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Fake HootSuite Error Turns into Forced Twitter Marketing

By on August 5, 2009

I had tried both CoTweet and HootSuite and decided they were overkill for my needs, so abandoned them … but when I saw Stowe Boyd mention CoTags / Sigs, I thought I’d give Hootsuite another try.

I was shocked to see this error message.  WTF?   What do you mean I have not upgraded? The whole point in SaaS is that I no longer have to deal with those stupid updates, it is the service provider’s responsibility.

But of course I won’t turn my back now, so let’s log in to see what happens. Will my PC explode?

Luckily, no explosions.  It’s all a marketing trick. I’ll get early access to HootSuite 2.0 if I agree to sending an auto-tweet about the new release.  Apparently a lot of users did.

hootsuite

Ben already expressed his distaste for similar Twitter campaigns,  (well, he did not like MoonFruit, but liked Chocolate) – I’m not even sure what to think.  Sure, it’s somewhat of a “forced” campaign, borrowing your identity to send Twitter massages, but it’s still not as bad as unstoppable spammers like Twittertrain.

What do you think?  Is it OK for product / services companies to get you send out Tweets in your name, in return for minor benefits (upgrade, raffles..etc).

(P.S.  HootSuite 2.0 has since gone public.)

For more posts on Twitter, see Mark Suster’s excellent Twitter 101 series.

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Publisher / Editor @ CloudAve and Enterprise Irregulars. Industry Observer, Blogger, Startup Advisor, Program Chair @ SVASE (Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs). In his "prior life" spent 15 years immersed in the business of Enterprise Software, at management positions with SAP, IBM, Deloitte, KPMG and the like.

5 responses to “Fake HootSuite Error Turns into Forced Twitter Marketing”

  1. Fake HootSuite Error Turns into Forced Twitter Marketing | CloudAve | twitter-abc.com
    Fake HootSuite Error Turns into Forced Twitter Marketing | CloudAve | twitter-abc.com August 5, 2009 at 10:01 am |

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  2. Twitter Bootcamp Money Marketing Machine Secrets Skills | Targeted Twitter Traffic
    Twitter Bootcamp Money Marketing Machine Secrets Skills | Targeted Twitter Traffic August 5, 2009 at 10:59 am |

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  3. Kate
    Kate August 5, 2009 at 12:36 pm |

    Hi Zoli – interesting post! The early upgrade tweet is and was optional. Based on this and other feedback, we did add the option to edit the upgrade tweet. HootSuite 2.0 will be available to all, sans tweet, within a few weeks (no exact date yet.) We hope you love the many free features 2.0 offers as much as we do! Thanks!

  4. Mark Suster
    Mark Suster August 5, 2009 at 1:50 pm |

    Zoli, spot on. The HootSuite forced spam marketing campaign I believe did more harm than good. As a company you only have your brand reputation and to sully it by forced spam was a rookie maneuver. Until this I had a high perception of HootSuite. Now I’m spending more time with CoTweet. FWIW, CoTweet can be used in a very lightweight way if you want. I’d recommend it.

  5. HootSuite Dabbles in Forced Twitter Marketing | Complete Twitter
    HootSuite Dabbles in Forced Twitter Marketing | Complete Twitter August 9, 2009 at 1:25 pm |

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