Twitter and...something else
July 17th 2009 05:00
Twitter is going crazy in all sorts of directions. Here are just two recent examples, courtesy of that ever-reliable news source, NetGuide.
At the rate of about twelve tweets a day, the Queen (or rather, the more impersonal, The Palace) is tweeting about such exciting events as: the changing of the guards, links to YouTube videos, and details of the various Royal visits and duties. Of course, you don't have to be monarchy-focused to become a follower to this twittering, but I suspect it probably helps. This is the address if you want follow the Palace's day-to-day events: twitter.com/BritishMonarchy.
On another, less pleasant angle, Twitter has fallen victim to malware. The Koobface worm, which already had a go at other social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace last year, is now targeting the Internet's newest kid on the block (so to speak). As far as I can make out, the malware arrives as an email from Twitter, with an URL included. Click on the URL and the malware does its nasty work.
NetGuide says: Twitter has advised users that it is suspending accounts which have been sending these malware links. The suspended users, who are probably innocent victims themselves, are informed by email and advised on how to remove the malware.
On another tack altogether, (though not entirely unrelated to malware, perhaps) I saw this notice on a site selling a weight loss product which includes the plant Ephedra. Nuphredra, (which uses Ephedra as its main component) is no longer available. "We are currently in the process of reformulating Nuphedra to be compliant with the FDA's Good Manufacturing Practices Policies. In the meantime you can look for Nuphedra on eBay."
Doesn't that strike you as a bit rich? The item isn't passing the FDA, yet people are still being encouraged to buy it on eBay. In other words, if you're prepared to take the risk, go ahead.
Almost as scary as Koobface. (Incidentally, I read that name first as Knobface, which means 'someone who is being a complete chump, but still remains slightly amusing.' Koobface - Facebook slightly backwards - is a different kettle of fish. There's nothing amusing about it at all.
And one last word about Twitter: an American novelist, Matt Stewart, is releasing his novel, The French Revolution, on Twitter, presumably at 140 characters a time. Personally I can't imagine bothering to read a novel in this tedious way, and it's hard to know whether Mr Stewart will be doing himself much good. The novel had been turned down by various publishers - yet is available on Kindle, for a small fee, or on Scribd, for free.
Curiously, the Scribd version claims the book was published by Coleridge and Otis, San Francisco, in 2009...
At the rate of about twelve tweets a day, the Queen (or rather, the more impersonal, The Palace) is tweeting about such exciting events as: the changing of the guards, links to YouTube videos, and details of the various Royal visits and duties. Of course, you don't have to be monarchy-focused to become a follower to this twittering, but I suspect it probably helps. This is the address if you want follow the Palace's day-to-day events: twitter.com/BritishMonarchy.
On another, less pleasant angle, Twitter has fallen victim to malware. The Koobface worm, which already had a go at other social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace last year, is now targeting the Internet's newest kid on the block (so to speak). As far as I can make out, the malware arrives as an email from Twitter, with an URL included. Click on the URL and the malware does its nasty work.
NetGuide says: Twitter has advised users that it is suspending accounts which have been sending these malware links. The suspended users, who are probably innocent victims themselves, are informed by email and advised on how to remove the malware.
On another tack altogether, (though not entirely unrelated to malware, perhaps) I saw this notice on a site selling a weight loss product which includes the plant Ephedra. Nuphredra, (which uses Ephedra as its main component) is no longer available. "We are currently in the process of reformulating Nuphedra to be compliant with the FDA's Good Manufacturing Practices Policies. In the meantime you can look for Nuphedra on eBay."
Doesn't that strike you as a bit rich? The item isn't passing the FDA, yet people are still being encouraged to buy it on eBay. In other words, if you're prepared to take the risk, go ahead.
Almost as scary as Koobface. (Incidentally, I read that name first as Knobface, which means 'someone who is being a complete chump, but still remains slightly amusing.' Koobface - Facebook slightly backwards - is a different kettle of fish. There's nothing amusing about it at all.
And one last word about Twitter: an American novelist, Matt Stewart, is releasing his novel, The French Revolution, on Twitter, presumably at 140 characters a time. Personally I can't imagine bothering to read a novel in this tedious way, and it's hard to know whether Mr Stewart will be doing himself much good. The novel had been turned down by various publishers - yet is available on Kindle, for a small fee, or on Scribd, for free.
Curiously, the Scribd version claims the book was published by Coleridge and Otis, San Francisco, in 2009...
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