The Trouble with Twitter

Let me begin by saying that I love Twitter. No, for real. It was the first platform where I started building my author brand. I've met people from all over the world, made friends, and met my wife, Erin Rhew. Wut? I kid you not. Erin and I actually met on Twitter! Here's a blog post my beautiful bride made shortly before we exchanged nuptials in 2014.

This social media platform introduced me to the most beautiful person--with the kindest heart, the gentlest spirit, the sharpest mind--that the world has ever known.

Uber lucky Deek and Erin

Deek and Erin on adventure

Deek and Erin in The Matrix

Erin makes Deek the luckiest man in the universe!

So really, what else can I say but, "Thank you, Twitter!" Thank you for bringing me this wonderful person. I'll never be able to repay you.

Twitter has rocked it, and up until lately, I've never had a lick of problem with it. But there is now trouble with Twitter.

The trouble with Twitter.

My problem started a couple of weeks ago when Erin noticed that she no longer received notifications of my Tweets. A little more digging turned up that no one received notifications of retweets, likes, comments, messages, none of it. In fact, if I reply to a tweet, that message never even shows up in the thread.

Wut the wut?

Yep, for me the social media that's all about social interaction is no longer interactive.

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I work for a company that makes online software for a living. If one of our customers has an issue, we have a process for handling it. So, for someone as large and developed as Twitter, this should be no big deal, right? Put in a ticket, a helpful staff member will assist in the situation, and things will be handled. Just another day in the office and part of their Standard Operating Procedure.

Only it's not.

Twitter has a fantastic looking support system titled Help Center. The key word here is "looking." If you have a simple problem, such as needing your password reset, or you need to learn how to make a tweet, create a direct message, or other basic functionality, this is your place. Hands down, they've got your covered.

But what if you've got a deeper issue that isn't addressed?

According to their website, you are supposed to submit a ticket. Google has a ton of information about submitting tickets and replying to the emails Twitter sends you as they diligently work through your issue. The problem with this information is that it is old and Twitter has changed its policies.

So when I submitted my ticket I expected an automated reply and an email. Instead I got this message:

Twitter's new reply when you submit a ticket

   

No email either, just this message.

Really.

Okay, so we need to escalate things. Something is broken, and I need five minutes of a helpful technician's assistance to take care of it. A little more time on Google and I discovered Twitter's support number. Sweet! Dialed 415-222-9670 expecting a long wait time, but okay, at least I'll get some help.

Or not.

Instead, an automated recording informed me that they no longer provided phone support. The only route to assistance is through their automated "Help" Center.

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More Google time. It turns out that there's lots of frustration about this new "Help" Center. It doesn't really take care of the problems people are actually having, but simply runs them 'round and 'round until they give up and go away.

If you Tweet @Support, you'll get no response. If you message them on Faceboook, you'll get no response.

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I get it. Twitter is GINORMOUS. They have billions of people registered, and if a few have problems, <shrugs>, so what? It's a free platform, albeit a VERY profitable one, but free nonetheless.

But for those of us that have spent seven years building up a platform, where interacting with people is the point, it's more than a little frustrating. According to some reports, sometimes problems magically go away, but that's not usually the case.

I could cancel my account and start over. It's taken me years and years to build up the following that I have, but it's not out of the realm of possibilities. And really, it's a first world problem. I know it. But as a geek that has provided technical support for most of his professional life, it seems like Twitter has lost its human element. They've gotten so big that they just don't care anymore.

It saddens me to see this behemoth become just another automated system with a robot at the wheel. Twitter introduced me to the greatest person in my life, so it has always had a special place in my heart.

I'd love to hear from folks who've had similar experiences. Were you able to resolve your problem, or did you just give up?

Thanks for listening to me gripe, peeps.

I'll see you online, even if you can't hear me.


About the Author

Deek Rhew

Deek Rhew is a transplant from a rainy pocket in the Pacific Northwest. Deek now lives in a sultry corner of the US of A where the sun shines bright, the sweet tea flows, and the hush puppies are hot and delicious.

He and his brilliant, but stunning author bride, Erin Rhew, live a simple life with their writing assistant, a fat tabby named Trinity. They enjoy lingering in the mornings, and often late into the night, caught up Erin’s fantastic fantasy worlds of noble princes and knights and entwined in Deek’s dark underworld of the FBI and drug lords.

He is the author of two books:

122 Rules

A federal assassin grows a conscious just when he's about to pull the trigger.

He has decision to make: Finish his assignment, or follow his gut and save his quarry.


Read #122Rules to join the fray.

Birth of an American Gigolo If you've even been betrayed. If you've ever been cheated. If you've ever wanted to serve up a can of whoopass on someone that desperately deserved it but never got the chance... ​It's time for you to get the revenge you so truly deserve. A Husband. A Mistress. A #WifesRevenge Get your revenge. Read #BirthOfAnAmericanGigolo