parody - ReadWriteWeb http://www.readwriteweb.com/feeds/tag/parody en Copyright 2012 Richard MacManus readwriteweb@gmail.com Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:24:00 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.35-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Why Twitter Suspended the Fake Steve Jobs Account (& Why It's Back) twitter_bird150150.pngYesterday the "ban hammer" struck one of the best known parody accounts on Twitter, @ceoSteveJobs. The account, well-known for its pithy and biting Apple-related tweets, had over 460,000 followers when GeekSmack first reported that the account had been suspended.

The account has likely angered its share of Apple fan boys and company execs, but it's not the content of the messages that (necessarily) got the account in trouble. Beginning January 1 this year, an "online impersonation law" went into effect in the state of California, banning people from assuming someone else's identity online in order to defraud or harm. Several commentators have suggested that the fake Steve Jobs account may have run afoul of the law or that Twitter received a "valid report" complaining of infringement.

]]> More likely, it simply ran afoul of Twitter's Terms of Service, namely "Parody, Commentary, and Fan Accounts Policy." You are allowed to create parody accounts on Twitter, but only within certain guidelines.

In a nutshell, you need to make it clear that the account isn't the real person's. Although the @ceoSteveJobs did indicate in its profile that it was a parody and most people recognized it as such, the account was cited in a Daily Mail article this summer, making it appear as though Steve Jobs was admitting that antenna problems would force an iPhone 4 recall.

Twitterstevejobs_ss.jpg

Twitter's guidelines for parody accounts say that the username should not be the same as the subject of the parody. They should have a qualifier like "not" or "fake." The profile name, similarly needs to say "not" or "fake." And the bio should say "This is a parody." The phony Steve Jobs account only complied with the latter.

Even if you follow these recommendations, Twitter's guidelines say that it can still ask you to make "further changes to bring the account more in line with these best practices. Accounts with a clear intent to deceive may be permanently suspended."

Twitter wouldn't comment on this specific case, although it does appear that the account is functioning again today. It's under a new name, however - @falseSteveJobs. The timing is excellent, as I'm curious to hear what False Steve has to say about the new iPad 2.

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http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_twitter_suspended_the_fake_steve_jobs_account.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_twitter_suspended_the_fake_steve_jobs_account.php Twitter Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:59:37 -0800 Audrey Watters
Privacy is Overrated: nclüdr Makes Everyone Friends We've heard tell that Facebook imposes a limit of 5000 friends. Really, just a measly 5000. They also keep doing pesky things like improving privacy controls. Well, we're sick of it! What if we want more friends and less privacy? If you're like us, you'll love nclüdr, a new social network that proudly proclaims to be the "most awesomest ultimate social network ever." That's a sentiment we're forced to agree with.

]]> With nclüdr, everyone is your friend -- my profile is already linked to 12.3 billion people -- and they can all see everything you do. What sets nclüdr apart from other social networks is that everything and everyone is automatically your friend, which makes the site about as social as you can get.

nclüdr uses "advanced synchronization algorithms" to create and maintain your profile for you. That means that not only is nclüdr the most social social network, it is also the easiest to use -- it does pretty much all the work for you.

Because nclüdr one ups Facebook and MySpace at every turn, it also has one of the slickest application libraries we've seen. According to the site's developer page, there are already millions of app developers working on the site every day. Some of our favorite apps include: "Which Tom Selleck Moustache Are You?," "My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad," and "Be A Call Center Worker" -- we're already engaged in an epic battle of "Support" vs. "Sales" with a billion of our closest friends.

Clearly, nclüdr is a parody site and not a real social network, but we thought it was the funniest web 2.0 joke we've seen since First Life. This review? Also a joke.

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http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ncludr.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ncludr.php Humor Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:14:47 -0800 Josh Catone