Topic: "A Bubble Reputation"

[Pandora]

USA Today quotes studies which suggest that 70% of Barack Obama’s Twitter followers are fake. “A new Web tool has determined that 70% of Obama’s crowd includes “fake followers”.

The New York Times describes how it’s done.

    The practice is surprisingly easy. A Google search for “buy Twitter followers” turns up dozens of Web sites like USocial.net, InterTwitter.com, and FanMeNow.com that sell Twitter followers by the thousands (and often Facebook likes and YouTube views). At BuyTwitterFollow.com, for example, users simply enter their Twitter handle and credit card number and, with a few clicks, see the ranks of their followers swell in three to four days.

    Will Mitchell, the founder of Clear Presence Media, a marketing company outside Tampa, Fla., said that he has bought more than a million followers for his clients, which include musicians, start-ups and a well-known actress he declined to identify.
    Advertisement

    “And it’s so cheap, too,” he said. In one instance, Mr. Mitchell said, he bought 250,000 for $2,500, or a penny each.

The NYT article lays out the worst case.

    If accurate, the number of fake followers out there is surprising. According to the StatusPeople tool, 71 percent of Lady Gaga’s nearly 29 million followers are “fake” or “inactive.” So are 70 percent of President Obama’s nearly 19 million followers.

But TechCrunch is not so sure that the Presidents numbers are so grossly inflated. Their own estimates are that President Obama’s non-existent legions only comprise 31% of the total.

But it is probably unwelcome news in any case for the Obama campaign. Just recently the Guardian noted that “when it comes to sheer productivity, Obama’s massive staff – in June, it was 750 compared with Romney’s 87 – has maintained the president’s lead by dwarfing Romney’s postings on Twitter, out-blogging him on the Obama campaign website and matching Romney’s activities on Facebook.” Imagine their chagrin at learning that many of those enthusiastic supporters were no more real than a three dollar bill. The NYT reports that Twitter is cleaning up their act.

Once upon a time I would have surprised to find that voters are considering their vote selection based on Twitter popularity.  No more.

How likely is it some of the poll numbers are extrapolated from Obongo's Twitter numbers?

[Libertas]

When the hopium wears off, when you're so-called friends abandon you, when your Admin is cratering deeper every day, when you cannot debate facts because the facts like all reality is kicking your ass...all you have left is lies, distortions, shrill personal attacks...and yes even some good old fashioned democrat phony baloney!

After all, how are fake Tweeters any different from astro-turfed supporters at staged Town Hall events?

[Predator Don]

Why is this news? The guy with fake followers also has composite girlfriends. You can't damage that ego.

[LadyVirginia]

Why is this news? The guy with fake followers also has composite girlfriends. You can't damage that ego.

The guy built a persona -- nothing about him is real

except the fall he's about to experience

[Libertas]

The landing should hurt like a dickens!   

[Glock32]

He's the type whose self-destruction will have a massive fallout area.

[Predator Don]

He's the type whose self-destruction will have a massive fallout area.

There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth....It will be great.

[John Florida]

He's the type whose self-destruction will have a massive fallout area.

  I can live without Chicago.

[AlanS]

Once upon a time I would have surprised to find that voters are considering their vote selection based on Twitter popularity.  No more.

They have twits that follow tweets?