Exploring the boundless digital
Twitter has begun rolling out recommendations for similar users in account profiles, but the system doesn’t seem to present users with a perfect match.
Click on the image above to take a closer look at some of the more interesting suggestions.
These are all real suggestions on the site. Here’s how the new feature looks on a Twitter page:
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been the subject of parody since Dan Lyons covertly began “The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs.” The blog (and subsequent book) have both been the subject of much debate, inspiring an off-Broadway show and a television sitcom.
Jobs on Twitter
In proper fashion, Twitter has also become overwhelmed with a series of Steve Jobs accounts, but none have ever really been that successful. Most are lackluster and outdated with few followers:
FakeSteveJobs • FatSteveJobs • fSteveJobs • FSJ • StevenPJobs • StevenPaulJobs
Then there’s the two realistic names, squatted, of course:
One of the largest accounts is _FakeSteveJobs, but the lego avatar gives it a childish feel, not to mention that it hasn’t been updated since August 2007.
Finally, Dan Lyons simply links to his blog via Twitter account FSJblog.
Best Parody There Is
After so many exhaustive attempts, it just seems as if there’s no more room to make fun of Steve Jobs, but nevertheless, someone seems to have done it in what some have called the best parody on Twitter:
The account, which is labeled as a parody, has a fitting minimalist white design, but is pure humor, with a few wild tech predictions mixed in.
It’s reached nearly 42,000 followers and is the biggest Steve Jobs parody on Twitter. It’s already the most listed by far and is much more prolific than any of the other accounts.
The account’s first tweet was in November 2009, but no author has come forward. It’s not affiliated with Dan Lyons’ Fake Steve Jobs brand at all, it seems.
There’s also rumor that the account really does belong to Mr. Jobs himself, but that he keeps it unverified to get away with saying things the corporate PR machine might otherwise want censored.
What people are saying
Feedback about the account has been enormously positive:
The world’s top tweeters have been announced by Teqnolog and the 2009 statistics might surprise you. The tweeters have been categorized by personalities, organizations and foreign language accounts.
The charts are based on the all-time totals of public tweets published by the end of the decade. Here’s the data:
None of the names on the personalities list have achieved widespread household recognition, but most of the users have their own cult followings.
The #1 user, Chris Voss, is a social media consultant who has posted 109,591 tweets through the decade. In second place, Rick London, has sent 98,682 tweets.
Each personality ranking in the top 10 has published more tweets than the New York Times, Reuters, Guardian, ESPN, TIME, and CNN just to name a few. Continue reading ‘The World’s Top Tweeters Might Surprise You’
Facebook has four times more users than Twitter in the U.S. but Twitter users share 19 times more content. How is the social underdog slamming Facebook in the link business? Let’s take a look.
Sharing content is big business on the Internet. Blogs like Gizmodo, news sites like CNN, and even online stores like iTunes, get a hefty percentage of daily traffic through social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Badges embedded in content allow readers to easily retweet or share with their friends, but until now the numbers have been heavily lopsided toward Twitter for some unexplained reason.
While Facebook is the reigning king of the socialsphere with more than 300 million users worldwide (and approximately 90m in the U.S.), Twitter lags behind with only 80 million users worldwide (including 20m in the U.S.).
Scanning the front page of technology sites TechCrunch and Mashable on any given day, it’s obvious that stories are receiving far more attention from Twitter users.
Mashable stories, for instance, were tweeted 20,092 times but only shared 1,628 times. On TechCrunch, stories were tweeted 5,253 times yet shared on Facebook just 187 times.
So what are the possible causes of such staggering statistics? Continue reading ‘Despite fewer users, Twitter users share 19X more content’
Twitter was made for Halloween. Or at least it seems like it. Here are ten ways you can shake things up this Halloween by trick or tweeting:
1. Pre-Tweet. Before you roam the streets to collect candied goods, show off your costume on Twitter, using a photo service like TwitPic. Ask for feedback and reactions. Is it scary enough? Is it too scary? Let others know what you’re doing so they won’t make the mistake of wearing the same costume. If your costume completely disguises you, pre-tweeting it will help your friends find you in the crowd. Also, it’s not a bad idea to let your tweeps know your favorite kind of candy. They might stock up on it just for you.
2. Party Search. Look for local parties and events by using services like TwitterLocal. Ask your friends about the biggest attractions in town, or just watch what they’re saying and surprise them by showing up.
3. Make it match. Transform your Twitter profile for the day to make it match your costume. Add a scary photo for your icon and choose a spooky background. Find some Twallpaper here. Continue reading ‘Trick or Tweet: Ten ways to Twitterize your Halloween’
When Miley Cyrus deleted her Twitter account and left two million followers to wallow in her wake, she claimed that the service pushed her to live, not for moments, but for people.
“I’m done trying to please…” she rapped in her YouTube explanation, “I’m living for me.”
An icon of the tween generation, Cyrus set an example that was met with either cries of disappointment or cheers of praise for her reasoning.
But is it, after all, such a bad idea to live for others? Continue reading ‘Carpe Tweetem: Seizing the social isn’t either-or’
Twitter’s trending topics list continues to keep the company relevant while Facebook struggles without a real-time widget of its own. Twitter makes it easy to log-in, see what people are talking about, and join in on the conversation.
Most trending topics are either about the latest news or craze, while some are simply everyday statements like “goodnight.”
But something different and unusual hit the top of the trending topics list at the end of August: #howgoodisGod. Continue reading ‘Witness or twitness? Christians are embracing Twitter, and why it matters’
What does your social point of view (POV) reveal about you?
As status updates and tweets become more popular in online social networks, how we write is often just as important as what we say, whether it’s in 140 characters or more.
Before determining what your own social point of view is, it’s incredibly important to understand where point of view comes from: Continue reading ‘Your social point-of-view says a lot about you.’
Where will you be when a shrinking throng of Twitter users collectively tweet their last tweet?
The simple fact of the matter is that Twitter, or even the micro-blogging-only concept, will not last much longer as our online social lives continue to become a more necessary part of life.
Twitter was not the first online service to allow users to post quick updates about their lives, but it was the service that revolutionized the concept, using a character limit to teach the everyday web user how to effectively communicate through brevity.
Here’s why Twitter is destined to shrivel up and be forgotten:
