Beware of Automated Twitter Friend Adders

Posted on November 21st, 2008

Lately I have seen an increasing number of friends being added to my Twitter account. While the first one was suspiscious, with no information on the person, MLM in the username and only one post to an MLM website, the ones after that were almost identical.

It quickly became obvious that the accounts were automated, so I went looking for the latest program. Sure enough, there it was, splattered all over the Google results when I searched for “automated Twitter adder”.

Twitter support wasted no time shutting those accounts down, which is a good sign that they are on top of these things. Either that or someone reported it quickly. What interests be though is the reason for using a program to get friends. None of the accounts had more than 3 followers, yet each had close to 20. That is apparently the maximum number of followers the software will find for you. That makes it not only strange, but also useless.

Maybe the 20 is the most at a time and the process has to be repeated. Either way, if you become their friend, the only thing you will get is a bumch of marketing ads for programs that few people know about, or even care about anyway.

Instead of following them back when you get suspiscous notices, first look to see what their profile is about, the username they created, how many followers and friends they have. All of these together are signs that a program is adding you for ill intentions.

Twitter is a good tool for social networking when used with courtesy and you hand-pick your friends.

Tags: automated friend adder, Twitter
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Plurk.com - Real-Time Social Networking

Posted on July 6th, 2008

When I first discovered Twitter I was amazed at how easy it was to communicate with others online. By adding them to my list of friends, I could see what they are up to at any given time, providing of course, that they typed something in. That can be done on the website, through an instant messenger or by cell phone.

I started seeing Follow me On Twitter in an increasing number of places, most often by well-known marketers. That is what attracted me to that communication medium.

The list of tweets (posts) was updated so frequently, that the main page looked like it changed every 5 seconds, but only if I manually refreshed the page. If I went about my business and did not refresh the page very often, chances of missing a great link or important update were very good. Following conversations is a big roadblock, since the time lines are not displayed in a friendly way.

Then someone on Twitter posted a link to Plurk.com. Always looking for better ways to do things, I naturally looked into it. What I found was a system that felt a little strange to me because the time line scrolls across the screen. I learned that the first day by accidentally moving the wheel on my mouse. My first thought was, “Where are you going?”

Looking deeper, I saw that all the conversations are kept together in a vertically scrolling box. The post times are next to each one when I hover my mouse over them and at the bottom of the screen. Sharing videos and photos is a breeze. Just link to either one and the system recognizes the file type, putting an icon on the link to it.

Click that link and you do not even leave the page to view it. A small window pops on screen to watch the video or view the image. When done, just close the box and you are still in the same spot you were before.

To see a list of all recent posts in text format, there is a browser plugin for cell phones that can also be used on computers. A panel shows on the left of my screen that I can refresh any time for updates.

Keeping a tab open with the Plurk window is best though. Even the tab title changes to show how many new posts were made since last time I checked. Some say the time line goes back 2 days, while others have seen it as far back as June 2007, so you rarely miss anything unless you want to.

Plurk has Karma system too. When you post, either new messages or replies to others, add friends, or update your profile, you are rewarded with Karma points. The more points you get, the more permissions you have to do other things, such as changing your display name, getting more emoticons, or changing the look of your personal page.

One really cool feature is if I leave a conversation box open, I can see new posts in real time as they happen. Building a community and networking is much easier than it is on Twitter.

With all that said, I am hooked on Plurk. Check it out and discover what it can do for you. Visit my Plurk profile page to learn more.

Jim Hutchinson

Tags: Plurk.com, social media, Social Networking, Twitter
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FriendsWin.com - The Next Social Networking Phenomenon

Posted on February 12th, 2008

Have you heard of the fastest growing social network on the Internet? It is called FriendsWin. The FriendsWin network is going to offer a lot more than MySpace, Facebook or other social networking sites. It is cutting edge, with video dating, video resumes and video profiles and with the best social networking functions in the business.

FriendsWin is the ultimate web destination where friends can meet, hangout, socialize, have fun and make money online.

In addition to standard social networking features, FriendsWin also offers premium services such as: Video Resumes – A “state-of-the-art” feature that allows a job-seeking person to create a video profile, which is included as part of their resume stored on FriendsWin. Read the rest of this entry »

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