How Twitter Accidentally Suspended My Account & How I Got It Activated In 2 Hours!

I use TwitterFox (Firefox plugin), for my tweeting and unlike other days the twitter icon on the bottom right status bar of was red, and there were a pop-up message. “Can’t login with username EnhanceLife”

I thought it might be my ADSL connection which, usually keeps bailing out on me. Simply to verify, I tried logging into my twitter account. To my horror, the image on the left of this post was what I saw when I typed http:/Twitter.com/EnhanceLife

It was a generic suspended page which directed to the “policy” page. After reading all the rules and regulations, I was positive that I had not violated any rules. The more I read through the rules, I was getting more irritated since I had no clue why my account was suspended!

Next, I searched the good Google to see whether I could find any information on how to get the account activated. Then after digging through some articles, I came across the Twitter blog, which had a post which said they were restoring accidentally suspended accounts.

Earlier today, we accidentally suspended a number of accounts.
We regret the human error that led to these mistaken suspensions and we are working to restore the affected accounts. ...

I didn’t want the twitter team to take their own time and restore my account so I sent a notice to the Twitter support team. This is what it read..

My account (@EnhanceLife), has been suspended since a few hours ago. I did read the terms and conditions and I am confident that I did not violate any rules.

Investigating further I found from your blog that by mistake several accounts have been suspended.
Being a software developer myself, I understand that these things happen to the best of us. I hope measures are taken to activate my account (@EnhanceLife) as soon as possible.
Thank you

Of course, I was not this calm! Believe me there were certain words that came flowing through to my finger tips, which my mother would not approve of!! I could have written all that. However, I figured..

1. Twitter admitted the mistake
2. Twitter confirmed they were working to restore the account
3. They must have already received several offensive emails regarding the accounts being suspended.
4. The person/team who made the flop, must be already feeling terrible and probably got a good dose from Twitter management.
5. Others in the Twitter team must have been annoyed that they had extra work, because of “someone else’s” mistake.

Lastly, I knew the chances of how quick I would get the account activated, would mostly depend on how I write the message!

Guess what, the calm and thoughtful message helped. The Twitter team restored my account in less than 2 hours(I still hear that some accounts are not restored). Thank you Twitter team.

Were you also one of the victims of this as well? Have you gotten your twitter account activated by now?

This whole incident made me realize that we depend so.. much on yahoo, Google, facebook etc.. it hard to imagine what our lives would be like without it… even if it’s for a while!

www.TheEnhanceLife.com Is The New Domain

I am happy to announce that you can now view this site on its own domain, www.TheEnhanceLife.com.

It has definitely taken me a long time to switch to a custom domain. I finally decided it was time I took the plunge.

Why I decided to shift to a custom domain

1. Over the past few months the hours I spent writing a post has increased, beyond my wildest imagination(No, no not for this post!). I have come to a point where I consider blogging an enjoyable hobby; something I plan on doing for a while.
2. I want to build more credibility and a sense of professionalism around my blog. I didn’t think having a blogspot extension would measure up.
3. I like to create a brand. Something to call my own!

Factors I Considered when Choosing a Domain Name

Gosh, this was very difficult! I think naming a baby would have been much easier!
1. Blog Title
I wanted to go with EnhanceLife.com unfortunately this was already taken. My list of suggestions include
EnhanceLifeMore.com
EnhanceLifeDaily.com
EnhanceLifeNow.com
.....

I still have the list which has a collection of about 100 domain names! Then I remembered that if I change too much of the title I will have to change the blog header image as well.
Then I decided to take the closest to enhance life. www.TheEnhanceLife.com. It was my second choice, but I wasn’t too sure people could read it clearly when written in a url. www.theenhancelife.com.

2. Domain name length
I didn’t want it to be too long because the users would find it annoying to type. Not to mention, poor me, who would be using it a lot!

3. Memorability
Adding hyphens and numbers can make it tricky for readers to remember the blog name.

4. Speaking
I wanted the domain name to be "pronounceable". Related to the above, adding hyphens and numbers can make this complicated.

Anyway, this is just the start! There are more changes to come.. Positive changes ;-). Stay tuned! If you haven’t subscribed to the blog feed, subscribe now.

About Enhance Life

One of the simple truths we all have to face up to as adults is that, our actions in the past have brought us to where we are today. Sometimes, to get things we want we do strange things. Sometimes, they work. Sometimes they don't. (And that's ok! If nobody tried anything new we’d be stuck with "the same old things" and that would make life boring.) I can say as we all do, I wish I had known then, what I know now. It might not have made all the difference all the time, but it would have made some of the difference, quite a lot of the time. So most of what I write here is based on my incidental gleanings.

There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. ~ Aldous Huxley

My intention is to share simple practices I find useful, for personal development. Occasionally, you might find some blogging related or "general nonsense" posts as well.

Who Am I?

My name is Shamelle, and I am voice behind the words you read. As for my credentials, I have a BSc (Hons) in Information Systems and a MSc in Computer Science. Yes, my "paper qualifications" have nothing do with my chosen blogging "niche". One would think that I should blog about IT, since it is my profession-for the past eight years (and counting!). Surely, if I were to blog about technology, it would be just too much, and I would explode!
Enhance Life, is my way of taking a sweet escape from technology. It is an attempt to learn and share, more of humanology; The basic courtesies of living, working and growing the life we all wish we had.
When I am not in front of a computer, I am an accomplished pianist, lousy guitarist, amateur music composer, movie fanatic, ballroom dancer and a food recipe experimenter (haven’t blown up the kitchen yet!)

My satisfaction comes from a commitment to advancing a better world ~ Faye Wattleton

More about me...
6 Things about me, you don’t already know
This Is My Now (Centenary Post)
Intimate Details Of My Love Affair With Writing!

Write to me

If you have any feedback, post ideas or even to pop a “hello”, you can email me at shamelle@gmail.com

I Am Still Here

I know my regular posting routine has gone astray, the past few weeks. If you wondered why, it is because of my new job. I am at a new company and work-wise have a lot of learning to do.

I will be traveling to Norway tomorrow and will be there for about 3 months. This is my first trip to Norway. I am looking forward to seeing the country, and the work experience. However I am not too fond of the cold weather! If you happen to be from Norway please drop me an email. I would love to hear from you.

Anyway, I will do my best to post something once in a way. Please stay with me…

6 Things about me, you don’t already know

I have been tagged by Ms.Qand I am summoned to reveal 6 things about me, you don’t already know.
Ok. So here goes.

#1. When I was 12 years old, I slipped, fell and knocked my face on a chair, while playing with my dog, Casper. The fall chipped off parts of my teeth and had to be replaced with fillings!

#2. I can play five musical instruments (Organ, piano, guitar, clarinet and the recorder) with dignity intact! I didn’t count the trumpet and drums because I drive people nuts when I play them!

#3. My birthday is on the 2nd of Dec. Happy belated birthday to me! If you really want to know my age, you will have to tag me again!

#4. I can uplift my spirits by listening to music. My main preference, Michael Learns to Rock, Chicago and Brian Adams.

#5. My family consists of me, myself and I. In other words, I am the only child. (No, that does not mean I am spoilt. Grrrr)

#6. I hail from the techno junky industry. Jargon aside; I work for a software company. (Now you know why some of my posts are technology savvy!)