Social Media « shoqvalue.com

If you account was truly hacked, you probably can't even get into it because someone changed the password and the email associated with it. But if your Twitter name is suddenly tweeting spam or sending DM messages to people you follow with links and messages like "Someone is talking smack about you.. [link]," then your account has been compromised by some rogue Twitter application that was activated while you were surfing the web somewhere. The app is allowed to connect to your account via Twitter's authorization system and we have to fix it. Fast.

Here's the fix

Go to Twitter.com > Settings > Applications
If you recognize something you've authorized only recently, and it's some minor app, this is probably your culprit. Just click "Revoke Access" next to it. But if you have any doubts, revoke access to everything and anything you don't recognize or absolutely need. It's easy enough to reauthorize each app as you need them. Popular applications like Tweetdeck will be safe so you can skip those.
Change your password immediately
In theory, Apps don't use your password, but since a rogue App is dishonest anyway, you have to assume it could have gotten your password somehow.
Remember, good strong passwords are at least 8 characters with a mixture of characters, capitalization, numbers, and/or some symbols. Don't use real, properly spelled words if you can help it. Example: HOrz-8a8-Fthrz. Using a product like LastPass can keep your passwords for you in a safe manner. Google it.

Prevention

Don't be too quick to authorize an App. Ask yourself, "is this thingie-doodle really worthwhile, or just some stupid game or gimmick that really isn't worth the hassle if it's actually malware?"

But don't be too paranoid, either. Many Apps are fun and useful, and most of the time the compromising is just a mild annoyance, but not harmful enough to really worry about. Having someone receive DM spam is not like someone hacking your bank account.

It's amusing noting how most of the big tech blogs (which get a lot of traffic from Twitter), are deferential in their reviews, merely making passing reference to the intense dislike and confusion. Read Mashable, Techcrunch, and other big dogs, and it's all sort of "well, some like it, some don't.. la di da." Mashable refers to the feature as "semi-controversial." But go almost anywhere else, especially on Twitter, and the "semi" quickly becomes contempt, and the bad publicity and user antagonism is palpable.

Sure, social network users often grouse about tweaks and changes, but this one needlessly disrupts or convolutes one of the most fundamental behaviors. I already have a growing list of reasons to dislike it, and will be detailing them later today. In the meantime, her here some updates.

Twitter Retweet feature still " temporarily disabled"

"We’re working on a few problems related to the ongoing rollout. These should be resolved quickly and it will be back on for those who had the Retweet feature previously. And we’ll then continue the incremental rollout of this feature to everyone."

Re-Tweet Redesign Helps the Rich Get Richer on Twitter – Gawker.com

The new "re-tweet" feature is both less useful and more confusing than the ad-hoc system that preceded it. But that's OK, because it bolsters rich celebrities and dot-com millionaires.

Hate It Or Love It, Twitter’s New Retweet Style Is Rolling Out

This article is an example of the deferential puffery the big tech blogs engage in, but it's interesting for Scoble's comments trying to explain other dimension and ways of thinking about RT. Users who don't know Friendfeed may not follow it. But it also has some good general comments, like this one:

I would say it destroys the flexibility that RT has without gaining anything in return (except now there’s the Retweet sidebar area – but this doesn’t really add much information – can’t be search the way Robert describes w/ FF [below]) All in all, HUGE disruption for LITTLE or NOTHING gained. #FAIL

I just hate being right sometimes… wait, no I don't.

I love Twitter. Let's be clear on that. But we can be critical of the things we love.

The reviews are already coming fast on "Project Retweet," and they're not pretty.

After the brief status blurb from CNET below, jump to the entire Lance Ulanoff article linked below. My merry band of followers will note the very same arguments from him that I've been making since I heard about this preposterously dopey idea.

New Coke.. I mean Retweets are down right now, and while that's probably just a glitch, some already speculate that Twitter may already see the writing on the wall, and have already shot the rabid dog before it could bite them in the ass. Chow down, Rover!

CNET's Webware

Twitter issues mulligan on new 'retweet' feature

It was a controversial new addition: Twitter had just started rolling out a new feature that built "retweets," a user-created way to quote other tweets, into the main Twitter application. But on Wednesday, plagued by errors, Twitter appears to have pulled the feature for further maintenance.

Lance Ulanoff, PCMagazine

Twitter Retweets: Thanks but No Thanks

Seriously? Are these guys not even aware of how their own service works? I'm not the only one who adds to RTs. It's an incredibly common practice, and I think it's what helps propel the never-ending Twitter conversation along.

Twitter Watch

Twitter's new retweet feature is the worst ever.

While current users may get used to the feature, it’s going to alienate new users. Twitter isn’t like Facebook; it can’t boast the same network effect that makes Facebook indispensable. So it needs to keep things simple for new users. But now each new user will need to understand why much of their early friend feed will consist of messages they didn’t subscribe to. To understand this, they’ll need to learn the meaning of a new symbol. I expect that in trying to understand it, many of them will end up accidentally retweeting messages they didn’t want to see in the first place.

New Retweets: be Afraid

The reviews roll in: New Retweet= #FAIL

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