Twitterlist Backlash – Why Don’t You Want To Be On A List?
Posted: October 30th, 2009 | Author: obilon | Filed under: All | Tags: lists, Twitter | 7 Comments »
There has been a very small but vocal backlash against one aspect of Twitter Lists: What if I don’t want to be on your list? What can I do about it? I have seen a few tweets propose that question. The only solution I have seen so far is to block the person who has put you on their list. Others have said they don’t want to block people, they just want to refuse to be listed by them.
I’m not exactly sure why people are objecting to being on certain lists. If someone wants to put me on their Twitter list of “Fugliest People on Twitter” or “Tweeters Who Pick Their Nose In Public” then I might object, I certainly belong on those lists, but I still might object to being on them. Point is that Mashable and many others (myself included) have been generating lists like my Twitter Professors blog post or my charities that tweet post and so far I’ve never seen anyone object to being on those lists. As a matter of fact they are usually pleasantly surprised to be on them.
My question for the community is: What kind of lists don’t you want to be on an why? Please leave a comment with your answer. I’ll do a follow up post analyzing the results if I get enough responses.
I too am happy to appear on a list created by someone who knows my feed. I also may be categorized differently than I might expect….but so far that too has been a pleasant surprise. Someone put me in a list of “smartwomen” and another “treasures”. Thank you, I will take it!
Since a Twitterer actually has to follow us in order to list us I don’t think there will be an abuse of the system — say by someone who thinks we belong on a list of people who are “fullofit” or “deadwrong” or “jacka**es”.
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Hi, Lon – thanks for posting this question. I’m one of those who is worried about being put on lists by people I don’t follow and don’t know. What if the list is a way to collect names in order to start phishing or spamming them?
I have noticed a big increase in the amount of phishing scams on Twitter in the last few weeks – could it be due to people being put on lists so that their Twitter names and profiles become easier to find? I don’t know – but I’m worried.
I was wrong! You can put people you don’t follow on a list… see Liz Pullen’s suggested strategies and etiquette here: http://spiral-scratch.blogspot.com/2009/10/twitter-lists-101-etiquette-strategies.html
She suggests you put people on lists who you don’t follow but want to check in on every now and then…
Raima’s right – we’re about to see a flood of spamming and likely more phishing. If you’ve done some amateur photography and a couple of photog people put you on their lists, how long can it be before everyone selling anything remotely photography related starts spamming those folks with offers?
Hi Lon,
Way to be quick on such a timely topic!
My frustration with Twitter lists isn’t necessarily being on a list I’d rather not be on. I can ignore that (I think). What does irk me about this feature is the complete disregard for what I see Twitter to be: a community. Lists might just drive us into the “who is cooler than whom?” mentality we had in high school. Are there already cliques on Twitter? Yes. But before lists they were somewhat fluid…the lines could be blurred. The list feature gives a black and white statement of “sorry, you are NOT in this group.” Mediums such as Twitter and Facebook must change; they cannot remain stagnant. But what they must also do is listen to their users to find out what they really aren’t feeling so great about. Like me…and lists.
Thanks for letting me know about your post!!
@kottavio
Lon, I can’t really think of any lists I don’t want to be on (I’m sure someone will surprise me at some point though). I don’t see Twitter lists as a problem. I really enjoy looking at other people’s lists. And, I have found some interesting people and publications to follow through other people’s lists. So there is value as well.
By the way, I was just looking through lists I’ve been put on, most having to do with PR, and found the most interesting list name is “juice.” I don’t know why I’m on a list called juice, but I’m in good company
As to people worried that lists will be used to target spam at certain groups, I think there are a lot easier ways to spam than to search for lists that fit your spam topic. Search engines would be much more effective to get long lists of people interested in say photography (think: wefollow.com, twellow.com, even google or bing).