Sorry Folks, No 'Twitpocalypse' Tonight

Hijacked accounts leave sting of shame

(NEWSER) - These days a computer virus can hijack not just your hard drive but also your online identity. Twitter and Facebook users are often mortified to learn that viruses have stormed their accounts, sending out messages to all their friends and followers. And all the more embarrassing when co-workers and loved ones who trust you fall for malicious programs cloaked as video links or online tests. More»

One in 500 tweets links to malicious software, experts say

(NEWSER) - Twitter is the perfect malware delivery system, enabling cybercriminals to lure users with a quick tweet on a hot topic and a shortened URL that hides a shady website’s identity. One in 500 URLs posted on Twitter links to live malware, says Kaspersky international, which make a program that searches through tweets. A quarter of Twitter messages contain a URL, Kaspersky tells Wired , and half of those are generated by spammers and other Internet lowlifes. More»

Here's a tip: No one cares about your food

(NEWSER) - If you want to avoid driving away all the Twitter followers you've accumulated, you may want to take a look at this list from Katie Heaney on BuzzFeed of 11 things that will really, really annoy them:

• Using your followers as Google: If you want to know what restaurant to visit in a new city, just look it up yourself.
• Tweeting about what you're eating: Absolutely no one cares, unless you're a famous chef. Assuming you're just a normal person, "just put food in your mouth about three times a day, chew it quietly, and swallow. There are no other necessary actions."

We only actually like 36% of what shows up in our stream: study

(NEWSER) - A new study in the Harvard Business Review confirms what you probably already know if you've spent any time on Twitter: Just 36% of tweets are actually worth reading. Another 39% are "just OK," and a full quarter aren't worth your time. That's according to 1,443 users, who evaluated 43,738 tweets. The tweets that scored the best were funny or exciting thoughts, tweets that shared information or asked questions, and even self-promoting tweets—particularly those that included links. More»

Tweeters wonder what they're doing wrong

(NEWSER) - Tweeters are atwitter about an "unfollow bug" hitting the Twitterverse. Scads of Twitter followers are being unceremoniously dumped from sites without anyone's consent or knowledge. “This is a bug, and our team is working to fix it," said a Twitter spokesman. Twitter is advising people to visit its support page , and check fellow tweeters’ profile pages to see whether they are still listed as followers. Some tweeters have been stunned and hurt to find the number of their followers plunging, notes the Telegraph . "I thought I was doing something wrong," tweeted a member of British Parliament. More»