Twitter’s Population
Twitter's Population in pie chart form
(now that we’re right-side-up again…)
I’ve complained about Twitter’s spam-to-human ratio many times before but it seems that since those posts, Twitter spam has only continued to spiral out of control.
Bot Spam
Not having a profile picture (or one appearing a little too revealing), and only one or two tweets consisting of “Come view my pics! (you have to register)” is a clear sign that the new follower is a spammer.
That, and spammy tweets originating from “API” (application programmer’s interface) rather than the web, txt (text messaging) or a well-known client is also a sign.
But do we block them? No, of course not. Unlike email spam, having a spammer follow you on Twitter is still a follower, so we rarely block them in favor of a higher follower number.
Promoters and Marketers
These guys bug me.
Before you say I’m being hypocritical, our Twitter account is used both personally as well as to inform followers of new posts. The marketers/promoters I’m talking about are trying to make money off Twitter by tweeting links to sites that I assume pay them or something.
They act like humans and look like humans, but in reality they are copy-paste human robots that rarely interact with those that follow them back (they follow random people in these hopes).
RSS to Twitter
We all have run across them – all’s quiet for a long time, then BAM! 100 incoming tweets from an RSS tool filling up your client at once.
It’s annoying as all get out. And they’re all links to a crappy blog or something, too.
Humans
The few, the proud, the outnumbered. These days, if you want to be taken for a human without any question, you’d better lock your account and make followers request to view your updates first.
This has several advantages – keeps down on stalkers (they’re out there), prevents a raunchy tweet (or two) from reaching employers’ eyes, and also lets you know who knows what you’re doing.
That and non-spammy tweets are a refreshing sight on Twitter these days, where humans are outnumbered by the legions of spammers and other unsolicited accounts.
Final Notes
It’s not that I don’t appreciate the art of marketing, but when it starts to invade social media like it has done to Twitter (with rape being a more appropriate term), then I have a problem with it.
And I’m sure I can’t be the only one who feels this way, either – let me know your opinion on the growing Twitter spam/promoter problem.
Mark, it’s a small point, but the parenthetical clause at the beginning of your bio is still grammatically incorrect and really grates against the minds of those who recognize it as wrong. Again, it should be “who wishes,” because whom cannot be the subject of the verb: a “whom” cannot wish. Whom is used when it stands for an object rather than a subject.
I agree with your view of the problem. Since a couple of months I have sarted to receive “social spam” through Twitter, Skype and Facebook in the shape of follower/contact/friend requests. If nobody speaks about this and nobody fixes it, it will only get worse rendering social media unusable.