Spammers Use Services Like Ping Vine On Twitter (Updated)

Please see the update at the end.

So here’s a question.  How many real people are on Twitter.  Real meaning not an account set up by a spammer or a bot account.  A lot less than you might think.  While spending some quality time on Twitter this evening, I came across something interesting.

I found a ton of accounts tweeting the exact same messages.  This is similar to a story picked up by TechCrunch.  In TechCrunch’s story, it was accounts supposedly set up by hot girls all linking to the same dating service.  The accounts I found were similar in that they were all set up to look like the owners were hot girls but they link to one of two sites.  The first is apparently some type of click fraud scheme (click here if you are bored and want to see it).  The second is that highly annoying link that takes you to a site that immediately begins showing you a video of two guys on a couch telling you how to get tons of Twitter followers.  I am sure you have seen the video by now, one of the guys is wearing a lei (click here if you need a laugh, but turn your speakers down).  Sad, very sad.

One of the interesting things is that the accounts do not send the same tweets are the same time.  They are random.  The tweets appear to be quotes or daily thoughts etc.  If you put one of these quotes into the Twitter search, you come up with a huge list of these bot accounts.  I call them bots because they appear to be on cruise control.  It appears that these accounts are using services like Ping Vine or HelloTxt to tweet RSS fed messages through their Twitter accounts.

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If You Hate Reading About Twitter on TechCrunch, You’ll Hate This Post Even More!

It is said that in truth, there is freedom.  The truth is that TechCrunch does write about Twitter quite often.  But is it really as much as everyone is complaining about?  In the last week (May 7-May12), TechCrunch posted 111 stories.  Of those posts, 22 were Twitter related. I say related because some were about start-ups based on Twitter.  That works out to 19.8%.  Based on Twitter’s recently explosion, that sounds about right.

People complain that there is more news out there to be reported than Twitter.  Yes, but there are also several more Crunch’s. Let us not forget CrunchGear, MobileCrunch, or TechCrunchIT.  While it is truth that some stories get placed on more than one of the sites if it crosses subject lines, there is tons of stuff to read in the Crunch family.

Of course, there is a different approach you could take if you wanted.  You could not visit TechCrunch.  There are other tech sites out there.  Engadget, arstechnica, The Red Ferret Journal just to name a few.  I also found TechCyclone, a page that pulls in the latest feeds from the top tech sites, all in one place.  That should make it safer for those of you trying to avoid those annoying TechCrunch Twitter posts.

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Why Apple Loves Microsoft

Apple loves Microsoft.  It’s a fact.  In fact, Apple is thankful everyday for Microsoft’s very existence.  Why?  Because without Microsoft, Apple could not and would not be Apple.

Apple currently  holds about 10% market share.  Microsoft has pretty much the rest  (except for the tiny fraction that Linux etc. has).  If it were the other way around, Apple would be a very different company.  There are several reasons for this.

First, Microsoft is the easy target for every allegation of monopolization, anti-competitive practices etc.  When you hold almost 90% of a market, that is the burden you must carry.  Comparatively speaking, Apple is much more anti-competitive that Microsoft.  With that much marketshare, if Microsoft also built computers and went as far a suing companies for building computers and putting their operation systems on them, they would be in court in every country of the world.  You could pay off the cost of the Stimulus Bill with the fines.  But when Apple does it, it is not a problem.  People just say they are protecting the integrity of their product.  Microsoft got sued for putting it’s internet browser on computers and making it slightly difficult for the end user to get rid of it.  Think about those difference for a moment.

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What is Twitter Spam?

TechCrunch, of which I am a faithful reader, posted an article today entitled “Here Comes Twitter Spam And How To Fight It”.  The article refers to Twitter’s growth and how spammers are senting messages with@(insert username here).  Therefore the messages show up in the users timeline.  The post then says “There isn’t really a way to filter Twitter spam directly from a Twitter client. But there may be soon.”  But this isn’t entirely accurate.  But more on that in a moment.

Next we come to Loic Le Meur who has proposed to add a “report as spam” button to 3rd party Twitter clients such as his own Twirl and Seesmic applications.  He is also calling on other clients such as Tweetie and TweetDeck to do the same.  The problem is this.  What exactly is Twitter Spam?

If this actually moves forward, then it is going to be a bif question.  Is someone tweeting a link to their blog going to be considered spam?  If so, then everyone is a spammer.  If it is not considered spam, then how can any Tweet hoping to direct people to a certain site be considered spam?  It is a very slippery slope.

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Twitter Declared “No Longer a Terrorist Threat” by State Department

Ok, maybe I lied a little in the title.  But that is basically what they have said.  Here’s the backstory for those that missed it or forgot it.

Last year, several reports came out that the US Army was concerned that terrorists could use Twitter for organization and potential “targeting”.  This quote says it all. “Extremist and terrorist use of Twitter could evolve over time to reflect tactics that are already evolving in use by hacktivists and activists for surveillance,” it said. “This could theoretically be combined with targeting.” This quote was from a US Army intelligence report.  View the entire report here.  Skip to pages 8 and 9 to view the Twitter information.  The report was covered by many large news outlets (here, here, here and here).

Now fast forward to the present.  Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter is in Bagdad speaking about how his service could help the people of Iraq.  Now before you get your undies in a bunch, I am not saying that the people in Iraq are terrorists.  I am saying that the US government went from condemning the service to supporting it in a matter of months.  The article says “Their trip to Iraq’s capital, sponsored by the State Department, was billed as a way to assess the faint stirrings of Iraq’s online culture and possibly inspire future Iraqi Web entrepreneurs.”  Read the article here.

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The Golden Days of Twitter - They’re Back!

Those of you who are lamenting the fact that Oprah Winfrey has joined Twitter and long for the golden days…it’s time to rejoice.  The developers over at Twitter central have been working extra hard to bring back those golden days.  And exactly what are those extra special times that we all enjoyed and remember fondly?

Slow load times.  Yes that right.  For a limited time only, you too can experience extreme latency and load time that reminds you of the days of dial-up.

Random page renderings.  Depending upon your browser, you too could be experiencing the Twitter in a whole new way…each an every time you refresh your browser.  You never know what you are going to get.

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