Subscribe to posts feed  Subscribe to comments feed
 
Thoughtpick: A unique perspective of the Web and social media...
A unique perspective of the Web and social media...

March 1, 2010

Information is Beautiful [video]

If there’s only one video you’ll watch this month, then make it this one.

Aside from the fact that it’s a sight for sore eyes when it comes to design, this video is a fountain of information that really gives you a complete overview of the state of the Internet today.

Spam is King

One of my favorite parts of this video is their information on spam.

Out of the average 247 billion emails sent per day, 200 billion of them are spam. Wow, yeah?

I don’t really understand why their is so much spam in the world. You’d think that by now, you’d have the Anti-Spam Consideration Front, the PETA of the Web. Why isn’t there such a group yet?

The other very interesting part in this video is about Facebook’s exponential growth, with a staggering 6 million page view per minute. Does that make Facebook the queen of spam? :)

[Via FlowingData]

Do you enjoy infographs as much as we do? Well, then check out these previous posts on Thoughtpick:

Filed under: Offbeat — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — Roba @ 9:32 pm

December 7, 2009

Top 10 Ways to Commit Twitter Suicide!

“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” Phil Dinahue

Suicide Cartoon

Suicide Cartoon

Not to seem as if I am taking this issue lightly, allow me to explain that the way I see it, there are different types of suicides: the  tragedy of taking one’s own life, the curse of business suicide, your average social suicide and so on.

This post is a humorous way of addressing one side of social media suicide: Twitter suicide!

During our last team’s brainstorming session, while discussing different social media related issues, and Twitter related experiences and annoyances, it occurred to me: What are the things that Twitter users could do and be considered as committing Twitter suicide?

This is what my imagination could muster…

[read full article >>]

Filed under: Offbeat, Tips and How To’s — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — Beirut @ 4:25 pm

November 11, 2009

The Insider’s Guide to Being a Top Spammer!

It is truly shocking how lucrative the spamming business is. You can earn up to $7,000 a day by being a top spammer and here is the top tips to help you achieve spam gold.

Tip 1 Be Part of the System

Users already trust the platform they are on and that’s why they use it. If a spammer’s ad looks out of place, people will be more suspicious of it. So the best thing to do is to locate the ad as it is part of the system. Adopt the Facebook font and clean looks with blue buttons. Make the ad look like a windows warning message and that will get people to click the ad more.

I bet you want to prove your in that 3.3%!

I bet you want to prove you're in that special 3.3%!

Tip 2 Gain Access

The best ways to get access to people’s information is to deceive them into giving it up voluntarily. Entice the customer with a chance to win an iPhone if they provide you with their email address. Even better, get them to do an IQ test and then ask them if they want the results sent to their phones! Any respectable spammer would know that a person’s email, phone number or getting him/her to download a toolbar are the top earners in the game. You know what I am saying?

Tip 3 Get In Bed With a Game’s Developer

[read full article >>]

Filed under: Controversial Picks — Tags: , , , , , , , , — M. Bamieh @ 3:53 pm

November 10, 2009

The Self-Destructing Worm: Crawling into an iPhone Near You!

Within a few days of publishing an article entitled “The iPhone is the worst phone in the world“, the iPhone self-destructing worm came into play. Is Flora Graham clairvoyant? Or is it just that the iPhone is simply going downhill just like any other ex super-hyped, highly-priced technological device about to hit the gutter?

Around 8 months from posting her article: How I learned to stop worrying and love the iPhone, Flora Graham brutally attacks the iPhone in terms of dropping calls, data gaps, poor overall design, relatively short battery life and so on. I am curious here: What brought about this hate after what seemed to be a deeply entrenched “love” relationship built on trust and respect for the phone’s features and the tools it provides?

Ikee iPhone Wallpaper

Ikee iPhone Wallpaper

Personally, I never was interested in buying an iPhone; the Blackberry was more appealing to me due to its highly facilitated and flexible access to e-mails. However, I keep up with the latest technology news and reviews and have never yet, up until the past week, come across such negative reviews about the iPhone then all of a sudden, boom, the iPhone’s fairly good reputation starts heading down hill!

“The 21-year-old hacker, Ashley Towns, has written a worm – a type of self-replicating computer program similar to a virus, that changes the iPhone’s wallpaper to show a picture of 80’s pop singer Rick Astley and displays the message “ikee is never going to give you up“.”

It makes you wonder, doesn’t it, to what extent are we really safe with technology? And how long can we depend on our phones and even computers to keep our information intact and safe from hacks, spam and / or theft?

Looking forward to reading your thoughts down below :)

Filed under: Web News — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Beirut @ 8:47 pm

October 17, 2009

October 5, 2009

Top 10 Tips to Avoid Getting Blocked on Twitter…

Someone on Twitter once said “Twitter is the theater of the mind…”. While many might disagree, claiming that it is a waste of time and energy, I strongly feel positive when it comes to my overall Twitter experience in terms of interaction and learning. Despite that, I still have some negative vibes towards those who abuse their Twitter presence, leading me to, sadly, block them!

Twitter Block

Twitter Block

So, with that said, what are the things one should take into consideration when using Twitter? And how does an active Twitter user, seeking more business or communication opportunities, avoid being blocked on Twitter?

A few months ago, I posted an article about my personal experience on Twitter and the lessons I learned from that experience. Luckily, the article turned out to be a success and the dos and don’ts I listed gained a lot of popularity and appreciation.

Today, this post is dedicated to the top 10 tips I have for Twitter users who want to avoid getting blocked on Twitter, again, from my own personal experience.

Top 10 Tips to Avoid Getting Blocked on Twitter:

Apart from the standard well known tips that Twitter provides on its blog, there are other ways of conduct that can get you blocked. Here they are as I see them:

  1. NEVER add your followers’ names in your ad tweets! It might seem appealing, it might seem lucrative but trust me, it is annoying and I have deleted and blocked many of those I was following for that reason!
  2. Don’t just tweet rambles! In a post we published a few months back, we spoke of 15 types of Twitter users, amongst those there were 3-4 types that were in the red zone: the annoying types and ramblers were on that list! Yes, I want to know that you just woke up and you’re drinking your coffee, but I also want to learn new things from you!
  3. Don’t be selfish! If I care enough to retweet you, you should be able to do the same or else you don’t deserve me following you and I will eventually block you. Sharing is caring and retweeting is as well. [read full article >>]
Filed under: Tips and How To’s — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Beirut @ 4:07 pm

September 2, 2009

Username: @xadultfinder – Action: Unfollow! More Twitter Tips…

Apart for the Twitter avatar and background, what would influence your choice of people to follow on Twitter? How many Twitter users have you unfollowed due to their user names? What is the best method for companies to benefit from Twitter user names?

So what’s all the fuss about?

“No one cares anyway”… Right? Wrong! Take a look at the following comments:

@Kurd said “I have blocked people before based solely on their avatar or name, if it was offensive enough. Or if I’m following someone with, say, a puppy avatar with the user name “ILoveLife” but at some point they’ve changed their avatar and name to a spread-eagle model named “SexFrosting.”

Lois Arnando added, “Rather than background, I’m more concerned with the user name.”

I’m sure many of you out there would agree to what these two gentlemen had to say, and I’m 100% percent certain that you’ll have one story or another about bad or annoying experiences with at least one of your followers’ user names!

First Impression Matters :)

First Impression Matters...

[read full article >>]

Filed under: Deductions and Realizations — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Beirut @ 4:23 pm

August 22, 2009

Is TrueTwit up to the Task of Reducing Twitter Spam? I don’t think so!

Spam on Twitter is an obvious and growing problem. I mean, many of the tweets in my stream are about “how to make money on Twitter” or some loser trying to sell an eBook. Don’t even get me started on auto-DMs – especially when I tried getting notifications on my mobile! I don’t want to check your Facebook profile, I am not interested in voting for whatever you want me to vote up and I do not want to know about what new porno movies you have on your disgusting website!

Yes, Twitter spam is getting on my nerves and might be a deal breaker unless Twitter does something about it.

TrueTwit.com attempts to solve the problem of Twitter spam - I don't think so!

TrueTwit.com: Nice interface but not a solution to Twitter's spam problem!

What’s spam on Twitter?

Hmm, I think you already have a bunch of examples pop into your mind. It’s not only the annoying list I mentioned above, but also Twitter bots, numerous fake Twitter accounts as well as spammers trying to use trending topics to gain exposure. I am sure there is more, but these are the examples off the top of my head right now.

There are many tools attempting to solve this issue, but recently, I ran into and tested out TrueTwit.com, and I was not too impressed by the logic behind it. Here is why…

[read full article >>]

Filed under: App Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , — Amer Kawar @ 5:15 pm

August 17, 2009

Twitter for Enterprise Debate: Would You Use It For Your Own Business?

We were in the middle of our weekly meeting, conducting the customary brainstorming exercises and, as usual, discussing ideas and topics; how good they are and which directions we can take them and so on. Beirut and Fadi seemed to have 2 completely different opinions regarding Twitter and its usefulness for businesses vs. its disadvantages. We decided to write this “duet” article and in turn listen to our readers opinions.

1,2,3…. Debate!

Let the debate begin!

Let the debate begin!

Fadi’s Opinion – Pro Twitter for Enterprise

While Twitter, like any other available tool at work – be it telephone, email, or even internet access – can be abused if not used the right way, it can also provide many benefits and open new opportunities to any businesses. Don’t blame the tool, blame people who abuse it.

There are many ways where Twitter can benefit your business. The following are my favorite top 5:

  1. Motivation: The more motivated your employees are, the more productive they can be. People have several motivating factors. I, myself, totally support the opinion that says socializing is the primary motivating factor. Wrap the social aspect of Twitter in your business constraints and you will have a winning formula for motivated employees.
  2. Marketing: Twitter is a great tool to interact with your customers and market your services and products. Dell earned $3 Million from Twitter when they started posting exclusive coupons and offers about new products on their Twitter account (@DellOutlet).  Coffe Groundz, a Houston independent coffee shop, gained much success by giving their customers the option to order via Twitter (@coffeegroundz)! That was a precedence – a very successful one.

    Dell Free Coupons Tweets

    Dell Free Coupons Tweets

  3. Listening: One of the most important characteristic of a successful business is to be able to figure out what its customers need and improve its offering of products/services accordingly. Twitter provides a great way for a business to listen to related people’s conversations. Tasti D-Lite, a popular New York dessert franchise, was there to listen to people working at the Empire State Building who twittered about their craving for ice cream delivery (@tastidlite) – it opened a new business opportunity to them. [read full article >>]
Filed under: Controversial Picks — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Fadi and Beirut @ 3:48 pm

July 27, 2009

How To: 5 Top Methods & Applications to Reduce Twitter Spam!

How much of Twitter’s trending topics are polluted by spam? How many Twitter verified accounts are there? Have you ever thought of reaching Twitter utopia: a spam-free Twitter where information and knowledge sharing are the main purposes for using Twitter? Is Twitter doing enough to protect us from spam? Would you like to find all the top 5 solutions to cutting down on Twitter spam in one place?

No Spam!

No Spam!

Thoughtpick is here to save the day!

While reading the post about Twitter closing down thousands of spam accounts, I found that it would be interesting and very beneficial if I researched the web to present you with the top 5 methods and applications which could help Twitter users cut down on incoming spam and better enjoy their overall Twitter experience.

  1. Manual Selection: This method might be fun at the beginning yet could become a bit overwhelming especially to those following thousands of tweeps. Basically, this method entails that you monitor the activity, profile, links and tweets of those you are following and manually unfollow and block those who seem to be spammers rather than true tweeps. Things you should be well aware of when manually following and unfollowing tweeps:
    • Be ware of suspicious-looking shortened URLS; these could be links to viruses, pornography, trojans or spam. For example, if you see the same URL with 10 different descriptions!
    • Be careful of trending topics; spammers use those with a combination of hashtags so they would show up more often on Twitter search,
    • Be ware of fake followers; followers who will not RT you or provide you with valuable information, instead, they use their Twitter account to send our promotions to sell their services.
    • Know who you follow before you follow them and unfollow and block anyone who seems to be a spammer immediately.
  2. Tweepi.com: A new application, still in beta, for Twitter users which allows you to cleanup spam users using numbers that are able to reveal bots through various ratios such as number of tweets vs. number of RTs and the number of links per tweets. So if you’re following a few thousand people on Twitter and you noticed that many of them do not engage in conversations, never retweet anybody, or simply just ramble about nonsense stuff all day long (no links to useful content whatsoever!), Tweepi is your answer!

    Tweepi.com's Cleanup to find and unfollow Twitter spammers

    Tweepi.com's Cleanup to find and unfollow Twitter spammers

    3. [read full article >>]

Filed under: Tips and How To’s — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Beirut @ 2:19 pm
Older Posts »
©2009 thoughtpick, copyrights reserved.