How do I get actual customer support from Twitter?

September 2, 2009 10:22 AM

I run a moderately popular blog. I'd like to have the Twitter account associated with the URL, but it's suspended -- presumably because somebody used it for evil. I've contacted Twitter support several times, and they make motions like it's possible for me to claim this account but then they just close my ticket (marking it as "solved") with no explanation. I cannot figure out how to get actual support. Has anyone experienced a similar issue? How can I get Twitter support to actually support me and not mark an unsolved issue as "solved"? Am I simply at the mercy of the Twitter fates? Yes, I know Twitter is a free product and that I get what I pay for. Thanks.
posted by jdroth to computers & internet (11 comments total)

I'm not sure on what grounds you think you can take a Twitter account that someone else has already registered, even if it is currently suspended for naughtiness.

There are already many many high-profile people using name-variant accounts on twitter because a faker/squatter got there first, or because they preferred a nickname.

I would use a variant for a new twitter account. jdroth_blog, or something short and sweet that lets people RT your tweets without consuming half the tweet with your name.
posted by Billegible at 10:33 AM on September 2 [1 favorite]

Additionally: if that name has had bad behavior in the past it might well be blocked by a number of accounts. Much better to start fresh and clean.
posted by Billegible at 10:35 AM on September 2

Yeah, I don't necessarily want to take the account from a legitimate user. That's not my goal. But if the user has been banned (which seems to be the case -- the account has been suspended for nearly six months), I'd love to have it myself.

On the other hand, you make a good point about the length of the account name. @getrichslowly takes up a HUGE amount of space. Maybe I should be looking for @GRS or something like that. Nice tip. Thanks.

Alas, @GRS is taken, too. Can one buy a Twitter account from another user? I'll have to look into that.
posted by jdroth at 10:42 AM on September 2

Think about "thereal{blog}". Many celebrities do "thereal{name}" on Twitter, so it would be a familiar style to many readers.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:42 AM on September 2

@grsblog is available. Quick like a bunny!
posted by Billegible at 10:50 AM on September 2

maybe go with something like @GRSlowly - shorter, but has a familiar hook.
posted by mikepop at 10:50 AM on September 2

In my experience Twitter is nearly useless on any kind of customer service level. I contacted them a few times about getting a username that had one post two years ago, is following nobody and has zero followers. I didn't get so much as a courtesy response. Add this to their unwillingness to deal with the spam problem or even acknowledge one exists and you'd probably get more satisfaction out of talking to a wall.
posted by mikesch at 10:52 AM on September 2

Hop hop hop...

Okay, put a temporary hold on that. Thanks, Billegible...
posted by jdroth at 10:53 AM on September 2

I like GRSlowly, as a reader of your blog. ;)
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 11:23 AM on September 2

If I had a popular brand like @getrichslowly I'd still want to be able to grab the name if I could, even if only to keep someone else from squatting on it if and when twitter decides it's unsuspended. It would probably be helpful to have a trademark registration. I found this discussion unsympathetic, though.

(Unfortunately for searching this topic, nearly all results are about trademarks held or asserted by Twitter itself.)

I guess the Doc Searls marketing-as-conversation angle would be to open a dialog on twitter with @ev (hi!) or @bizstone or maybe more fruitfully @jack about what their squatting policy is. Maybe they'll ignore you, maybe not.
posted by dhartung at 6:31 PM on September 2

Another vote for @grslowly. Have you tried opening a dialogue on twitter not with their execs, but with the customer service people themselves?
posted by lsemel at 8:00 PM on September 2