As I stated in my last blog post, I am currently “invisible” on Twitter. So, why am I not to be found in searches.
The answer seems to lie with Twitter’s own rules. They specifically state that; If your updates consist mainly of links, and not personal updates; your account could be suspended because it is considered SPAM.
So, what do I tweet that could be considered “spammy”? My tweets consist of contesting tips and tricks, with links to various parts of my website, such as:
5 easy steps to start finding, entering & winning #contests & #sweepstakes http://bit.ly/4M4CI #win
Automatically be entered into my bi-weekly #contest – subscribe to The Winning EDGE http://bit.ly/cpMfP #win #sweepstakes
or promotion of various events I am a part of, such as:
Join me on Oct 3 in #Ottawa – How To Win Cash, Cars, Trips & More! http://bit.ly/Fkl0Y beginners, contestors & marketers welcome
Did you know there was an annual sweepstakes convention? The 21st one will be held in Bloomington MN SEP 1-5, 2010 http://bit.ly/SzgG1
or retweets (RT) of contests and sweepstakes posted by people and companies I follow, such as:
RT @FeistyFrugal Book giveaway 5 copies http://bit.ly/3933NH Trying to get pregnant?
RT @ContestsGuide Today’s new sweeps are up, with a chance at a Camaro, a $20,000 scholarship, and more: http://bit.ly/7coU1
or my own Twitter contest entries, such as:
#WIN an iPod Touch (tweet) or Macbook Pro (pic contest) by putting #rummikubiphone in your tweet. http://bit.ly/576I8 Read full rules.
NEW iPhone 3GS Giveaway contest. #WIN by following @WeekinRewind and RETWEET often. http://xr.com/nq4 He follows back everyone! GOOD LUCK!
and “yogurt” tweets, such as:
having tea with a friend @starbucks, nice to have adult conversation
off to get the Prize Princess from day camp, tweet more later!
What I find very curious is, if you go to Twitter and type in the word sweepstakes or contest in the search field on the home page of the same terms in the Find People field, my Twitter account will not appear, yet dozens of other people and companies doing exactly what I am doing are listed.
More amazing is the fact 57% of the tweets by Fortune 100 companies are contests!
View more documents from guest338fbe.
At this point, I am not sure if Twitter is trying to fix this problem or not. This Known Issue (Users Missing from Find People Search) has appeared, been “solved”, been reposted, then “solved”, reappeared, etc. I will patiently wait for Twitter to figure out a way to sort the wheat (real honest users) from the chaff (spammers and scoundrels) without limiting everyone to vanity and yogurt tweets.
I would like to end with a great quote from @valerie2350 with regards how she is gaining new followers without being found in searches either. “but …. all of the women who are looking for a good time and who follow me and want me register on their sites to see naked pictures of them can still find me…”
Hmmm….
August 28th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
LOL! I’m invisible too, except to those naked women… maybe naked women have x-ray vision? That might be why they’re naked, they assume everyone else has x-ray vision too…
September 17th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
I use Twitter mostly for entering contests and sweepstakes. I don’t post anything for sale as I am not a business. However, over the weekend I was sent some rules with links to my email acct by Twitter. I see nothing wrong with how I am using it but apparently they see it as spam. You would think is they do a search on sweeps themselves they would see that people are only tweeting what is required in order to enter.
One thing to consider, I heard recently that Twitter may start charging companies ad fees for using Twitter. That may be what has prompted this.