking about my Facebook ousting, go to FB and find the group, Let Kathleen Gage back on Facebook. I do hope you will take the time to join.
Kathleen,
I’m with you, I HATE auto DMs!
I hope that you get reinstated back to FaceBook
-Christina Hills
“Shopping Cart Queen”
Kathleen,
I’m with you completely on the auto DMs. I also set Twitter to only show my @replies, not those to my followers. There’s alot you can do to stop the “noise” so you can really engage people.
Pamela S. Wynn
The Florida Divorce Professor
Hi Kathleen,
Very insightful and great timing – I am giving a talk on Twitter this Monday to business folks in Oakridge. I’ll be quoting your post.
Thanks
Ed Osworth
Author Unstoppable Joy – A Happier You in 12 Simple Steps
UnstoppableJoy.com
Let’s start the I’m Against Automated DMs club!
Seems not many folks like them. Rather, we want personalization to the process.
Glad you are going to take the Twitter information to Oakridge Ed. It’s a beautiful day for a drive to that part of Oregon.
Christine, enjoy the pancakes with your family.
And I’m with you Pamela. Let’s stop the “noise”.
Dear Kathleen,
First and foremost, I am deeply sorry that your Facebook saga is not over yet.
Secondly, not only I do share the same opinion about automated DMs, but here’s a worth reading post by Mari Smith, which supports a similar point of view.
Twitter Autofollow and Auto DM Etiquette
http://whyfacebook.com/2009/03/04/twitter-autofollow-and-auto-dm-etiquette/
Happy reading!
Chantal
If it helps, here’s the direct link to the Let Kathleen Gage Back on Facebook group. Easier than doing a search. 🙂
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=69054068093
Thanks for posting the link from Mari’s blog about DMs Chantal. If Mari is tired of auto DMs, that speaks volumes on what is happening to so many of us.
Hi Kathleen,
I really agree with you. It’s really annoying. Friendly, indeed. But still, it is actually non-sense.
-Melay
-“Sell Anything Like Crazy”