After Being Locked Out of Twitter I Finally Joined Facebook

After 4½ years and more than 73,000 tweets, I got locked out of Twitter earlier this month and have been unable to get back in. To be exact, I got locked out on September 11th right after posting my thoughts on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.


Twitter sends me a SMS Verification Code to my phone, but I never receive it. I complain to Twitter and they just send me another SMS Verification Code. I tried to set up another Twitter account, but they insist on both e-mail and phone verification. Back to square one. To make matters worse, you cannot talk to anyone at Twitter. They don't do customer service over the phone.


So I've given up on Twitter. Yes, there is a lot of meanness and stupidity on Twitter. I've probably entered into conversations I ought not have engaged. But I've come across many interesting people with whom I enjoyed communicating about baseball, old TV shows and politics. On occasion, I've met these online connections in person. So Twitter was not without its virtues.


With Twitter closed off to me, I pondered staying off social media altogether. A lot of employers make hiring decisions based on social media activity and I'm sure my Twitter activity put off some people despite my efforts to be as civil and polite as I could be.


Back in 2014, I wrote an American Spectator article titled, "Why I Won't Join Facebook". Alas this is one of my many articles which has been expunged. I did have concerns about privacy and, indeed, these breaches have occurred on a large scale. But my greater concern was that no one would want to be my Facebook friend. Given my experiences on Twitter, I know that friendly people can be found. That and I like sharing my experiences with people. Hopefully, I can renew some old acquaintances and find some new ones.


So while awaiting the special screening for Easy Rider at Radio City Music Hall on Friday night, I finally joined Facebook and posted several pictures from the concert as well as my trip yesterday to Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.


For better or for worse, social media is a fact of life. With one platform closed and another open, I will use social media as prudently and as wisely as possible.