Posts tagged twitter

The Great Social Media Conspiracy

The Great Social Media Conspiracy published on 2 Comments on The Great Social Media Conspiracy

The Government is reading your tweets and plans to oppress you through facebook!

Social networks are just a front to get your information!
A grand conspiracy to place all an individuals information into massive government database so they can monitor & oppress you!

Well, that is the plan (if you believe in that sort of thing). Luckily, the internet has blown the lid off the top secret machinations so we can all be vigilant.

The curtain has been raised, and through the power of the internet, we now know so many things.
For example:

– Did you know that “Facebook is a CIA front” ?
– Obama plans to oppress you via Facebook ?
– The CIA uses facebook to recruit new operatives ?
– Twitter makes you dumber
– Twitter was created by mind control experts

So, as you casually tweet away, or play your facebook games, make sure your aluminium foil hat is on tight.

Facebook Research Department

Facebook Research Department published on 5 Comments on Facebook Research Department

The secret to facebook’s product development research revealed!

Lately, facebook has been implementing new features, which look suspiciously like functions that already appear in a very popular micro-blogging platform.
And the response to these implementations have not been received with the overly positive response that was perhaps expected.

Twitter users were outraged.

Facebook users were outraged.

Many people have blogged and suggested that Facebook has merely copied popular elements of other popular sites in an effort to make sure that current FB users remain with the site, as well as attracting users from the other sites to fall back in love with Facebook again.

Whatever the reasons – the main question that I think needs to be asked is this:

“Are Facebook making changes because it will enhance their user experience, or is it just a case of jealousy?”

Change for change sake is never good.
Time will have to tell with this one.

Rage against the ‘Bots

Rage against the ‘Bots published on 4 Comments on Rage against the ‘Bots

Are all the Bots on twitter really evil?

Bots are, on the whole, viewed as BAD, by twitter users, and are a major source of frustration. They can be annoying and difficult to get rid of once they latch on to you. Many users even have bots as followers without even realising it.

There are many types of bots thouhg, both good and bad.
Spam bots are bad, normally get picked up pretty quickly & blocked by the users they target.

Others are seen as “good” bots, which perform helpful functions, such as sending you back information when you request it. Examples of this are gCal (TwitterCal) and Remember The Milk – (Add & receive to your to do list).

Bots in twitter, and on the internet in general, are far more prevalent than many users actually realise.
In July, 2009, Sysomos created the  “Inside Twitter” study, which concluded that in total, 24% of Tweets are created by bots. That is a lot of activity by non-humans.

There is even a site called It’s a bot that monitors twitter, and informs us if they find a bad bot.
The site states that they are likely to think you are a bot if you …

– spew out random rubbish
– aren’t involved in the conversation
– more interested in shouting rather than listening.

Umm… I have REAL followers like that, so maybe they are bots?

So, all of this got me thinking of a few things…..

  1. If the number of bots continues to increase, how long before they  outnumber the humans and overthrow us?
  2. What if some of these bots are just lonely, and looking for validation, like so may social media users?

In the case that either of the two points above come true, I want to stay on the good side of the bots.
I do not fear the bots (yes, I do!) and I want to be your friend. (Please spare me when you destroy all humans.)

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Add a comment or contact me. 

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Mctags not hashtags!

Mctags not hashtags! published on 3 Comments on Mctags not hashtags!

Sometimes, businesses just do not get what social networking can offer to them and with it is all about.

When I had the idea for this comic, I was thinking about what Ronald could do to really damage a brand like McDonalds.

There are many examples of a business or a corporation jumping headfirst into using social networking tools, to try to market themselves or create buzz about their brand.
There are also many examples of businesses trying to steer social streams towards themselves, or attempting to flog their products inappropriately within a community conversation.

Rather than using the available networks and their flow maximise their brand & build a community, they attempt to control what is happening to suit their own purposes.

Many businesses are also scared by the real-time feedback that is possible through avenues such as twitter & facebook. They may even attempt to control what is said about them, which is nearly impossible in a public forum such as the internet.

When businesses or corporations make mistakes in an online environment, the results can be quick, long lasting and damaging to their brand.

What do you think about corporations using social media platforms?
Does it enhance or detract from their images and goals?.

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