Social Media Snubbing

Posted by on May 28, 2010 in Social Media, Twitter | 10 comments

I’ve been taking some time lately to look for interesting and relevant people to add to my list of people I follow on Twitter and doing so has meant that I’ve had the opportunity to meet some really exciting individuals.  It’s also meant that I’ve had the opportunity to see who is / isn’t following me already and more importantly… who has blocked me.

Yep, there are people out there who have blocked me from following them.

I’m not embarassed to say so… It doesn’t even really bother me.  I just think it’s silly.  Blocking users doesn’t mean they can’t see your Tweets… It just means you can’t become one of their followers.  So, I suppose they have a very red velvet rope policy about who gets the honor of reading their 140 character updates.

Some of the individuals who have blocked me are people I don’t even know… However, I’ve drawn some parallels.  For example, there is a virtual assistant who is very prominent in the industry.  She’s got a blog and a forum and such and for whatever reason, she’s blocked me.  Maybe she doesn’t want me to be seen on her followers list as I might be competition?  Maybe she just doesn’t like me?  For whatever her reasons are, I can kind of understand it.

What I can’t understand though is why the other bloggers on her site have also blocked me… I feel transported back to high school where groups of girls would form cliques and gossip about other girls.  Gossip and be nasty.  Is this really where we’ve gone to in social media?

There must have been conversations amongst them where they have decided to band together and block me as a collective.  A clique.  To partake in social media snubbing.

I’ve always believed that when you are authentic and 100% yourself, people will either love you or hate you. You draw a line in the sand and people are divided.  It makes finding your ideal community or tribe a heck of a lot easier.

It doesn’t bother me when individuals decide to unfollow or block me for their individual reasons. What worries me about social media snubbing is when negativity spurs a group action.  When a group of people can be so filled with envy, anger, spite, etc. that they’d take a collective action.

Social media allows us to be social, to build community and to get to know each other a little better. I may not enjoy every single Tweet out there but I’d prefer not to close doors in people’s faces but rather weed out the most valuable followers and engage and interact with them instead.

Have you ever experienced social media snubbing?  What did you feel in that moment?

(Photo credit: Noja on Flickr)

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  • http://twitter.com/maksbarzo Dr. Pope Maks Barzo

    Someone once demanded I follow their Tumblr who never followed back. I thought that was a jerk move. I still follow. :(

  • http://twitter.com/YukariP Yukari Peerless

    Erin, I 100% agree with you. I don't really care if somebody unfollows me and blocks me…I'm not saying it doesn't hurt, but I can't make everybody love me. All you can do it to be yourself and treat others with respect and kindness. But the whole high school crap and negativity…..it's the complete opposite of what Social Media is all about. And personally, life is too short and I have no time for it.

  • http://www.thriftymommastips.blogspot.com/ Paula Schuck

    OMG that seems so high school is right..I didn't even know you could do that. I know some protect their tweets and stuff. How lame! I won't block you ever. I am here http://www.thriftymommastips.blogspot.com/
    and here http://www.thriftymommasbrainfood.blogspot.com/

  • http://www.bsetc.com Erin Blaskie

    Yep, agreed. I wanted to write this blog post to open up conversation about online / entrepreneurial cliques. They exist, it is awful to see but I steer WAY clear of all of that. I left it behind a long time ago and am too busy LIVING to spend my time festering. :)

  • http://www.bsetc.com Erin Blaskie

    Thanks Paula!

  • http://www.bsetc.com Erin Blaskie

    I think sometimes we act differently online than we would ever act in person. For example, would you walk into a networking group and demand that someone take your card but refuse to take theirs? Probably not. However, that's what happened to you but via Tumblr.

    People use screens and mediums they can hide behind to be jerks. :)

  • KimS

    I think you are right people act differently online then they would in person. I have no idea how women in business have time to act like they are still in high school, taking the time to decide as a group who to block. That kind of behavior is one of the many reasons I went into business. I have to say even though you are young enough to be my daughter, did I just write that :-) and I've been in business for about 18-years, I find you a true inspiration and I'm always learning something new from you. I really appreciate that. No doubt they are jealous and find you a threat. I think instead of viewing each other that way we should look to each other for support and to gain knowledge, just my opinion. Thanks for being a role model even to this old lady.

  • Pkeahi

    Darling Erin,

    I commend and admire you for being authentic online. I haven't experienced social media snubbing….I don't stick my neck out that much…yet. Since KimS had the guts and wisdom to say it first, I realize this is a ditto, but, if I may quote, “even though you are young enough to be my daughter, did I just write that :-) and I've been in business for about 18-years, I find you a true inspiration and I'm always learning something new from you. I really appreciate that.” For me, it's 16 years in my family business, with lots of great experience and training to compare you to.

    The amount of usable content you pump out, free of charge, without trying to dictate how someone runs their business or what they call themselves just doesn't compare to any of the other VA sites/forums/clubs I investigated when I was looking for…well…someone to look up to in that area.

    It doesn't surprise me that people act the same online as in real world – there's mean girls and bullies everywhere, and there's nice and authentic people everywhere. Everyone's karma will come back to them.

    You go girl – keep doin' what you're doin'!

  • kellymonroe

    while i haven't been snubbed i totally understand even our job are blocking us from viewing social media pretty often. There's an excellent whitepaper download from Palo Alto Networks, “To Block or Not. Is that the question?” here: http://bit.ly/d2NZRp. It has lots of insightful and useful information about identifying and controlling Facebook, Twitter, Skype, AIM, etc.

  • Private

    People who snub on social media are ultimately doing themselves wrong. The Backlash far outweighs whatever it is they are trying to accomplish. Blogs speak.