Twitter’s porn dilemma
Can Twitter keep growing among older users without weeding out spammers pimping sex and porn?
Twitter needs to do something about its porn problem, said Sarah Lacy in BusinessWeek. It’s far too easy for “call girls, strippers, and purveyors of porn” to spam Twitter "newbies”—especially the older, more shock-prone users fueling its growth—and too hard to report spam. People who would never use Facebook or MySpace, like my mother-in-law, are “testing the Twitter waters.” But they’ll leave if it “becomes more about T&A than tweets.”
Yes, Twitter serves up “a plethora of tweets from people advertising that they’re looking to have sex. With you. Now,” said Amelia McDonell-Parry in The Frisky. But where else can these “hot and horny” businesses go now that Craigslist is “actively policing the Casual Encounters ads”?
Right, and these “slags and hags” are part of Twitter’s growth spurt, too, said Andrew Belonsky in Gawker’s Valleywag. So here’s a hint for you easily offended Twitter newbies: If it’s too hard to figure out how to “block the site’s cabal of sluts,” simply don’t "follow" people you don’t know, “especially if they have whorish names like ‘Kiki’ or ‘Cocoa.’”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Deleting or blocking “porn and other raw sewage” is a good start toward building a useful Twitter network, said Jeff Cerny in Tech Republic. But it’s also a good idea to avoid anyone direct-marketing you with any product, or asking you to “Follow me,” or sending out URLs with no explanation. Twitter can be valuable, if you can separate the wheat from the chaff.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Government shutdown looming? Blame the border
Talking Points Democrats and Republicans say funding for immigration enforcement is the budget battle's latest sticking point. That's about all they agree on.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Conservatives have not limited their attack on reproductive rights to the US'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published