Twitter To Start Selling Followers 95
Ellie K writes "While not quite as bad as it sounds, Twitter will soon be identifying followers with certain interests based on the content of their Twitter usage, and then providing this info to advertisers. Twitter is already selling sponsored Tweets for $100K or more. These reader comments captured the disquieting feeling I have: 'Twitter selling followers? Will that be the same as Google selling top position in SERP?' and 'I wonder when Facebook will start to sell friends.' Advertisers will be allowed to purchase placement in lists of 'who to follow' recommendations targeted to users with particular interests on Twitter."
We'll be right back after this promoted content. (Score:5, Informative)
Google has been clear they've never sold search position, PageRank is their secret sauce for making search as good as it is, and they don't corrupt it with ads. They do, however, allow content-targeted ads to appear next to the search results but have always been clear to label what's an ad and what's content on the page.
Twitter's the same way. Every type of paid ad they've allowed gets marked as "promoted" which is their word for "sponsored" or "They paid to be next to the free content we just gave you."
Re:Sorry, Slashdot doesn't understand APIs. (Score:5, Informative)
Might want to at least finish reading the summary next time, as you've missed the point entirely.
Advertisers will be allowed to purchase placement in lists of 'who to follow' recommendations targeted to users with particular interests on Twitter.
This is fairly literal version of Twitter "selling followers" (not just information about users) -- it's companies being able to 'buy' followers (with the caveat that they're not 'auto-followed', just show up as a 'recommended to follow' for the user). The emphasis on providing the usage information to advertisers seems like it's just a sloppy summary write-up, as it's only important in the context of 'planning' a purchase for these companies.
Re:We'll be right back after this promoted content (Score:3, Informative)
The main competition to Twitter consists of the OStatus standard, and its primary demo site identi.ca . Unfortunately it doesn't have much non-geek traction, mostly because it doesn't have much non-geek traction; no critical mass.
Re:Sorry, Slashdot doesn't understand APIs. (Score:2, Informative)
Um, how exactly is sending everybody's tweets to third parties a privacy violation? Direct messages yes, but tweets in general do not appear to have any way for the sender to specify a limit as to who can read them.
Re:Sorry, Slashdot doesn't understand APIs. (Score:3, Informative)
No, sorry, there is no such thing as a trust network.
When I walk around on the street and scream something to somebody walking on the other side, everybody around can listen in and -- should they wish to do so -- distribute it further. There is no trust network where only people who know me can hear me screaming unless I take explicit precautions to do so.
Similarly, anything you post to twitter is public. If you wish to keep it private, post it on your own password-protected site.
More to the point; you CAN reasonably expect any advertiser to take an interrest in you if there is even the slightest change that they could shove advertising in your face. It may not be the kind of interrest you want, but they ARE interrested.
What else is new? (Score:5, Informative)
I wonder when Facebook will start to sell friends.
Isn't that what Facebooks business model is all about?
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_40/b4197064860826.htm [businessweek.com]
http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/02/facebook-bigger-google/ [techcrunch.com]