I’m not much of an application or software aficionado. I tend to stick with basic web fare the likes of Google Reader, LinkedIn, Feedburner, etc.

When Twitter came around I made an instant connection given its function of being able to receive and send SMS messages; a micro-blog if you will. The service has since been widely adopted by many in the marketing community further increasing its appeal.

A couple of weeks ago, Twitter began limiting the number of SMS messages to my Blackberry to 250 per week. When this policy was enacted, I had reached by cap of 250 in no less than 24 hours. It has rendered Twitter useless for 6 days of the week, without even giving me the option to purchase a premium account so that I can keep up with users in the United States, who by the way have unlimited capacity to receive.

Stranger though was Twitter’s claim that users in the U.S. and Canada could receive unlimited messages. I made two formal complaints but Twitter refused to respond.

Today, I checked the FAQ page again. It appears Twitter found it logical to finally tell the truth:

Those who send and receive messages over 21212 in Canada, 5566511 in India, and +447624801423 are subject to the weekly 250 message limit.

I typically like to stay away from talking much about start-ups. I should have expected this to happen given the cycle of free services that slowly turn into ad-supported services or a pay service. (Or a combination of both I’m guessing given the cost of SMS delivery.)

My point here is simple: at the very point at which my network is booming, Twitter has been found it appropriate to limit my reach within the community.

I would argue that Twitter’s days are numbered. Bad customer experiences are one thing, screwing the pooch on a tool that is probably abused by some shouldn’t be taken away from those who have practical uses in mind.

Filed under: Rants, Social Media, Twitter

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