How to Spot a Social Bot on Twitter | MIT Technology Review
Back in 2011, a team from Texas A&M University carried out a cyber sting to trap nonhuman Twitter users that were polluting the Twittersphere with spam. Their approach was to set up “honeypot” accounts which posted nonsensical content that no human user would ever be interested in. Any account that retweeted this content, or friended the owner, must surely be a nonhuman user known as a social bot.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Friedrich Liechtenstein Finds Fame With ‘Supergeil’ Supermarket Ad - NYTimes.com
Friedrich Liechtenstein Finds Fame With ‘Supergeil’ Supermarket Ad - NYTimes.com
Mr. Liechtenstein, 55, is an unlikely candidate for Internet fame. He owns no phone, has no computer and only recently moved into an apartment after spending nearly two years living, rent-free, in the stairwell of an upscale eyeglass company’s Berlin office space, then in its showroom, where he served, in the eccentric 19th-century tradition, as an ornamental hermit.
But after the runaway success of a web-only advertisement for one of Germany’s largest supermarket chains this year, the dapper artist can no longer walk down the street without strangers asking to take his picture.
Mr. Liechtenstein, 55, is an unlikely candidate for Internet fame. He owns no phone, has no computer and only recently moved into an apartment after spending nearly two years living, rent-free, in the stairwell of an upscale eyeglass company’s Berlin office space, then in its showroom, where he served, in the eccentric 19th-century tradition, as an ornamental hermit.
But after the runaway success of a web-only advertisement for one of Germany’s largest supermarket chains this year, the dapper artist can no longer walk down the street without strangers asking to take his picture.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
They Did This? In Rebel Country, Disbelief - NYTimes.com
They Did This? In Rebel Country, Disbelief - NYTimes.com
In eastern Ukraine, many residents may side with the pro-Russian rebels, but they don’t see the fighters as capable of having taken down the Malaysia Airlines plane with a missile.
In eastern Ukraine, many residents may side with the pro-Russian rebels, but they don’t see the fighters as capable of having taken down the Malaysia Airlines plane with a missile.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Mathematicians Explain Why Social Epidemics Spread Faster in Some Countries Than Others | MIT Technology Review
Mathematicians Explain Why Social Epidemics Spread Faster in Some Countries Than Others | MIT Technology Review
Psychologists have always puzzled over why people in Sweden were slower to start smoking and slower to stop. Now a group of mathematicians have worked out why.
Psychologists have always puzzled over why people in Sweden were slower to start smoking and slower to stop. Now a group of mathematicians have worked out why.
It’s Another Perfect Day in Tibet! - NYTimes.com
It’s Another Perfect Day in Tibet! - NYTimes.com
An advocacy group has identified nearly 100 fake accounts on Twitter whose sole purpose appears to be sharing treacly stories about Tibet and Xinjiang. The content comes via propaganda websites linked to the Chinese government.
An advocacy group has identified nearly 100 fake accounts on Twitter whose sole purpose appears to be sharing treacly stories about Tibet and Xinjiang. The content comes via propaganda websites linked to the Chinese government.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Remixed And Retweeted : All Tech Considered : NPR
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Remixed And Retweeted : All Tech Considered : NPR
The deadly war in the Gaza Strip and Israel is being fought with rockets and guns. It's also being fought with tweets and viral videos.
Propaganda has always been a part of conflict; social media has expanded the battlefield.
Alooshe thinks of himself as a soldier in the new media war against Hamas.
There's no question that Hamas has stepped up its Internet game from the last conflict.
There are trained soldiers in this social media war: The official English Twitter account for the Israeli military has more than 300,000 followers.
In this war, social media is also letting people communicate directly with their enemy.
Technology saturates every aspect of this war. Not just drones and missile defense shields, but mundane things like war smartphone apps that include flashlights, radios and emergency numbers.
During NPR's interview with Alooshe in Tel Aviv, an air raid siren went off. We dashed to the shelter in his apartment building, where he insisted we take a selfie.
"I must take a picture, you know?" he said.
As soon as the siren stopped, he uploaded the picture to Twitter and Facebook. Then he used the chat service WhatsApp to make sure everyone in his family was safe.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Young Israelis Fight Hashtag Battle to Defend #IsraelUnderFire - NYTimes.com
Young Israelis Fight Hashtag Battle to Defend #IsraelUnderFire - NYTimes.com: Confronted with an outpouring of sympathy on social networks for Palestinians killed or wounded in Gaza in an eight-day military confrontation, a group of young Israelis is pushing back, using the hashtag #IsraelUnderFire to rally support for what they say is an unavoidable, defensive war provoked by rocket fire from Islamist militants.
As The Jerusalem Post reports, the effort to make Israel’s case is being spearheaded by 400 college students posting comments, memes, video clips,images and explanatory graphics on Facebook and Twitter from dozens of computers in a “Hasbara war room” at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.
As The Jerusalem Post reports, the effort to make Israel’s case is being spearheaded by 400 college students posting comments, memes, video clips,images and explanatory graphics on Facebook and Twitter from dozens of computers in a “Hasbara war room” at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.
Brewing cyberwarfare… "#IsraelUnderFire" vs. “#GazaUnderAttack" and “#FreePalestine"
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