Saturday, June 15, 2013

Suspended From Twitter: A Survival Story

How important is your Twitter account to you? How many times a day do you open your Twitter app and scroll through your news feed? What would you do if you checked your account one day and found all of your followers and followings down to zero? Well, that's what happened to me. Here is my story.

I love Twitter. I am on it constantly. It's where I get my news, where I communicate and it's where I go to pass the time. I have a modest amount of Twitter followers at 270-something and I am following about 590 people. Three days ago, I went into my Twitter account and it was all down to 0. I didn't panic right away. Instead, I checked my account through my wife's phone.

"This account is forbidden."

We're experiencing heavy turbulence. Make sure your seat backs and tray tables are upright and in a locked position.

Wait, what? Forbidden?!?!? I never post anything that is distasteful, nor do I Tweet profanity. Perhaps I was hacked? Nope. All of my recent Tweets were from me. Innocent and lighthearted posts with the occasional retweet all done by yours truly. And now, my sanctuary had been stripped away from me. I was exiled from the virtual community of my favorite social media outlet.

There had to be some mistake! Maybe my account wasn't working on mobile devices. I logged in on my laptop with my fingers crossed. "This account has been suspended."

Let the panicking begin.. 

My wife tried to calm me down in my miniature state of grief. To quote a famous figure skater, "Why me?!?!?" I couldn't believe this was happening. I had absolutely no idea why I would ever have any reason to be suspended from Twitter.

The message on my Twitter homepage said to click on a link to receive an email from Twitter support and so I did. Before I sent my email, I checked the internet and I found that many people have had the same problem. One guy said that he emailed them every day, multiple times a day and it took over 6 weeks before he got a response. 6 weeks!?!?!

We just lost cabin pressure.

I quickly checked my inbox and found an email from Twitter. It was delivered automatically and it said if I want to dispute the suspension, I needed to review the Twitter rules and respond to the email stating what I did wrong and tell them I wouldn't do it again. They also mentioned that from time to time, they make a mistake and suspend accounts on accident.

I emailed them back politely and with as much professionalism as I could in my messed up state of grace. I needed my account back and I would do just about anything at this point to retrieve it. I clicked send like I was sending away a messenger bird. Hopefully it would find its recipient in a timely manner. All I could do was wait. So I did what anyone who is addicted to Twitter would do when their Twitter account is down: Facebook and Candy Crush Saga.

I'll never make it.

Days passed but it seemed like months. I felt like I was missing out on so much and I was helpless. I felt like the guy on death row who was wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit. All I could do was hope and pray that my S.O.S. email would be reviewed promptly by Twitter and my account would be restored.

Breathe, Dino.

So I went on with my new daily routine of checking Facebook way too often and crushing as much candy as I could. It wasn't all that bad, actually. It was like being on vacation and not having any cellular service. At first, you panic, but as time passes, it's a relief. It was a sense of freedom in a weird kind of way. When I was picking up my daughter from school on the playground, I just stood there and enjoyed the beautiful weather instead of having my face buried into the screen of my iPhone 5. I kind of got used to this unexpected change of pace. And then it happened. My S.O.S. was answered three days after I sent out my initial distress call.

"Twitter has automated systems that find and remove multiple automated spam accounts in bulk. Unfortunately, it looks like your account got caught up in one of these spam groups by mistake. I've restored your account; sorry for the inconvenience. Please note that it may take an hour or so for your follower and following numbers to return to normal."

Echo base? This is Rogue 2. I found them. Repeat. I found them.

With in minutes my Twitter account was back up and running. My news feed was functioning like a charm and my numbers were back to normal. It was time to shake the three day old dust off and return to my normal Social Media routine. I was back!

It's kind of scary to think of how wrapped up we become in our smart phones and social media outlets. This experience was somewhat of a rude awakening for me and I learned a lot. First, take time away from your smart phone and start enjoying the things around you. Second, appreciate what you have. Validate what is important to you. Tomorrow is promised to no one. That includes your Twitter account.














Wednesday, June 5, 2013

The Menzingers Rock the Brew City (Concert Review)




If you’re a music fan like me, then you know its a rare thing for a band to put out an album that is near perfect from start to finish. Well, the Scranton, PA punk band The Menzingers did just that. With the release of their third full length and most recent album, “On The Impossible Past” (Epitaph Records), The Menzingers produced a rare gem that has been on repeat since I downloaded the album late last year. On the album “On The Impossible Past”, The Menzingers sing about the carefree good times of growing up as well as some the bad times and tragedies they have experienced. Their clean three-chord sound, catchy lyrics, and strong vocals are captivating making “On The Impossible Past” an instant classic. When I found out that The Menzingers were stopping by my hometown of Milwaukee, WI on their summer tour, there was no way I was going to miss it.


The venue for the show was a small Milwaukee dive bar called The Cactus Club (2496 S Wentworth Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207). Located in a residential neighborhood in Milwaukee’s Bay View area, The Cactus Club has hosted scores of punk/alternative bands throughout the years. Its a dark, smaller venue with reasonably priced drinks, walls riddled with flyers from their previous shows, and a modest stage in the back of the place. It’s an intimate venue to see live music and great fit for The Menzingers.


The Menzingers took the stage and began their hour long set list at around 11:00 pm. They opened up with the fan favorite "Obituaries" electrifying the Sunday night crowd. The Menzingers kept good pace and went from one song to the next without missing a beat. The majority of the songs they played were from "On The Impossible Past" including "Good Things" and the upbeat "Burn After Writing". The Menzingers also played some of their best songs from their second album "Chamberlain Waits". The audience positively responded to their song selection by cheering and singing along with the band, often drowning out the lead vocals. Of course, the crowd demanded an encore and The Menzingers obliged playing their final song of the night, "Casey".


The Menzingers put on a great show. They played a good array of songs and they sounded amazing. The Menzingers performed with very high energy that was magnified in the small venue creating an electric atmosphere. It was a unique experience that took me back to my old days of going to punk shows as a kid. The Menzingers are still on their Summer Tour in the U.S. and they kick off their UK/European tour on July 12th. If you get the opportunity to see them, I would definitely go and see the best thing to come out of Scranton since Dunder Mifflin.


Set List from the show:




U.S. Tour Dates:
5/24 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church SOLD OUT
5/25 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
5/26 Amityville, NY @ Revolution
5/27 Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon
5/28 Buffalo, NY @ The Waiting Room
5/29 Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
5/30 Detroit, MI @ Smalls
5/31 Indianapolis, IN @ Hoosier Dome
6/01 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean - SOLD OUT
6/02 Milwaukee, WI @ The Cactus Club
6/03 St. Louis, MO @ The Firebird
6/04 Newport, KY @ The Southgate House Revival
6/06 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
6/07 Orlando, FL @ The Social
6/08 Jacksonville, FL @ Phoenix Taproom
6/10 Washington, DC @ The Rock and Roll Hotel
6/11 Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus - SOLD OUT
6/12 Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes


UK/European Tour Dates:
July 12 - Tolmin, Slovenia @ Punk Rock Holiday
July 13 - Milan, Italy @ Live Forum #
July 14 - Geneva, Switzerland @ Le Contertemps #
July 15 - St. Gallen, Switzerland @ Rumpeltum #
July 16 - Trier, Germany @ Ex-Haus #
July 17 - Oberhausen, Germany @ Druckluft #
July 19 - Prague, Czech Rep @ Mighty Sounds Festival
July 20 - Jarocin, Poland @ Jarocin Festival
July 22 - Dessau, Germany @ Panic Room #
July 23 - Braunschweig, Germany @ B58 #
July 24 - Bremen, Germany @ Tower #
July 25 - Aalborg, Denmark @ Rock Cafeen #
July 26 - Stockholm, Sweden @ IOGT-huset Skarpnack #
July 27 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ UnderWerket #
July 29 - Frankfurt, Germany @ 11er #
July 30 - Lyon, France @ Warmaudio *
July 31 - Bordeaux, France @ Heretic Club *
Aug 01 - Tours, France @ The Hurricane *
Aug 03 - Folkestone, UK @ Hevy Festival %
Aug 04 - Kingston, UK @ Fighting Cocks % SOLD OUT
Aug 05 - Kingston, UK @ Fighting Cocks % SOLD OUT
Aug 06 - Leeds, UK @ Cockpit  %
Aug 07 - Edinburgh, Scotland @ Bannermans % SOLD OUT
Aug 08 - Blackpool, UK @ Rebellion Festival
Aug 09 - Cardiff, UK @ Clwb Ifor Bach % SOLD OUT
Aug 10 - Cork, Ireland @ Cypress Avenue %
Aug 11 - Dublin, Ireland @ Fibber Magees %
Aug 13 - Paris, France @ La Miroiterie
Aug 14 - Lille, France @ Shaka Laka
Aug 16 - Biddinghuizen, Holland @ Lowlands Festival


# The Arteries
* Apologies I Have None
% Tigers Jaw


Links:
Official Menzingers Website: http://themenzingers.tumblr.com/

The Menzingers “Good Things”: