DISQUS

Next Communications: Why faking your network is worse than #twitterspam

  • vargasl · 5 months ago
    Not too harsh at all. As you said, this issue is not getting enough buzz. What bothers me the most is those that do not understand socmed and depend upon "experts" then compare those who really do know something to the jokers who all quantity over quality!
  • Vedo · 5 months ago
    Very well put. It's a shame that this has become an acceptable practice, however it is not surprising based on how most, if not all online communications has at one time or another been used for jerk-face purposes...err, I mean less than upright intentions. Then, other nimrods look at that and want to replicate its "success" and the cycle continues.
  • Ljacobson · 5 months ago
    Not harsh enough! I'd like to see tighter control of spamming. The issue is making it harder to "sell" social media to the C-suite.
  • Sonja · 4 months ago
    I'm sorry to admit that I don't completely understand what "gaming" the system means in this case. Are you saying people get applications that add people and then they get added back because a lot of people add back everyone and then they appear to have a huge following?

    If that's the case, all they achieve on your twitter account is following you and not following back. I mean,do you auto-follow-back everyone? I used to add back almost everyone and then drop them if they sent something resembling spam but now the twitter system gives you the last post of everyone and you can just throw out all the non-thinkers by looking at what they're writing.

    I now only follow back maybe one in eight.
  • Vedo · 4 months ago
    Sonja, how I am referring to gaming in this case is using software to "game" the system into creating a fake network of their own, thus giving them the appearance of being a credible resource.

    I agree that the easiest thing would be to just not follow back and as you say, "throw out all of the non-thinkers" (actually quite funny) based on what they write. I just think that type of practice to me is more damaging overall to the usefulness of the larger network of worthwhile users.