Spam on Twitter is an ever-growing problem. While Twitter has addressed in in one way or another these past few months, the spam is still an issue. StopTweet is a new service that aims to fill in the gaps that Twitter has left behind, seeking out bot accounts and providing you with the option to report and block those users.
The premise behind StopTweet is that it’s an easier Twitter management tool than many of the others, making it easier for the average Twitter user to set up. And StopTweet is pretty simple to use; it’s got an easily-navigated interface and several blocking and reporting options that you won’t find on Twitter’s main site.
One of the drawback’s to Twitter and its process for handling spam or abusive content and behavior on Twitter is that the company itself has to take a rather top-down approach to anything it implements. This requires overarching modifications to its system, affecting all users. Any changes made on such a high level means that individual needs aren’t being met as readily as they could through the use of third party services.
Additionally, Twitter is able to primarily address the content and behavior as it pertains to the direct use of its site. While this is useful for those that are on the main site, there is still a good amount of Twitter activity that takes place through remote interactions (email and social network integration) and third party applications.
Spam on Twitter is only getting to be a larger issue, as more automated capabilities and trends permeate throughout our Twitter culture. Many users are forgoing the regular checking of direct messages all together, because they too are riddled with bot and automated tweets that are spammy or down right annoying.
Finding the best way to deal with Twitter spam is still an ongoing issue, for Twitter as well as third party services. As Twitter continues to grow in size and reach, it’s more than likely going to find additional ways in which to help users manage the spam associated with their Twitter accounts.
We’re surely going to see a growing interest in the dealing of spam and abusive behavior on Twitter, similar to the process that was applied to the major email clients a few years back. With spam becoming such a large issue for publicaly-shared social media outlets, something more definitive will have to be instituted on a wide scale.
Even beyond Twitter, spam, malware and abusive behavior within social media networks is going to be something that the networks themselves have to deal with. As the networks open further to public sharing and forums, something will need to be done about the onslaught of spam.