A few days, I did something really dumb.
In trying to create a new Twitter account for a client, I accidentally deactivated @markevans. It was one of those moment when, like Homer Simpson, all you can do is say “Doh!”
According to Twitter, reactivating your Twitter account is not possible, although you would think that it would just be a matter of flipping a switch. Then again, if you’re dumb enough to deactivate your Twitter account, you only have yourself to blame if it can’t come back to life.
That said, I’m a glass half full person, who always believes everything happens for a good reason and that good things will happen to good people. (I also believe at the start of every hockey season that the Toronto Maple Leafs have a good chance of winning the Stanley Cup!)
So, I threw myself at the feet of Twitter’s support team (aka @support) to beg for forgiveness and the revival of @markevans.
Back and forth it went for several days with a steady stream of e-mails from Twitter’s support team, followed by hopeful replies. Just when the situation looked promising, another e-mail would arrive making things look uncertain.
In the meantime, I had resigned myself to @markevans disappearing into the ether, and had set up a new Twitter account, @markeconsulting.
Finally, the good news arrived:
Now, talk about getting good news!
Looking back, the worst part about losing @markevans – aside from the fact it was self-inflicted – was that I had spent two-and-a-half years nurturing it.
In the process, I had pragmatically and patiently selected 300 people to follow, and attracted more than 5,000 followers. To lose all that work was frustrating, particularly the people I had followed because restoring this group would be difficult, if not impossible.
Another important lesson is how dependent we are on third-party services for important parts of our digital footprint and personal branding.
Unlike a self-hosted blog that you control, a Twitter or Facebook account isn’t really yours. Sure you “own” your username but there’s no guarantee it can’t be taken away one day, or the service disappears. So while you spend countless hours nurturing a Twitter or Facebook account, it’s a lot of taking really good care of someone else’s garden.
Not that this will change my involvement with Twitter but it does provide a eye-opening lesson about what could happen if, for whatever reason, your plot of land on Twitter and Facebook suddenly disappeared.
Anyway, welcome back @markevans. Thank you @support, and thanks to everyone who stepped up to follow @markconsulting.
