Facebook Plunges Again
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Twitter Tuesday - the accept bug, the Twitter Business Center and more
Okay, here goes ...
First, more details on the huge exploit that temporarily allowed users to make any account follow them by tweeting "accept @username." It was only working for an hour or two after it became public knowledge on Monday, but this trick had been around for a while. As it turns out, a Turkish user discovered the bug by accident when he was tweeting out his love for a metal band called Accept. Gizmodo reports that they received a tip about the bug from a friend of this Turkish metal fan, and didn't believe it at first.
Basically, Twitter had to scramble to roll back everyone's followers -- with everyone temporarily listed at 0 followers! -- because a guy liked an obscure band. Why would Twitter leave such a massive vulnerability open? Well, the most likely explanation is that it's a Twitter SMS command that wasn't removed from the web version of Twitter. "Accept" is the command that the owners of locked Twitter accounts can use to accept someone's request to follow them. Why it wasn't removed for open accounts (or just removed from Twitter's web version altogether) still isn't clear.
Mashable reports that Twitter's new business accounts are rolling out for a small group of users, and that businesses can automatically get verified accounts (a feature that was previously reserved for celebrities). The new business features are under an umbrella called the Twitter Business Center, and it adds a bunch of useful features for corporate tweeting. Perhaps the biggest deal is to receive DMs from people without following them, which is crucial for companies that do customer service over Twitter. Each account can also have multiple contributors, set up via a preference tab.
In apps news, there's a nice new iPad Twitter client on the market: ShinyTweet. Its main selling point is its customizable columns, making it easier for you to organize your Twitter stream. Of course, it also packs most of the features you'd expect from any good Twitter app: retweets, geolocation, and the ability to view links and images. It doesn't support lists yet, though, which seems like it should be a no-brainer for a column-based app.
Also, in case you missed my post last week, TweetyMail is a tweet-by-email service that you can use for a little covert reading and writing of tweets at work. Sneaky!
I'll end this Twitter Tuesday on an amusing note with a couple of stories of Twitter affecting people's real lives. First, the UK man who jokingly tweeted about blowing up an airport when his flight was delayed has been found guilty of menacing. Be careful what you tweet, people! You never know when it could turn out to be evidence!
Second, a Japanese man who ran out of toilet paper in a public restroom was able to use Twitter to get someone to bring him a new roll. It only took 20 minutes. Sure, it's embarrassing to run out of TP, but the epicness of this Twitter win completely outweighs the gross factor. Keep the power of Twitter in mind next time you find yourself in a jam (even a gross one) because you never know who might be able to help.
