Connie Reece

The auto-DM on Twitter is the equivalent of the telemarketing call: unsolicited, unwanted and, increasingly, unavoidable. Third-party applications that allow Twitter users to send auto-DMs appeal to those using Twitter primarily as a marketing channel. 

Recently I’ve been looking for new voices on Twitter and expanding the number of people I follow. As a result, I’m getting more auto-DMs, and they always aggravate me. Sometimes I even unfollow the sender.

If I get one or two a day, imagine what it must be like for Twitter users who are in customer service? My friend Richard Binhammer (@RichardatDELL) is deluged with auto-DMs even though his Twitter bio reads as follows: “member of Dell’s social media team: DO NOT AUTO DM me.”

If you’re listed on the national Do Not Call registry, telemarketers cannot call unless they have a previously established relationship with you, such as that between an issuing bank and a credit card holder. There is no analogous feature for Twitter, but there’s a whole bunch of people—including me—who believe that auto-DMs breach an unwritten rule: Don’t market to me unless we have already established a relationship on Twitter.

Interact with me first. Earn the right to market to me. 

Photo Credit: Flickr user Cayusa; Creative Commons license