Change is hard. Typically, change is thought of as initially “bad” by most people who are not used to the rapid flow of technological advances that seem to move at the speed of light. So a year ago it was with a great open mind that I settled into a pursuit of exactly how to best use Twitter to my advantage. Social marketing is, after all, the new buzzword, and why not jump in with both feet, get a little dirty, and experience the power of social media?
The General Case for Twitter
Well, for one, Twitter seems to work well for manual follow-based networks where you know everyone you want to hear from. As a keyword-based search tool, however, it’s a nightmare. Twitter, as a whole, is an amazing labyrinth of information that when brought up by keywords yields amazingly consistent results: 99% of all of my keyword results for name brands, manufacturers and topical words yield the following:
- Highly repetitive deals and sales (not relevant to me)
- Antiquated “Reviews” that are obviously written by foreign laborers for whom English is a second language
- Affiliate links to Amazon or other stores that are solely for the purpose of earning the Twitter feed generator commissions
The Twitter Multiverse
Now here’s the kicker. These people are triplicated, quadruplicated, and sometimes more. Some are working together, while others simply replicate their Tweets under multiple monikers. Take this excerpt from a recently Tweeted “review” for example:
This light is great though, when running power over T bar it not only brightens the work space but the entire ceiling. I was extremely impressed with the speed in which it was delivered and the price was unbelievable!!! The price on the light in my review says $40 but I only paid $29 and like 6 bucks shipping. The pivot is more solid than on the 12v light which also adds to its more durable feel. The price I got was less than half of average price i found on the web sites suggested by makita and it came in less than 48 hours for the standard shipping rate. I received the Makita light weight 18V drill free when I purchased a Makita 12inch sliding compound miter saw a few months ago. This light works as well as it should (you turn it on it lights up) It has a very powerful beam I’m not sure of the candle power but it’s got to be around a million or more.
When Typos Mean More Than Typos
This is more than just simple typos. Ether the “review” was written by a person who has an 8th-grade education, or they aren’t from around here. It also seems to be more about how great the price is than how good the tools were. Note the 4 instances of the word “price” in that one paragraph alone—more if you count actual dollar amounts and talk about shipping rates. A “Read more” link at the bottom that, rather than giving me more, simply linked to an Amazon page via affiliate link.
The additional evidence is that there are numerous instances of these types of “reviews” all with bogus URLs and site heading that are conspicuously keyword focused. They all share the same 8th-grade reading level and none of the reviews give any indication that they’ve ever actually touched the tool. Want an example? How about this page linked to from a Twitter post for new Rigid (sic) tools. You can’t help but note the misspelling of the name in the site title:
Retweets—How You Know Twitter Has Been Taken Over By Spam Marketers
So if this was a normal Tweet would I have been concerned? No, not in the least. But FOUR other Tweeters linked to it directly (not as a retweet). That means this clown is duplicating his efforts to put out this spam-type article for the sole purpose of leading people to his affiliate links (why on earth would anyone link to a review that was merely two paragraphs of the above gibberish).
If this is where Twitter is going or has already become, it won’t be long before it is nearly unusable – at least in any capacity beyond a follow-based network. Twitter searches will be all but useless (which I’d say is about the case now, since I am at a 99% throw away level, even though I’ve blocked over 100 spam-Tweeters). The company seems bent on preventing its version of spam—which is blind use of the “@” addresses and mailing people unwanted Tweets – but this other form is far different… and just as bad in my opinion as it renders it impossible to find new and helpful tweets amidst the sea that is Twitter.
Are we crazy here—what’s your take on Twitter?
