Kanye West and Cyber Scammers Join Twitter

(July 29) -- This week, there are two new things to Twitter that users should be on the lookout for: Kanye West and many more cyber criminals. Surge Desk briefly examines each. Disclaimer: This involves more than 140 characters.

1. Cyber Criminals
According to a study conducted by Barracuda Labs, the rapid growth of users on the Twitter network is leading to an increasing rate of "Twitter Crime," evaluated as the number of Twitter accounts created each month that are eventually suspended by Twitter moderators. Although this methodology does not specifically determine the user's criminal activity, common offenses include spamming and phishing schemes.

The criminal accounts, most often characterized by frequent tweets and having a high ratio of friends (people who you follow) to followers, grew in June to approximately 2.2 percent of all Twitter users. While the degree of leniency, or lack thereof, on the part of Twitter moderators is likely a factor in the rate of account suspension, the study shows that Twitter scammers are making their presence felt on the site.

The study also found that of the 100 million active Twitter accounts, 30 percent have never actually tweeted, while another 28.7 percent have tweeted over 10 times, have over friends and over 10 followers--a clear divide between the apathetic Twitter user and those who tweet like there's no tomorrow.

2. Kanye West
In otherwise unrelated Twitter current events, the "Voice of This Generation" caught up with current technology on Wednesday when he introduced the @kanyewest twitter account. Judging by his recent visit to Facebook headquarters, Kanye has really taken to social media lately, and announced to the world, among other tweets, the following about the title of his new album.

The album is no longer called "Good Ass Job" I'm bouncing a couple of titles around nowless than a minute ago via webKanye West
kanyewest

And just like everyone who signs up for the social networking service, Kanye was also invited to the Twitter headquarters to rap for the staff [WARNING: Explicit Content]

All kidding aside, the move marks something of a grand departure for West, who last year posted a screed against the service on his blog, after innumerable Twitter users tweeted racist messages about him following his now-infamous appearance at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, in which he callously interrupted Taylor Swift's awards acceptance speech.

And yet, in the span of 24 hours, the Grammy-winning rapper and producer has still managed to amass a following of 220,000 Twitter users, but, of course, Kanye West follows no one.

Which of Twitter's latest joiners will prove to have a bigger long-term effect on the social network remains to be seen, but Surge Desk will keep you posted. In the meantime, Kanye West and the Cyber Criminals sounds like a pretty nerdy/cool band name.

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