An Automation Abomination On Twitter
I hate automated tweets. The “thanks for following” and “thanks for being my top engaged follower this week” tweets run rampant, yet what impact do they really have?
If you’re asking me – it’s an automation abomination.
I said that in one of those Monster Truck announcer voices, just so you know.
The whole point of creating automation is to help you with that pesky manners thing and to drive engagement, right? (I hate to even use the word “engagement” because it’s been abused enough that its meaning is probably unclear by now.) My point is that it doesn’t do what it’s intended to do – it doesn’t make people feel warm and fuzzy. It doesn’t make them think they’re special to you. It doesn’t mean that people will call you first with their next great opportunity or to network. It doesn’t mean that people feel your gratitude and that they are a valued part of your team.
It means they let a robot access all of their profile information. It means their Twitter page reads like a marketing page for whatever company you’re using, who insists on mentioning their name at the end of every tweet.
A quick note to the companies who build this automation as a service, just because you put your name in parenthesis doesn’t make it seem any more like an authentic endorsement.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a true southern lady and I believe in manners and thank you’s, just like Allison Lane in her latest post about “thank you’s” in a digital world. However there’s no such thing as engagement automation that doesn’t come across as, well, automation.
Think about it – what if you started getting robot calls, that appeared to come from your nephew, that said “thank you Aunt. I appreciate you” then just hung up. Would that feel like an actual call from your nephew? Nope. When you automate a thank you tweet, that’s pretty much what you’re doing.
How To Remove Automated Twitter Bots
I keep going on this automation rant and the first thing people say is “I don’t know how to turn off access.”
I’m here to help.
- Log into Twitter on a desktop browser.
- Go here: https://twitter.com/settings/applications
- Click “Revoke access” next to anything you don’t actually use Twitter as a login for. I’ve even included a picture in case you’re blind.
That’s it.
Thank you for clicking all the buttons and saving me from yet another automation abomination on your Twitter account.
And you’re welcome.
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Kat Kibben View All →
Kat Kibben [they/them] is a keynote speaker, writing expert, and LGBTQIA+ advocate who teaches hiring teams how to write inclusive job postings that will get the right person to apply faster.
Before founding Three Ears Media, Katrina was a CMO, Technical Copywriter, and Managing Editor for leading companies like Monster, Care.com, and Randstad Worldwide. With 15+ years of recruitment marketing and training experience, Katrina knows how to turn talented recruiting teams into talented writers who write for people, not about work.
Today, Katrina is frequently featured as an HR and recruiting expert in publications like The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. They’ve been named to numerous lists, including LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Job Search & Careers. When not speaking, writing, or training, you’ll find Katrina traveling the country in their van or spending some much needed downtime with the dogs that inspired the name Three Ears Media.