I hate those autoresponders, but I swear by socialtoo.com Jesse created a great program that lets me see who's adding and removing me on twitter.
Jesse Stay
· 11 months ago
Thanks, Andrew! Our goal is to give you choice, while at the same time making these social networks better places to belong. The goal is to make the most out of the way *you* use these social networks.
Sheinina West
· 8 months ago
I have to agree DM's can be a nuisance especially when they are unexpected. As a member member of numerous networks from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr for example and my inbox is over DM'd. Although I have responded to each request for Mom Lounge I have considered the time that could be saved as I would like to say a sincere thank you to fans. Mom Lounge supports Twitter's initiative for a human response to a human request!
Julie Wright
· 11 months ago
The autoresponders are made worse by the fact they're used disingenuously so often. "Hey, thanks for the follow. Download my ebook at www.douchebaggery.com!"
Let's stamp out that kind of practice! Thanks @jbruin...
Grant Griffiths
· 11 months ago
I find it so interesting that those who bitch and complain the most about there should not be rules on twitter are the same ones who want to make rules. Why complain about automatic DM's to new followers? Aren't we all free to use twitter the way we want? If so, don't say there should be no automatic DM's. Twitter is the great opt-in, opt-out. You opt-in to follow someone and you can optt-out following them if you want.
Dave Barger
· 11 months ago
I wrote a post that I now send new followers to if they look clueless newbies (just to help them out). If I see bot behavior or auto-any-type of behavior (even thank yous), they're immediate candidates for blocking. This is exactly why these ranking sites are useless "who's who's".
There are now bots replying to bots out there. A huge waste. Look at these (practically hilarious) tweets here: http://twitter.com/nash8686
See you out there in the convo!
Christine Kerner
· 11 months ago
I agree with Julie. It's OK with me to get a basic, "thanks" message, but I am always annoyed by cold calling, especially on social networks.
Jesse Stay
· 11 months ago
@Gloson, thanks for letting us know about the changing username issue. I may have to contact Twitter about that one, as they don't notify you in the API when a user changes usernames that I'm aware of. I'll look into it.
Mihai Secasiu
· 11 months ago
How does this work? why isn't it possible to block any first dm from people I follow even if they are not part of socialtoo ?
Jesse Stay
· 11 months ago
@Mihai we're the ones sending the SocialToo generated DMs, so we can decide if they get sent or not. This feature determines whether we send it to the individual or not. You now have choice, and marketers rejoice because their messages are only being sent to those that want them.
john pasmore
· 11 months ago
I think auto/res can encourge conversations -- I just got one and dropped the sender a DM back; I generally hesitate to send DM's to people I havent talked to, but if you want to open the conversation with one; great; even an automatic one. That said, not replying to DM's is good reason to un-follow...the whole ecosytem is evolving...will get better/smarter/personal...
The Virtual Consulting Firm
· 11 months ago
We are Undecided at to whether or not we *hate* auto-DM's or not yet ...
So far we don't terribly mind the casual, but unnecessary "Thank You for following auto-DM's", possibly with their web site URL, but ...
We Definitely *hate* the auto-DM's that are deceptive trying to get us to sign up for and/or Sell us something right off! :[
We hope this helps and Have a Great Day! :)
Chris Cade
· 11 months ago
I don't have any issues with auto-DMs. The way I see it, if I followed somebody then I'm obviously interested in what they have to say. An auto-DM doesn't change that, and in due time my interacts with that person will become clear.
@GaryPaulson
· 11 months ago
I am a twitter noob but feel I would either want to unfollow someone who sent an auto DMs or possibly use Dave Barger's idea above and DM suggesting they not use the bots.
Maybe if there was a standard message we could all send to these folks? Any takers?
Shevonne
· 11 months ago
I agree. DM are the worst things to ever be invented for Twitter. SocialToo looks interesting, so I am going to twiddle with it to see if it has some value.
Douglas Karr
· 11 months ago
I've added over 100 RSS subscribers directly from auto-responders. It would be stupid of me now to capitalize on the popularity of my Twitter account and try to drive people to my blog, where the real insight and conversation happens.
Jay Collier
· 11 months ago
Don't kill the messenger. The content in an automated DM is the point.
If it is a welcoming message with relevant links, I like it.
If it is an innane DM, I don't.
Again, it's not about the technique, but how it's used.
Jesse Stay
· 11 months ago
@GaryPaulson that's an interesting idea - perhaps we could add that as an additional option beyond just ignoring the messages. I'll play around with that.
KOKOSHARE
· 11 months ago
thats a great idea
Nathaniel
· 11 months ago
and just the other day you were complaining about 3rd party apps, hmmmmm
KyNam Doan
· 11 months ago
Twitter users police Twitter a bit too much, myself included. I'll take options over no options any day. @kynamdoan
Vyktureous
· 11 months ago
Cuz I just got started on Twitter today.
kelly
· 11 months ago
What I hate is the group that put out that ebook with the suggestion to follow then immediately unfollow. Anyone that does that to me, I'm writing down and not adding again.
JanSimpson
· 11 months ago
Thank you! I didn't know I checked that button and have been sending horrid auot messages - what a rude thing to do - and those who say "I don't have the time cause I am so important that everyone wants to be me" it doesn't excuse not taking the time to write a note - or hey why don't you opt not to write a note - and just have a conversation with those on Twitter - wow what a concept.
Nice post.
Jan
Jason Moody
· 11 months ago
I received a message from one twitter account I followed which told me (briefly) what business they were in and asked what I did, which I think is useful as it allowed them to make the decision on wether or not I was worth following in return.
Linnet Woods
· 11 months ago
The ultimate would be to have a bot that answers all the auto DMs that come in so you can talk to people and DMs can talk to each other... I don't use auto DMs but I wouldn't turn off other people's incoming auto DMs - that would make me as bad-mannered and impersonal as they are in my estimation!The good ones elicit a reponse and the lousy ones are easy enough to ignore :-)
David Brown
· 11 months ago
I don't like the socialtoo dm's because no one knows how to set them up properly and I keep getting these "would you like a cool message like this too socialtoo.com" great for socialtoo.com but I now know that you don't know what the hell your doing.
I have been using tweetlater.com since about October - and I use a very simple dm to introduce myself to my new followers - so far 99% positive response from 3,200 new followers...
Thanks for the follow! I made you a 30 second Twitter Welcome Video http://neo1seo.com/tweeple Thanks again, David Brown
I'm not selling anything and I think it's a heck of a lot more personal than any 140 characters you can throw my way...
.02 @neoblog
Esmaa Self
· 11 months ago
I've been keenly tuned into the backlash with regards to auto welcome messages. I use an auto welcome (for now at least) and receive a fair number of personal DM responses from that. My message doesn't ask for anything, nor does it redirect. It is, quite frankly, what I would send personally if I had time to do so. (But seriously, with all a writer must do to create platform and Web presence, a wise writer will choose carefully where she spends social networking time or she'll miss writing deadlines!) Quite a few of my new followers send replies to my auto welcome, which is a good way to initiate engaging exchange and perhaps a gauge of its reception.
That said, I also receive a lot of auto welcomes. These don't (generally) bother me a whit, as most provide pertinent info. The ones that are all about selling are easy to ignore and delete. I have unfollowed those whose sole purpose on Twitter seems to be about selling their wares, but for the most part I am interested in people whoever they are and in whatever fashion they present themselves. I can learn from all.
I applaud Jesse Stay for creating the auto-greeting block option. You go, guy!
Anne Goodrich
· 11 months ago
I send DMs that let people know I know who I'm connecting with. Oftentimes I read their blog, check out their web site or peruse their tweets. It's about relationships, isn't it? Maybe if it's too time consuming, then a Social Media VA would be a good choice - but not auto-replies. That kind of defeats the purpose of it all...
meznor
· 11 months ago
Hate is a strong word... but yes, they are annoying.
JanSimpson
· 11 months ago
Hate is a strong word - but when used on objects such as technology, furniture, cars etc. it is quite acceptable. However, using on a person is unacceptable. It doesn't matter what they do to you or others, I use the saying "I wish you no bad luck, I wish you no good luck, my only hope is that the courtesy you bestowed upon me is bestowed upon you" Not sure who said it - but they were right - then let the universe take care of them - I have too many other important things to do with my life than waste it on someone that makes me feel negative.
Just my humble opinion.
Jan
Jesse Stay
· 11 months ago
Ari, the reason is because my resources are limited and I haven't had the time. Our privacy policy is this. We do all we can to keep your information private, under lock and key, and will not sell your information to third party services. If you read the Twitter development lists I am also one of the stronger advocates of encouraging OAuth and removing the need for plaintext usernames and passwords - I've been pushing this for a year now. I hate having your information on our servers. I'd rather Twitter have control over that.
Oh, and I'm having the same issue - it looks like the textarea tag exceeds beyond the size of the div it's in.
RSS.lt
· 11 months ago
I hate it.
Ben Nesvig
· 11 months ago
The automatic DM is the most annoying aspect of Twitter. Make it personal.
mike fabio
· 11 months ago
I use an auto-DM to tell followers other ways of connecting to me. Is that so wrong?
Personally, I have no issues with auto-DM, but I do hate Twitter 'users' that are simply bots or feeds. I see very little point to that, especially when most of these feeds are freely available RSS anyhow.
In any case, the ability to block incoming auto-DMs is a nice SocialToo feature. Keep up the good work, Jesse.
Jesse Stay
· 11 months ago
@Andrea, so far - 192 people have opted to not receive auto-dms, 2,650 people have opted to send them. So I believe it's probably a minority - probably people with lots of followers and get overwhelmed with the dms, that turn them off. I still think people should have choice though, which is why I enabled the feature.
funkyboy
· 11 months ago
I think it really depends on how you "conceptualize" the service offered. If you have a high rate of followers per day, there is no way to make a personal greeting message. Unless you have found a way to stop the time for a while :) Or maybe you automatic dm can be something like: "don't follow me for a while cause I am busy saying thanks" :)
The discussion in this thread is about sending/receiving. Of course an anonymous message is not perceived as a message written exactly for us.
But I think a tool has to meet the needs of everybody, those who have 2.000 new followers per day, and those who want to receive only customized DMs.
Jesse's tool is rather new, and it is growing (thanks also to our suggestions I guess) so let's give him time to improve it. In any case I think this issue is now fixed, right?
My 2$
Michael T. Seeker
· 11 months ago
Yea, and I just hate it when someone I say hi to on the street automatically says hi back. It's just so tacky and disrespectful of my time!
Joseph McLaughlin
· 11 months ago
First off: Great job on SocialToo Jesse, I don't think we'll ever be able to thank you enough!
Next: I use auto-follow and don't mind most of the messages I get, I actually think they're pretty cool. Here's my auto-follow message: Auto-reply: Thanks for following me! I'm always looking for new people to follow, so please introduce yourself!
This message is particularly useful because it gives me the opportunity to meet more people while letting the person know that I didn't write it personally to them. I think this is a great discussion and I think it's great that Jesse's added the great feature to turn of auto-DM's from SocialToo users.
Thanks and feel free to contact me on twitter: @mclaughj
Jesse Stay
· 11 months ago
Joseph, thanks! One suggestion - if you choose to send auto-dms, I suggest you add the user's name to make it more personal. You can do so by inserting <> or <> where you want the user's name to go.
Jesse Stay
· 11 months ago
Er, let's try that again (remove the spaces): < > and < > are what that's supposed to say.
Jesse Stay
· 11 months ago
LOL - I give up. DM me and I'll tell you how to do it. :-)
Joseph McLaughlin
· 11 months ago
Thanks Jesse, I think that adds a very personal touch to it without pretending I wrote it.
funkyboy
· 11 months ago
That is a nice feature Jesse. Thanks!
Simone Icough
· 10 months ago
Boy am I glad I found this website, I only just realised I was sending automatic messages, I was horrified when I noticed this the other day, I hate them yet I am sending them!
After finding your post I now know how to change this, however, this started happening 2 days ago because I have had SocialToo for some time and automatic messages were not being sent, has this happened to anyone else?
Great post and thanks so much, I would have been pulling my hair out otherwise!
Jessica
· 9 months ago
Well,
where is the sense in creating an APP to allow auto-DM's only to bring a feature that blocks it? Halllooohooo?
Something is wrong in this world...
Cheers, Jessica
Dana Franks
· 9 months ago
If I get an auto-DM, all it tells me is that they didn't look at my account long enough to say something personal about it. I find it almost as offensive as being followed by an account that follows thousands and doesn't have any Tweets. I follow a lot of folks, but I make sure to actually read them before I follow and then reply to a Tweet.
Sheinina West
· 8 months ago
I have to agree, auto DM's can be a nuisance especially when they are unexpected, as a member of numerous social networks from, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube to Flickr for example, my in box is over DM'd. Although I have responded to each request for Mom Lounge I have considered how much time could be saved by auto DM, as I would like to say a sincere thank you :-) to Mom Lounge fans. Since reading the Social Too article, I support Twitter's new direction of making sure a human responds to a human request.
Sheinina West
· 8 months ago
I have to agree DM's can be a nuisance especially when they are unexpected. As a member member of numerous networks from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr for example and my inbox is over DM'd. Although I have responded to each request for Mom Lounge I have considered the time that could be saved as I would like to say a sincere thank you to fans. Mom Lounge supports Twitter's initiative for a human response to a human request!
Sheinina West
· 8 months ago
I have to agree DM's can be a nuisance especially when they are unexpected. As a member member of numerous networks from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr for example and my inbox is over DM'd. Although I have responded to each request for Mom Lounge I have considered the time that could be saved as I would like to say a sincere thank you to fans. Mom Lounge supports Twitter's initiative for a human response to a human request!
All Comments
Let's stamp out that kind of practice! Thanks @jbruin...
if they look clueless newbies (just to help them out).
If I see bot behavior or auto-any-type of behavior (even thank yous),
they're immediate candidates for blocking. This is exactly
why these ranking sites are useless "who's who's".
There are now bots replying to bots out there. A huge waste.
Look at these (practically hilarious) tweets here:
http://twitter.com/nash8686
See you out there in the convo!
am always annoyed by cold calling, especially on social networks.
So far we don't terribly mind the casual, but unnecessary "Thank You for following
auto-DM's", possibly with their web site URL, but ...
We Definitely *hate* the auto-DM's that are deceptive trying to get us to
sign up for and/or Sell us something right off! :[
We hope this helps and Have a Great Day! :)
an auto DMs or possibly use Dave Barger's idea above and DM suggesting they
not use the bots.
Maybe if there was a standard message we could all send to these folks?
Any takers?
If it is a welcoming message with relevant links, I like it.
If it is an innane DM, I don't.
Again, it's not about the technique, but how it's used.
to follow then immediately unfollow. Anyone that does that to me,
I'm writing down and not adding again.
Nice post.
Jan
I have been using tweetlater.com since about October - and I use a very simple dm to introduce myself to my new followers - so far 99% positive response from 3,200 new followers...
Thanks for the follow! I made you a 30 second Twitter Welcome Video http://neo1seo.com/tweeple Thanks again, David Brown
I'm not selling anything and I think it's a heck of a lot more personal than any 140 characters you can throw my way...
.02 @neoblog
That said, I also receive a lot of auto welcomes. These don't (generally) bother me a whit, as most provide pertinent info. The ones that are all about selling are easy to ignore and delete. I have unfollowed those whose sole purpose on Twitter seems to be about selling their wares, but for the most part I am interested in people whoever they are and in whatever fashion they present themselves. I can learn from all.
I applaud Jesse Stay for creating the auto-greeting block option. You go, guy!
Just my humble opinion.
Jan
Oh, and I'm having the same issue - it looks like the textarea tag exceeds beyond the size of the div it's in.
Personally, I have no issues with auto-DM, but I do hate Twitter 'users' that are simply bots or feeds. I see very little point to that, especially when most of these feeds are freely available RSS anyhow.
In any case, the ability to block incoming auto-DMs is a nice SocialToo feature. Keep up the good work, Jesse.
If you have a high rate of followers per day, there is no way to make a personal greeting message.
Unless you have found a way to stop the time for a while :)
Or maybe you automatic dm can be something like: "don't follow me for a while cause I
am busy saying thanks" :)
The discussion in this thread is about sending/receiving. Of course an anonymous
message is not perceived as a message written exactly for us.
But I think a tool has to meet the needs of everybody, those who have 2.000 new followers per day,
and those who want to receive only customized DMs.
Jesse's tool is rather new, and it is growing (thanks also to our suggestions I guess) so let's give
him time to improve it. In any case I think this issue is now fixed, right?
My 2$
Next: I use auto-follow and don't mind most of the messages I get, I actually think they're pretty cool. Here's my auto-follow message:
Auto-reply: Thanks for following me! I'm always looking for new people to follow, so please introduce yourself!
This message is particularly useful because it gives me the opportunity to meet more people while letting the person know that I didn't write it personally to them. I think this is a great discussion and I think it's great that Jesse's added the great feature to turn of auto-DM's from SocialToo users.
Thanks and feel free to contact me on twitter: @mclaughj
After finding your post I now know how to change this, however, this started happening 2 days ago because I have had SocialToo for some time and automatic messages were not being sent, has this happened to anyone else?
Great post and thanks so much, I would have been pulling my hair out otherwise!
where is the sense in creating an APP to allow auto-DM's only to bring a feature that blocks it?
Halllooohooo?
Something is wrong in this world...
Cheers,
Jessica
Ali Magnano
www.whywebpr.blogspot.com