Twitter Overflows With Malware

Smart people won't be doing this forever

(NEWSER) - Ever sent a tweet to tech support? It beats the heck out of calling, Simon Dumenco discovered recently, when a whining appeal to @sprintcare yielded a prompt, personal, pitch-perfect response. Sounds great, right? Well, don’t expect it to last long, Dumenco writes for Advertising Age , because the current corporate marketer fetish for social media—which is “increasingly overbearing and annoying—is about to turn into a pumpkin." More»

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»

Social-networking site gives companies a cheap medium to find the techno-savvy

(NEWSER) - For some firms, Twitter is playing the role of headhunter: companies like Verizon and Microsoft are posting openings on the social-networking site, the Wall Street Journal reports. Job boards have “become saturated,” says a Newell Rubbermaid VP. “With Twitter, we don't have to go through that huge pile of résumés.” And the tweets have seen big successes: in one week, 4,622 Twitter visitors ended up at one firm’s job-listings site. More»

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»

It involves whining about a sandwich

(NEWSER) - How to be an ace tweeter? Megan Garber at the Atlantic pores over a new study and starts her lesson with what not to do. This would be "The Most Annoying Tweet Imaginable":

• "BREAKING: Last week I had a #sandwich that was SO HORRIBLE, it made me want to #scream. Seriously, why can't they make better #sandwiches?"