by We are in the process of transitioning our Twitter stream from the old Boles Blogs account to the newer and shinier @DavidBoles account. The reason we’re making the big switch is to provide more impulsive and reactive updates to our hive mind that won’t rely on a formal blog post for propagation.
By moving the Twitter stream to — @DavidBoles — there is a little more freedom to discuss the world without the feeling that we’re unfairly trading on those who only wanted blog post updates. Now the world is a free-for-all — and we’re finally, and gladly, joining the center of that social networking tsunami. Twitter, I surrender!
Over the weekend, a clarion call was sent out to all our social memes — 8,600 on LinkedIn and 4,700 on Facebook and beyond! — to try to help punch up the new @DavidBoles Twitter account.
[twitter-follow screen_name=’davidboles’ show_count=’yes’]
So far, things are going well and we’ve had lots of offers to help spread the word. We appreciate you following us, too!
As we continue to propel our best interests deeper into the social mesh, it becomes important to get verified on Twitter. Facebook now offers “verification” too — but Twitter is the first kingmaker of social memes — and so the new focus is on getting the @DavidBoles account verified.
I realize some believe it is uncouth to ask for help getting a Twitter account verified, but as my good friend John Faulkner told me a long time ago, “You can’t get a ‘yes’ if you don’t ask” — and that has been my guiding philosophy for the last 30 years: Always ask. “Yes” is hard. “No” is easy.
I know Twitter refuses “outside” requests to put a “verified” stamp on an account, and even knowing someone who works at Twitter will only get you a boilerplate reply that outside requests are not accepted for verified account status — so you’re left in the twist of this evil swirl of uncertainty and conundrums where nothing is possible but everything is available for the select few.
That sort of social striation on human networks has always been a disappointment, but a hard reality, in the race to be heard and noticed and followed.
The one horror for me in moving the Boles Blogs updates over to @DavidBoles was that we were a unique lone wolf on Boles Blogs, but on @DavidBoles we have at least ten, YES 10!, other “David Boles” accounts on Twitter competing for attention.
Confusing much?
Gahh!
Here’s the second page of “David Boles” on Twitter.
Yes, I know some of those accounts are inactive or even empty, but I still think it’s confusing for those doing a Twitter search for The One & Only! Ha! Don’t believe me, let the Wayback Machine push you to 1996! Harr!
I understanding getting Twitter to christen you, and your lifetime of work, with their verification stamp is not the most important First World Problem — but it does matter in the mighty scheme of memes — and if you are able to help get @DavidBoles verified, we’d be forever yours.
Good luck with this transition. Don’t put too much into getting verified. It doesn’t seem like a predictable thing and wanting it means they won’t give it to you.
You make a good point about not wanting it — and you’re right the process is ephemeral and purposefully exclusive and dark — but there are many ways to get verified, and getting people behind you and publicly supporting you seems to help based on some passive research and purposeful colloquial polling I’ve been doing on the point. It only takes one right person to make it click.
I do wish there were an easy way to merge Twitter accounts like you can with Pages on Facebook. The process would be so much simpler and invisible.
David,
My experience with verification comes, of all places, from following one of the actors on Degrassi. He kept on asking people to tweet “Please verify (hisname)” and over about two weeks hundreds if not thousands of people did exactly that, until Twitter finally did it.
For now it seems like they chiefly verify actors and celebrities. That will change eventually. Congratulations on a nice long healthy life online — I’ve been right there with you for most of the journey 🙂
Yes, I’ve read about those orchestrated campaigns to get bands and celebrities verified. It shouldn’t work, according to Twitter, but it can work and I’m thrilled when it happens.
I’ve also read some companies can get verified by spending $15k-$20k on Twitter advertising — sort of a “buy in” for the great unwashed, and I certainly support that, too. You gotta pay to play. I won’t be able to pay in that sandbox, though. SMILE!
I know Twitter says followers don’t matter — content and such are the variable factors — but there’s certainly a method for getting Verified… because all sorts of people are getting verified; and that’s the interesting part of it all. “Yes, we will not verify you, congratulations on being verified!” Ha!
Once Twitter got embedded into my iPhone’s OS — I know the gig was up — and it was time to submit and not just play along, but go along, too.