Twitter may have boldly gone too far.
William Shatner, the beloved actor and Priceline pitchman, took to Twitter on Monday night to complain that the social network had begun promoting accounts like MasterCard and IFC in his "following" lists (he hadn't followed either account). His tweets, first pointed out by Marketing Land, raised awareness for a strange new reality on Twitter: At this moment, it appears we're all "following" brands, whether we've chosen to or not.
The concern, at least according to Shatner, is that Twitter is effectively using his personal social media real estate to promote another business that he may not personally endorse or, worse, a business that may compete with another company he works with.
.@jack @safety Why am I following MasterCard when I didn't add them? I do not appreciate this. pic.twitter.com/k91D6vTaXZ
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 30, 2014
.@jack @safety Do you understand that by implying that I follow these companies that it appears to be an endorsement?
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 30, 2014
If I look at @TheRock's followers I see this yet it says he is only following 1 person. pic.twitter.com/rAbn7Jce7B
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 30, 2014
Best one yet it's on @Visa's list of followers!!! pic.twitter.com/riPqgEMv6l
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 30, 2014
Promoted accounts have been around for awhile, but according to Twitter's support page, these are typically displayed on timelines, in search results and under recommendations for who to follow.
It's unclear when Twitter began including promoted accounts with the list of accounts users follow, but a cursory glance reveals that celebrities and non-celebrity users, as well as verified and non-verified users, now have promoted accounts included in their following lists. Twitter did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
UPDATE 1:45 pm ET Tues: One source familiar with the matter told Mashable that the promoted accounts have been showing up in users' "following" and "followers" list since early 2013. It appears to have flown below the radar -- at least until now.
Shatner, for his part, suggested this change in promotional accounts will force him to reconsider how much he uses Twitter. It remains to be seen whether other users will have quite as strong a reaction to it.
I'm out but I am going to reevaluate the time I spend on Twitter going forward.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 30, 2014