Pardon the detour, but just for today let’s set aside the issues of promotional product safety and responsible sourcing just for a bit. Like most of you, I’m trying to find my way right now and staying connected online any way I can seems like a great idea. LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have all been a part of my professional life for quite some time, and I have invested a lot of effort in understanding which message resonates on which platform best, and why. Perhaps you’re trying to decode some of that yourself right now, so that you can successfully stay connected with some of your customers.
Imagine my surprise a few days back when I received an error message on Twitter that there had been “malicious activity detected” and my account had been locked. I was an early adopter on a variety of social networks, including Twitter, and have been a fan over the years of the unique real-time search opportunities of the Twitter platform. Sure, there’s some insanity there from time to time, and even some vitriol, but for me the benefits always outweighed any negatives encountered along the way.
Twitter has delivered for me in a number of ways. I have frequently used a free third-party dashboard like Hootsuite, and turned the Twitter search into a feed, which has been extremely helpful for research over the years. I’ve used Twitter to share the articles I’ve written (including my PromoCorner articles), and to find and consume all kinds of interesting and valuable information that might not have otherwise crossed my path. I’ve made friends and had conversations with people all over the world, who I would not have met otherwise, and whose friendships I now cherish. Over the course of the last decade, I manage to somehow attract upwards of some 90,000 Twitter followers and, biases aside, I’m fairly certain that that’s no small accomplishment. I mean, it’s not like I’m a Kardashian or anything, you know. But still, amassing 90K Twitter followers doesn’t suck in the accomplishment department.
So, what do you do when you get locked out of your personal Twitter account? Here’s what I’ve learned — there is pretty much zero customer service when it comes to Twitter and any problems a Twitter user might encounter along the way.
I sent messages to the help desk literally every day detailing the various problems I’ve encountered, trying to get un-banned. First, Twitter said that it would send me a confirmation code that never arrived. Then, a miracle is performed in the Twitterverse and a confirmation code actually came through — and I have to admit, my heart jumped a bit when that happened. But my excitement came right back down when the confirmation code didn’t work, because Twitter didn’t recognize the email they just sent the confirmation code to. Each day as I tried valiantly to solve this problem, it was something new, and so very frustrating. And as I write this, I’m still banned from Twitter.
Which leads me to my point. Why am I still on Twitter? What’s the value proposition there and is it really worth it? And as I thought about it, I realized that the effort required to regularly check in on the platform might actually be not worth the investment of time, and that the vitriol that has become an inherent part of the Twitter platform was becoming decidedly less attractive over time. That’s when I decided that maybe this was a good thing after all. And I decided to quit trying to get unbanned from Twitter and in fact go the opposite direction. I decided to ban Twitter before it unbans me. That will allow me to spend more time cultivating relationships on LinkedIn, which has become a powerful driver of reads from my sharing of PromoCorner articles, and other content of interest. I get a good response from what I do and see and share on Instagram, so that platform is worth a little more time, and of course, those cute rabbits, grandkids and friends on Facebook that I’ll unmute after the election are worth closer inspection, too. Well, maybe not the muted friends, yet.
How about you? Are you spending too much time chasing things down rabbit holes that are a real time suck, when that time might be better spent connecting with your customers where they spend their time? Could you use a little liberating and uplifting at the same time? While your time suck might not be wrangling a Twitter ban like me, it could well be something else that’s causing you frustration. If that’s the case, consider, just for a minute, kicking that time suck to the curb. It’s amazing just how much lighter the load can be! Join me in liberating yourself from platforms or situations or rabbit holes that really don’t deliver from the effort you invest in them.
Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for 40 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. Connect with Jeff on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or read his latest musings on food, travel and social media on his personal blog jeffreypjacobs.com. Email jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.