The term ‘tweetdecking’ stands for the practice of copying the tweets of others without giving credit, to boost the number of followers. Tweetdeck groups are also accused of mass-retweeting each other’s content and selling retweets for money, forcing tweets to go viral.
Retweeting content is thought to be an alternative to posting identical content. However, high-volume automated Retweeting is not permitted according to Twitter’s regulations.
Tweetdecking along with other violation of rules were the reasons why Twitter took the decision to suspend some of the accounts of its most popular users. According to Twitter, such practices are thought to affect its credibility.
The ‘decks’ reference in the term ‘tweetdecking’ refers to users in groups who have a huge number of followers that unite together to sell their pull on social media to individuals and brands.
Such practices are most common among younger users, where it was proven to be extremely profitable for some who generate monthly incomes of thousands of dollars because of ‘tweetdecking’.
This step of mass suspensions came after Twitter announced a set of new regulations dedicated to cutting spam. Twitter’s spam policy states that users ‘may not use Twitter’s services for spamming anyone’ and are not permitted to ‘sell, purchase, or attempt to artificially inflate account interactions. ‘
Some of the users suspended had hundreds of thousands of followers, and even some had millions of followers on their accounts. One account with nearly 10 million followers, named @girlposts, was one of the accounts shut down by Twitter. As listed by Statweestics, this account was listed as the sixth most popular account of 2017, beating out CNN, Fox News, and Harry Styles.
Many of the suspended users went back on Twitter with new accounts, expressing their disappointment, and asking their followers to return.
Previously Twitter had suspended many Tweetdeckers, but then reinstated their accounts, however, this latest decision of mass suspension, is shown to be a more serious, turning point step towards combating spam.
After the incident, #TwitterLockOut was the trending hashtag on Twitter where many users were arguing that they were being targeted by the site.
Twitter responded that, its ongoing work on safety is without any bias, where it is constantly working on identifying any suspicious activity that may indicate violations of policies or terms of service.
The Common reasons for Twitter Suspending users’ accounts fall under 3 categories:
Spam: The most common reason for suspending accounts is either because they are spammy, fake, or because they impose security risks for Twitter and its users. However, a real person’s account could be suspended by mistake, and in such a case Twitter will work on getting the account back.
Account security at risk: If it is suspected that an account has been hacked, Twitter may suspend it until it can be restored to the owner so that to reduce any potential malicious activity.
Abusive Tweets or behavior: If an account engages in abusive behavior (sending threats or impersonating other accounts), Twitter may suspend it temporarily, and sometimes permanently.
How will Twitter unsuspend a user’s account?
It prompts that asking the user to provide some information, appears when he/she tries to log in, the account may get unsuspended by following instructions.
Other forms of suspension may include temporarily preventing the user from Tweeting, where a message saying the account has been locked appears.
The user may also file an appeal to Twitter, asking for unsuspension of the account.
That’s all for today folks, stay tuned to #SocialSpeak for more on the latest social media trends in 2018.
https://help.twitter.com/en/managing-your-account/suspended-twitter-accounts
