With Twitter becoming more mainstream with every passing day, an interesting occurrence of what I believe is perceived “satisfaction giving” of welcoming a new follower has become more and more prevalent. Although from a theoretical point of view it may make sense to welcome new followers with an automatic message, it seems the intent of the message has been lost, or for the most part misused, which is actually causing “dissatisfaction” amongst the majority of Twitter users.
Last night I decided to test the waters and sent out a quick survey to my 2200 
followers with the simple question of: “Auto Dm’s YES or NO GO!” Without any surprise, I received hundreds of responses (immediately) stating a definitive NO to the question.
Has The Auto Direct Message Become A Sign Of Our Times?
Instant communication, Instant response, Instant connection, Instant gratification has, like-it-or-not become the paradox of our now “expectation economy” of: ‘I want it my way, on my time, in real time” and with economic uncertainty now a reality, organizations are faced with this fact while grappling with how Customer Satisfaction has evolved and “should” be tended to. The easiest conclusion derived? Add another form of “instant” communication through technological means. In an earlier blog post I explained how the customer loyalty landscape has forever changed with the emergence of Twitter, and it seems since writing this “instant electronic personalization” has spilled over into individual lives as well.
My Perception On The Auto DM 
I find many direct messages welcoming me to be an annoyance rather than a form of satisfaction in following the person and them welcoming me. Like many companies we work with, it seems the personalization of the human component that is missing in most fundamental interactions is exactly what is causing the annoyance to most people receiving the message. The personal touch associated with saying “thx for following me Jason, I enjoyed your latest blog post” rather than “thx for the follow @jasontryfon, click my link here to read my blog and see how you can lose 20 pounds fast” is essentially lost in translation thereby causing the dissatisfaction many of you experience.
The Net/Net?
True satisfaction is responding and interacting to people in near real time as we all are learning, however with some things we need to keep the K.I.S.S rule top of mind. Avoid using the Auto DM as a link to hype your own product or service and think of your new follower as someone you are meeting at a party for the first time. If we were just meeting for the first time would you run up to me and jam a business card in my face with a 10 second pitch to your company? Most likely not, as it would be off putting for the receiver. Your interactions with your new peers electronically are no different, so be cognizant of the actual satisfaction element you are providing, as it may cause the opposite of what you think you are providing.
What do you think? Chime in and share it!
