Ever have 47,000 people disappear on you out of the blue? It happened to me two days ago and I can assure you, it\u2019s not fun. Was I freakin? Big time. Especially since I had no clue why it happened. Here\u2019s the story\u2026<\/p>\n
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So I go to log in to my twitter account on Friday night only to find a big red box on my login screen which reads, \u201cYour account has been suspended due to strange activity.\u201d I can\u2019t remember what the small print said, but it was something like, \u201cWe\u2019re not going to go into more detail and you can kiss our sweaty balls if you don\u2019t like it, loser.\u201d<\/p>\n
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As you might imagine, I had a heart attack right there on the spot and instantly soiled my Calvins. As my heart raced uncontrollably, I tried to dig up a plausible reason for my suspension. Did I spam anybody? Nope. Did I go overboard trying to follow and unfollow too many people? I’ve used the same following regime every day\u00a0for the last\u00a06 months without a problem. So then, what the f*&%?<\/p>\n
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I eventually convinced myself that Twitter must be under another 4Chan attack (for more on the infamous \u201cGorilla Penis\u201d attack, go\u00a0HERE<\/a> ) and quickly put in a support request to let them know I wasn\u2019t a hacker.\u00a0 About an hour later, I received an email explaining that my account was suspended for \u201cfollower churning\u201d and that I would have to wait at least a week before I could petition to be reinstated. My stomach quickly knotted up as I reached for the Tums and proceeded to state my case right then and there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I explained that, as far as following goes, I hadn\u2019t done anything unusual, I\u2019ve never spammed anyone and that many people would vouch that I\u2019m a valuable member of the community. I also asked if they could explain exactly why I was suspended so I could avoid making the same mistake in the future. They refused to elaborate and just reiterated the fact that I was banned and needed to wait a week before I could contact them again. I choked back the vomit in my throat as I reached for the Zoloft.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was now 4am and since I was too sick to sleep, I began scouring the net for answers. Apparently, \u201cfollower churning\u201d can be anything from following far more people than are following you, following and unfollowing rapidly in succession, repeatedly following and unfollowing the same people, or following a large number of people in a short amount of time. At this point, I still had no idea what I did wrong.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Twitter\u2019s support team refuses to go into detail when asked for specifics. I\u2019m not sure if they\u2019re purposely vague or don\u2019t receive enough info from the bots to elaborate. Regardless, instantly banning someone without warning is a horrible business practice, especially when Twitter\u2019s rules aren\u2019t exactly cut and dry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Part of the reason I was throwing up on myself, was that I kept envisioning my followers landing on a page that says, \u201cThis user has been suspended due to strange activity.\u201d Wouldn\u2019t most people quickly assume that the user was spamming left and right and involved in a bunch of other shenanigans? Up until now, I certainly would have. Considering a large percentage of members use their accounts for business purposes, you would think Twitter would have a system in place to help prevent someone\u2019s perceived credibility from being destroyed in an instant.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ok, enough bitching. Here\u2019s what happened next\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My frantic search for help eventually led me to a Twitter expert by the name of Chris Voss (http:\/\/thechrisvossshow.com\/<\/a>) who sells a few e-books on the ins and outs of Twitter suspension and reinstatement. He was only charging $10 for a package of four so I instantly bought them all. The info was top-notch and I quickly sent him an email to thank him and ask a quick question.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Long story short, he helped me figured out that I most likely followed a bunch of people who I previously unfollowed a short time before. Since I regularly follow the followers of big name guru\u2019s (like Tony Robbins) and don\u2019t use any software to do it, it\u2019s easy to lose track of all this stuff and, to the best of my knowledge, this is exactly what happened.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Apparently, once you make this mistake a certain number of times, it triggers the bots and you wind up suspended. Of course, since nobody knows what the parameters are, you never really know where you stand. Should you be paranoid? Well, I spent six months building a list of almost 50,000 followers only to have them all wiped out in a heartbeat. Maybe a little paranoia is a good thing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To wrap this up, I began using Chris\u2019 methods the next day and BAM\u2026 my account was reinstated in less than five hours. The gist of the method involves contacting the \u201ccorrect\u201d person and explaining your situation. The \u201cwrong\u201d person, as I discovered, will refuse to listen to a word you say and completely leave you hanging. Customer service at its finest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So if you\u2019re serious about Twitter, you MUST get your hands on Chris\u2019s books. It\u2019ll be the best ten bucks you\u2019ll ever spend. Not only did I get my account turned back on almost immediately, but I now have a much better idea of how to avoid getting stuck in this situation in the future. Without this info, you just might be left a bloody mess when the Twitter bird decides to swoop down and pluck out your eyeballs. Don\u2019t say I didn\u2019t warn you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n P.S. If you liked this article, please join my mailing list by entering your name and email address into the form on the right.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be notified by email when new articles are published and will also receive my free report \u201cPush The Button\u201d as a gift.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n P.P.S. Don’t forget to request your FREE 30min 1-on-1\u00a0“Rapid Transformation” coaching session by filling out the form on the home page. Go here now: SIGN ME UP!<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Make it happen,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n -Jay Cataldo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ever have 47,000 people disappear on you out of the blue? It happened to me two days ago and I can assure you, it\u2019s not fun. Was I freakin? Big time. Especially since I had no clue why it happened. Here\u2019s the story\u2026… <\/p>\n