Slashdot Mirror
The Ups and Downs of Being a Twitter Fraudster
Barence writes "PC Pro has a feature examining the psychology and motivation of people who create fake or parody Twitter accounts. The feature reveals how people behind some of the most popular parodies — such as @MrsStephenFry — have gone on to earn commercial success, while others are altogether more sinister. The man behind @Lord_Credo managed to convince many that he was a personal adviser to British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and wormed his way into political circles. He allegedly conned some out of money, took advantage of the hospitality of others, and left the professional reputation of at least one 'in tatters.' He even fabricated a malignant brain tumor, leaving one young member of the group 'utterly distraught.'"
...you don't sign each other's gpg keys!
Uhm, it doesn't seem very fair to lump actual fraudsters in the same group as relatively innocent parodists. Once you start making people part with their money, it's a completely different situation.
I plan to plan / Dutch course in The Hague
This is why you shouldn't believe everything you read on teh interwibbles.
Second thoughts, s/everything/anything/
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Why can't they behave like us on slashdot, where everyone is exactly who they say they are?
If you're sick of the verb "tweet".
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
What a pity, he sounded like a guy you could believe in.
On a somewhat related topic: In the book The Big Short (about the derivatives crash), Lewis describes a fund manager that suffers from Asperger syndrome. A very smart guy, but not susceptible to the back-slapping and other bullshit typically used to push questionable investment products in the industry. He kept asking for numbers to back up the bankers' claims. When note were forthcoming, he did his own research and, as a result, shorted many of the derivative products on the market. He earned billions of dollars for his fund.
Sometimes, a touch of Asperger helps. Or at least one can step back and observe the social interactions*.
*I hang around with a group of behavioral psychologists. When we go out to a bar, its funny to sit and watch them observe and classify social interactions around themselves as if they were watching a cage with a bunch of chimpanzees in an experiment.
Have gnu, will travel.
u can decieve the trash that live entirely in "people space": many politicians, psycologists, theatre people, generally "social sciences" kind of people... why?
Other people can. You couldn't. A minimum level of literacy is required.
as if they were watching a cage with a bunch of chimpanzees in an experiment.
Isn't this exactly what a behavioral psychologist is trained to do ?
No, I am one of that small, elite, circle of people who knows how to capitalize my sentences. Work hard, and someday you too may enter this elite group.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
*I hang around with a group of behavioral psychologists. When we go out to a bar, its funny to sit and watch them observe and classify social interactions around themselves as if they were watching a cage with a bunch of chimpanzees in an experiment.
Whoah dude. That's seriously meta, right there.
Scene: a mathematical conference.
First Mathematician: Who's the spacker in the tin-foil hat over there?
Second Mathematician: Oh, that's just zugendneb, our tame lolcat. We keep him because he can sniff out social engineers and destroy them with his wit and repartee. He can't write English worth a shit, but his texting skills are a legend in his own lunchtime.
I will then assume that you are indeed the respectable expert that you claim to be, and speak to you accordingly.
HA! I tricked you! I am not actually a programmer, I just play one on Slashdot.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
This is actually more common to people in general, rather than just behavioral psychologists. I love people watching.
So, what do you consider to be a proxy for poo-flinging?
Tweeting
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
Having seen no comments yet from anyone who's actually done this...
I run a fake twitter feed, lampooning a guy known in several wide social circles known for his... lets say "interesting" personality. He's not exactly widely loved or widely hated (maybe polarizing though), but he can be counted on to have an unexpected viewpoint on basically anything. (It might be Aspergers, we don't know.) The actual guy doesn't seem to mind, because I take care to not say anything mean.
The account has turned out to be a decent hit among the people that know him. The people that love him immensely and hate him immensely both like it similarly. Also, it gives me an outlet for some creativity and humor. Finally, there is a very small rush from "pleasing an audience," even if it is only 80 or so people, and only a small fraction of those 80 knowing it is me on the other end. ...And that's about the extent of it. No commercialization, no defrauding anyone of their money, not even 100 followers. But it makes 80 people's lives, and mine, an iota better.