Eight tips to spot Twitter spammers
Lately, I've been getting notices of followers with names like mandy711, nikkiwikki and brandi454. When I click through to view their profile there's usually an avatar of an attractive woman associated with it, though not always. (One avatar contained the words "adult content.")
It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but these and others like them are nothing more than spammers invading Twitter. I refer to them at "twammers."
Here are eight tips to help you spot a Twitter spammer a mile away.
1. Their Twitter ID reads like an AOL email address. If there is a sequence of numbers following the name it's a twammer (mandy711, lovepink1969). I'm guessing the reason for the number is so they can set up multiple accounts by number sequence. That's purely conjecture of course, but sounds reasonable.
2. They are following thousands but have only a handful following them. Dead giveaway.
3. The link in their bio is always to some type of marketing site or, even worse, to a porn site. If that's the case, the link is usually disguised so you won't know it's porn, so be careful. (I fell victim to this just yesterday. It was embarrassing needless to say.
4. They are usually pitching a particular Web site in a post.
5. Often, they only have one post, or a few at most.
6. If you see the phrase "click audit" in a hyperlink, it's a twammer.
7. As mentioned above, the avatar is often of an attractive woman.
8. They never interact with followers, but only broadcast.
Actions you can take
Don't bother clicking. If you have chosen to receive email notifications when someone becomes a follwer, it won't take long before you become expert enough at spotting twammers you won't even bother clicking through to see their profile.
Block them. When Twammers follow you, block them. Of course, if you get enough of them this can get time consuming.
Don't follow in return. Until this became a concern, when someone followed me, I'd return the favor and usually without paying much attention to who the person was. No longer. Before I push the follow button I check them out.
A concern...
I'm concerned that legitimate marketers who don't understand the ropes of social networking may use the same tactics as the twammers. They see Twitter as a way to broadcast their message without understanding the need to participate in the community. In so doing, they become spammers too.
While none of us is tasked with the responsibility of policing the community, if you spot someone you think is valid, but using spam-like practices, why not be a courteous neighbor and remind them.
Twitter taking steps to stop Twam?
Several of the twammers whose URL I clicked on had accounts that were no longer in existence. I don't know if Twitter is attempting to curb this problem before it becomes rampant. If not, they should. While the Twitter faithful will put up with downtime, components that are disabled or break, lost tweets and even the "fail whale," I'm not sure how much people will tolerate a epidemic of spam.
Another up and coming application which seems built to withstand spam is Plurk. As social media expert put it, "I think spammers on Plurk will stick out like a sore thumb, won't last very long."
What fellow Twits had to say...
In preparing to write this post I queried the Twitter community asking for tips on spotting twammers. Here's how some replied...
maggielmcg -- the only way I can tell is by clicking on the link in their profiles--if it goes to a page hyping a product they're a twammer.
saraschneider -- I agree with @hksully. Also, if they've got one post, 25 followers and following 3,000
hksully -- If the potential Twammer never replies to anyone, just sends posts, they're not part of a conversation
amblass -- All URL twits/RSS feed. disproportionate # of following vs. followers. Inconsistent language. Odd usernames.
Yolanda -- Or they are following approximately one bazillion users and only have 20 followers.
AmberCadabra -- the whole following-3000-and-2-followers thing is a dead giveaway. And that their tweets are always "check out my...."
Why not take a second and share some tips of your own. While you're at it, feel free to follow me at Twitter. I'm . (This is, unless you're a twammer of course. :->)