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| How to Prevent Scammers From Making Money Off Your Pinterest | |  Pinterest is the Next Big Thing, if it's not already the Current Big Thing. The image-sharing social network appeals to people across the globe, no matter what your interest. As with all trendy new things, however, it didn't take long before scammers descended. The Pinterest user base has reached 13 million in recent weeks, so it's not surprising that enterprising no-goods are claiming ways to get rich quick from the site. Gimme4free Someone calling himself gimme4free chose not to use his powers for good and created a collection of automated Pinterest bots. These downloadable pieces of software log into the network and pin images linked to the spammer's Amazon Affiliate account. Every time a genuine Pinterest user clicks the pin and buys the linked product, the spammer makes a few bucks' commission. While you might think that this is a pretty easy-to-ignore strategy, gimme4free claims that he quickly made some decent pocket money, with some pins even gaining comments within minutes of being posted. The bot itself apparently featured a clever way of getting around the site's invite-only status, generating its own invitations. Once it's in, it starts automatically scheduling product-based pins, while following other users based on keywords or other criteria. It can even comment on and Like other pins and users, making the whole thing seem more human. But the cunning guy who created the bots wasn't happy with the money his affiliate links were bringing in. He went on to devise yet another scheme to get richer even quicker: selling the bot itself, at $250 a pop. The original account holder claims to make more than $1,000 a day through his automated system. But Wait, There's More! Existing alongside bots (and making them work more efficiently) are scams to increase the maximum number of users a Pinterest profile can follow in a day. By default, the website caps users at 200 new followers in a 24-hour period — but scammers have tweaked a few lines of code so their bots and spam accounts can follow more than a million users in the same period. How does it work? Many of Pinterest's most popular and well-liked pins feature items of clothing photographed against a white background. These images, which look like promotional shots, are just that — and they often link directly to a spammer's affiliate account. If you buy that product, a few dollars end up in someone else's pocket. The Pinterest profiles that are posting this type of content are all fairly similar, too: no photo, an odd-sounding name, and instead of linking to a personal website, the listed home page is a spambot Twitter account. The problem, of course, is that Pinterest rewards and promotes pins (and users) based on the level of Likes and repins. All someone has to do to appear on the Popular tab is get a bunch of clicks, reclicks, and Likes. To do that, you need either to get a group of your friends and colleagues together, or — wait for it — get an automated network of bots to do it all for you, which is quicker and more reliable than getting real people involved. Keep a Sharp Eye What you need to do is keep an eye on who is pinning the things you like. Check out users' profiles and look for the key signs of a bot: an unusual name, the lack of profile photo (or a stock image of an unusually attractive lady in a provocative pose), a link to a (suspended) Twitter account, and five empty boards. The sixth board? That'll be full, with a ridiculously high number of pins. If that simple test is too much, there's an even easier way to check by looking at the repin profile on the pin you like found on the bottom of each page. A real pin will feature an assortment of profile pictures and a collection of genuine-sounding names. Also, the pin will likely to have been stuck into a wide variety of customized boards, often with unique and creative spelling (c'mon, you all have one called Wannnttttttt!, right?). A spam repin profile, on the other hand, will look pretty dull. No profile photos. Odd-sounding names that might look sort of right but seem somehow unusual. And unlike the real deal, every single one of the thousands of repins is likely to be in the same category, like Fashion, Beauty, or another generic title.< Check Before You Follow Pinterest developers have been made aware of the problem but as yet have not announced any plans to tackle spams and scams on the network. Dealing with bots is the "top priority," according to the team, with a spokesperson explaining that engineers are actively working to manage issues as they arise. In addition to that, the nature of public feeds is currently under review, to make it more difficult for harmful content or fake pins to sneak under the radar. In the meantime, look to see where those pins have come from, check the repin history or the poster's profile, and don't click anything that looks suspicious. We don't want spammers making money from your good taste! Images courtesy of Gustavo Pimenta, freezelight, janet galore |
| Blog Comments Could Help Catch a Killer | | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 11:31 PM | Stephanie Haberman |
|  A woman named Betty Wheeler was killed in a hit-and-run incident while she was out walking in Waynesboro, Virginia last week. On Tuesday, the car-culture blog Jalopnik posted the picture above, which shows the only piece of evidence found at the scene. The car part, an air dam, is allegedly from the vehicle that struck and killed Wheeler. Jalopnik asked for their community to try to identify the model and make of the car that it came from, then post their findings in the comments section. Before long, the blog had identified the make, model and year of the car: a 2003 Ford F150 with XL Trim. Unfortunately for the investigation, the F150 is one of the most common cars in the United States. In an update to the story, the blog posted: UPDATE: We are in contact with the Waynesboro Police Department and they are aware of the post. Specifically, we've let them know about the similarity to an F-150 grille. Keep up the good work everyone! Here are some of the comments that may help catch the suspect: |
| On Twitter, Facebook's Instagram Acquisition Has a 12% Approval Rating | | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 8:35 PM | Chris Taylor |
|  There may have been champagne and celebration at Instagram and Facebook early Monday when their $1 billion acquisition deal was announced. But there was little joy in Twitterville. Twitter sentiment analysis firm Crimson Hexagon looked at 200,000 tweets that mentioned the deal -- and found that just 12% of them registered any sort of approval. Some 18% of users were simply in shock. And a whopping 35% were furious, mostly at Facebook. We saw some clues Monday that Instagram users were heading for the exits after the announcement, using services that help you download your Instagram photos before deleting your account. According to this analysis, roughly 40,000 Twitter users declared that they had deleted their account or removed the app from their phone. Why all the negativity, man? Well, Twitter is a good place for capturing instant emotional reactions, and a beloved app like Instagram certainly inspires a lot of those. (Mashable entertainment editor Christina Warren yesterday described her "InstaEmo" moment; she was by no means alone.) But there's something else going on here. If anyone is likely to lose big from Facebook's purchase of Instagram, it is Twitter users. As regular Instagrammers know, one of the first choices you have to make in sharing your photo -- after you've applied tilt shift and filters -- is which social network you're going to share it with. The two big sharing choices? Twitter and Facebook. No prizes for guessing which of those options may disappear, should Facebook get its way. Of course, Facebook has gone out of its way to assure users that sort of thing won't happen. "We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks," wrote Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in his blog post announcing the acquisition. And there's always the chance that Facebook's resources could make Instagram better than before. Does the Instagram purchase herald a new cold war between Twitter and Facebook? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. |
| 16 Ways Educators Can Use Pinterest [INFOGRAPHIC] | | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 8:15 PM | Stephanie Buck |
|  Teachers are known for their organizational skills, so chances are they'll love Pinterest's intuitive and logical design. The social network's user experience has helped it earn a top spot among today's most popular social networks. Therefore, we predict that teachers will give it a gold star, too. Our friends at OnlineUniversities.com have put together the following infographic, which details how teachers can use Pinterest to organize lesson plans, distribute curricula, collaborate with other faculty, and even encourage student participation. SEE ALSO: 9 Ways to Engage Your Employees on Pinterest Remember, however, that Pinterest's terms of service dictate that users under the age of 13 are prohibited. So, if you're still teaching your students the ABCs, you probably shouldn't be encouraging them to use the social network. Image courtesy of Flickr, cybrarian77 |
| Ozzie Guillen Suspended for Fidel Castro Comments; Twitter Talks Back | | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 4:49 PM | Sam Laird |
|  Manager Ozzie Guillen was suspended for five games by the Miami Marlins on Tuesday following comments he made praising Fidel Castro. In a recent interview with Time magazine, Guillen said he "loves" Castro -- and respects how long the Cuban revolutionary and former dictator was able to stay in power. "I respect Fidel Castro," Guillen told the magazine. "You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that son of a bitch is still there." Guillen's comments were especially incendiary because he coaches the professional baseball team in Miami -- home to a large Cuban-American population, including many who fled the country when Castro took power. The Marlins this season opened a new ballpark in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. It's not the first time Guillen has found himself in hot water for off-the-cuff comments. Over the past several years, he's courted controversy by using a homophobic slur against a sportswriter, praising Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and declining to join his former team's traditional post-championships White House visit, among other flare-ups. SEE ALSO: 15 Hilarious Sports Parody Twitter Accounts | #LexingtonPoliceScanner: Twitter Listens, Reacts to Kentucky Basketball Riots At a Tuesday morning news conference immediately following the suspension announcement, Guillen was apologetic and called his Castro comments "the biggest mistake of my life." Twitter users immediately reacted to the suspension and Guillen's apology, with many saying he should not have been suspended and others arguing the punishment wasn't severe enough. Fans, celebrities and former players all sounded off in 140 characters or less, and reactions ranged from humor to outrage. Scroll through the gallery above to see some of the Twittersphere's best and most insightful responses to Guillen's suspension. Do you think Guillen's punishment was fair? What are the best tweets you've seen? Let us know in the comments. Thumbnail image courtesy iStockphoto, DNY59 |
| Yes, Secretary Clinton Submitted Her Own 'Text From Hillary' | | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 4:27 PM | Alex Fitzpatrick |
|  Texts From Hillary, a hot new Tumblr featuring a sunglasses-clad, all business Hillary Clinton checking her cellphone on a military plane, got a guest submission from an unexpected source on Monday: Secretary of State Clinton herself.
"sup adam. nice selfie Stace :-)" reads Madam Secretary's post. "ROFL @ ur Tumblr! g2g -- scrunchie time. ttyl?" Stacy Lambe, one of the site's co-creators, confirmed that the post was indeed from the Secretary herself. "Her staff reached out to us with the submission yesterday," says Lambe. "And we just met with her this afternoon. She was very delightful and thought kindly of us. I can tell you, her staff just thought the whole thing was great." Need more proof that's actually from Clinton? Here you go. And there's this, too -- the post signed by the Secretary, thanking the team for the "LOLZ."
What was Clinton's favorite TextFromHillary so far? "She mentioned being a fan of the Ryan Gosling post," says Lambe. (And who can blame her? He saves strangers from oncoming traffic, after all.) Texts From Hillary is built around photos of Clinton checking messages on her cellphone aboard a military C-17 aircraft. The blog features Clinton responding to texts from politicians and celebrities in various awesome and hilarious ways. The site was the brainchild of Adam Smith and Stacy Lambe. It has been spreading across the web like wildfire. No wonder Clinton's team would want to get involved -- doing so creates a boatload of positive press as rumors of a possible Hillary 2016 presidential bid continue to float around the political sphere. The original photos were taken by Reuters' Kevin Lamarque and Time's Diana Walker. What's your favorite Text From Hillary? Let us know in the comments below. Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, SEIU International |
| Rick Santorum Drops Out of Presidential Race, But His Memes Live On | | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 3:49 PM | Alex Fitzpatrick |
|  Rick Santorum, former senator from Pennsylvania, has dropped out of the 2012 presidential race, but his campaign's impact on the social web lives on. Follow along as Mashable highlights the videos, memes and viral content brought on by Rick Santorum for president. The "Google Problem" Who could ever forget Rick Santorum's infamous "Google problem"? Gay rights activist Dan Savage put up a satirical site, SpreadingSantorum.com, in 2003 in response to Santorum's stance against gay marriage. Savage's goal? Redefine the word "Santorum" to an explicit term describing the after-effects of a certain type of sexual activity. The site quickly went viral, getting so many links and shares that it shot to the top of Google searches for "Santorum" -- and it stuck. Santorum petitioned Google to change the results, but the company refused because the results were a product of organic Search Engine Optimization, not illicit tampering. "We do not remove content from our search results, except in very limited cases such as illegal content and violations of our webmaster guidelines," said a Google spokesperson at the time. BREAKING: Rick Santorum announcesend of the most elaborate SEO effort ever.— Julian Sanchez (@normative) April 10, 2012 Last month, Santorum announced he'd finally beaten his "Google problem." Thanks to his presidential campaign, he said, his own site now sat above "SpreadingSantorum" in a search for "Santorum." However, a Wikipedia article about the incident still ranked in the top spot. The Sweater Vest At a campaign event, Santorum appeared clad in his now-iconic sweater vest. Before long, the vest spawned a parody Twitter account -- @FearRicksVest. Santorum even gave a nod to "the Twitterverse" for giving wings to the sweater vest meme as he announced his concession Tuesday afternoon. "I'm @RickSantorum's sweater vest," reads the parody account. "I've heard Rick say 'sleeves just slow me down!' Fear me...and....hear me! I'm ready to relocate to the White House." Don't mess with the sweater vest! ht.ly/8sAVZ via @hotairblog #Santorum @RickSantorum #fearricksvest— Rick's Sweater Vest (@FearRicksVest) January 13, 2012 YouTube account "WePickRick" also uploaded a like-minded video entitled "Sleeves Slow Me Down:" Santorum's campaign cashed in on the social attention brought to his sweater vest by giving a Santorum-branded vest to anyone who donated more than $100. By the latter half of last month, the campaign sold 3,000 vests -- netting at least $300,000 in donations. Game On Finally, there was "Game On," a Santorum-inspired music video made by two girls from Tulsa, Okla. The video was tweeted out by Santorum's campaign and it quickly gained more than 1 million views. The two girls in the video, Camille and Haley Harris, became mini-stars in the campaign and attended Santorum events across the country. As Santorum dropped out of the race Tuesday, he gave the Harris girls credit for writing a "catchy tune" and putting it on YouTube, saying he was impressed that it reached a million views. What were your favorite Santorum social media moments or memes? Post them in the comments below. Images courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore |
| Iran: We're Not Cutting Off Internet Access -- Yet | | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 3:42 PM | Alex Fitzpatrick |
|  Reports that Iran was planning to shut off Internet access and replace it with a national intranet this summer were lies perpetrated by "the propaganda wing of the West," according to Iran's Ministry of Communication and Internet Technology. But the Ministry did confirm reports that the country will be opening an Iran-only internal network -- in March 2013. On Monday, the International Business Times wrote that Iran would be flipping the switch on the Internet as early as this August. That story was based on an statement believed to have come from Reza Taghipour, the Iranian minister for Information and Communications Technology. Tuesday morning, that ministry released a statement calling those claims "baseless" and that the Minister's statement had been a "hoax," according to the AFP. "The report is in no way confirmed by the ministry," read the statement. SEE ALSO: Iran Further Restricts Facebook and Twitter, Prepares Its Own Internet The original report said that Iran would sever ties to the global Internet and block access to popular websites and services such as Google and Hotmail. In place of the Internet, Iran would set up an interior network for communications inside the country -- similar to how a business might use an Intranet for internal messages. The ministry's statement didn't confirm if Iran would cut off access to the global Internet when the internal network launches next year. The Iranian government has a historically tepid relationship with the Internet. The government has been known to clamp down on Internet use during politically sensitive times, such as 2009's "Green Revolution" when thousands of Iranians flooded the streets in protest at fixed elections. Additionally, all Iranian web traffic must pass through a National Gateway that filters banned content from the west -- although thousands of Iranians bypass the Gateway through out-of-country proxies. SEE ALSO: Iran's Electronic Curtain: How the U.S. Is Tearing It Down Do you think the Iranian government should shut off access to the global Internet? Sound off in the comments below. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, CGinspiration |
| 20 TV Shows With the Most Social Media Buzz This Week [CHART] | | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 1:46 PM | Stephanie Buck |
|  Along with our weekly chart of television chatter, the folks at Trendrr have provided some fascinating social TV statistics. In March, three-quarters of all social TV engagement stemmed from Twitter. Over 580,000 social interactions per day originated on broadcast television, and over 860,000 social interactions occurred per day on average on cable television. CBS and NBC had the highest increase in broadcast social share -- 5% from February. MTV was the top social cable network during March, with 10% cable social share. TruTV, which participated in the NCAA Tournament, came in second with 9% cable social share. The data is compliments of our friends at Trendrr, who measure specific TV show activity (mentions, likes, checkins) across Twitter, Facebook, GetGlue and Miso. To see daily rankings, check out Trendrr.TV. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, subjug |
| The Internet Is Ruining Your Brain [INFOGRAPHIC] | | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 12:36 PM | Stephanie Buck |
|  Admit it: As you're reading this, you have tunnel vision -- that feeling that the world is closing in on you after surfing the Internet for eight straight hours. Web dead head (yes, I made that up) is a growing concern for today's connected generation, which collectively spends 35 billion hours on the Internet every month. But we're not just talking one online shopping experience at a time. Often, we have four tabs open, cycling between emails and shopping, tweeting and word processing. Such multi-tasking actually raises stress levels and lowers creative thinking overall, according to the research compiled by ForensicPsychology.net. SEE ALSO: Your Desk Job Makes You Fat, Sick and Dead/a> Turns out, multi-tasking online doesn't positively exercise our brains or mental state. Heavy Internet users are 2.5 times more likely to be depressed. And web addiction reduces the white matter in our brains, basically the transmitters responsible for our memory and sensory abilities. Scared? Tell us about it. Thumbnail courtesy of iStockphoto, Firstsignal |
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