Open Letter To Twitter: Kill The Hardcore Smut!
I have been on Twitter for several months and have accumulated over 1600 followers which ranks me in the top couple hundred in NYC. I have continually searched for new ways to make the most of the utility of Twitter with mixed results. The best use I have found is for searching for info on trending topics. If there is a rally in Iran, or a tragedy like the incidents in Moscow this morning, I find Twitter a valuable resource. It was on one of those searches this morning that I was utterly shocked!
Searching "Moscow" this morning, I found that out of the 20 most recent posts, on average 3 had profile pictures that were hardcore pornographic in nature as well as links to what I would assume is more hardcore content. But it didn't stop there, and here is what really scared me. Checking the top 10 trending topics, I found tween sensation Justin Bieber, number 8. Surely, it is all kids that are on Twitter that are driving his numbers up. A simple click, and I found that anywhere between 10% to 20% of all recent tweets for Bieber contained pornographic profile pictures and links. What percentage of parents do you think realize this? Yes, parents have a duty to protect their children, but so does Twitter. Twitter is largely know as a trendy and immensely popular website that most parents would assume is innocuous. This is not the case, not the case at all.
So, I plead with Twitter, please clean up your act! You have a responsibility and you must take it seriously. Failure to act will decrease your appeal and utility (as it already has), and in the long run lead to your extinction.
Update: Checking same searches now and I see less smut. My numbers are not scientific, but even if this is just a random spam blast, these spammers must be stopped. It only takes one incident with your child to ruin Twitter forever. Given what I saw this morning, I wouldn't let my kids anywhere near it.
Searching "Moscow" this morning, I found that out of the 20 most recent posts, on average 3 had profile pictures that were hardcore pornographic in nature as well as links to what I would assume is more hardcore content. But it didn't stop there, and here is what really scared me. Checking the top 10 trending topics, I found tween sensation Justin Bieber, number 8. Surely, it is all kids that are on Twitter that are driving his numbers up. A simple click, and I found that anywhere between 10% to 20% of all recent tweets for Bieber contained pornographic profile pictures and links. What percentage of parents do you think realize this? Yes, parents have a duty to protect their children, but so does Twitter. Twitter is largely know as a trendy and immensely popular website that most parents would assume is innocuous. This is not the case, not the case at all.
So, I plead with Twitter, please clean up your act! You have a responsibility and you must take it seriously. Failure to act will decrease your appeal and utility (as it already has), and in the long run lead to your extinction.
Update: Checking same searches now and I see less smut. My numbers are not scientific, but even if this is just a random spam blast, these spammers must be stopped. It only takes one incident with your child to ruin Twitter forever. Given what I saw this morning, I wouldn't let my kids anywhere near it.
Thank you for this insight. I will check my daughter's usage immediately.
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