Via Linda Braun, I followed the links and found out that many of the characters on one of my favorite TV shows are on Twitter!
File this under PR and Marketing 2.0:
http://venturebeat.com/2008/08/25/twitter-blacklists-mad-men-characters-some-of-them/
Update: Twitter has responded back to me on the issue. Apparently it wasn’t a spam issue, but rather a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice that Twitter’s support team responded to, co-founder Biz Stone tells me.
I guess AMC didn’t like others playing the roll of its Mad Men characters besides the actors who play them on TV. Expect some backlash against the network.
Update 2: Blogger Ben Kessler has a full list of the Mad Men characters on Twitter. It looks likejoan_holloway was also suspended, but several others were not caught.
Update 3: In an apparent act of defiance, a new account for Peggy_Olson has been created with an underscore in her name and a profile that reads “Also known as @PeggyOlson.” One of hertweets reads:
I worked hard. I did my job. But the boys at Twitter are just as churlish as the boys at Sterling Cooper. Such a pity that they’re so petty.
Update 4: The suspended Mad Men accounts have been restored. Apparently, Deep Focus, AMC’s web marketing group persuaded the cable channel that free promotion is a good thing, according to Silicon Alley Insider. A tough sell, I know.
This is a good illustration of the growing pains big media is moving through as social media becomes stronger. Does AMC want to be known as the channel that crushed fan-created content?