Who’s the real deal in Twitter?

The emergence of Twitter has sparks new heights in internet blogging as bloggers no longer need to write long wordy article type of blog to tell the whole world what’s going on in their life but short sweet simple tweet which sums up what they need to say. Given its simple sign up and 140 words limit, its no wonder why caught many peoples including celebrities themselves hooking into the microblogging phenomenon.

Twitters ease of accessibility is also its downfall as it does not require much information during the sign up which led to many fake accounts which mainly are imposters of celebrities or prominent figures. In an incident where an imposter created an account stating that he was the Dalai Lama caused many to believe that he was the real deal which even mainstream media has been deceived. There were many other cases of celebrities being targets of imposters. According to Shawn Owens in his article “How Celebrity imposters Hurt Twitter’s Credibility”, he stated that given the relative ease to sign up on most platforms and the lack of verification needed, brands and individuals are having to swat down daily attempts to sabotage their reputations (Owens 2009).

(Fake Dalai Lama Twitter page)

In one of my readings by Ken Knapton, the danger of social networking sites is the fact that there is a high degree of trust inherent in connections (Knapton 2009) which explains why people would believe when some imposters comes up to say that he is somebody famous.

I however believe that we as users should not only blame the system for being weak or faulty for cases such as these but we should be equipped knowing that the internet isn’t a safe playground. I would adapt to Vivtoria Roddel suggestion, people must depend on ourselves against cyber crime prevention and protection as each of us does with everyday situation to prevent crime (Roddel 2008). Yes, there should be more security measures taken by Twitter but as individuals, self protection is needed.

While there is some truth that Twitter credibility is tarnished by acts of imposters but its no argument that its popularity continues to sky rocket. This is just a reminder that, we as internet users has to be on guard on anything we see on the net.

Reference list

Knapton, K (2009) Cyber Safety: maintaining morality in a digital world, (e-book) Springville: Cedar Fort
Available: Google Books
http://books.google.com/books?id=BRG_qrKkCzkC&pg=PA91&dq=internet+safety+for+twitter&hl=en&ei=WZwMTMDEDYy3rAeT1OWHDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
(Assessed 7 June 2010)

Owens, S. (2009) How celebrity impostors hurt Twitter's credibility (online)
Available: http://bloggasm.com/
(Assessed 7 June 2010)

Roddel, V(2008) The Ultimate Guide to Internet Safety, (e-book) Morrisville: Lulu Press
Available: Google books
http://books.google.com/books?id=RBquVIvTfI4C&pg=PA217&dq=internet+safety+tips&hl=en&ei=ZKEMTK-EMIK8rAf3sfWnDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=internet%20safety%20tips&f=false
(Accessed 7 June 2010)