Like all web 2.0 social networks. Twitter has its fair share of users whose motives may not be on the up-and-up. Here’s some tips on what I do to limit my exposure to these ne’er-do-wels. Or as I like to call ‘em, Twitter scum.

1.) Spambots: Spambots are easily identifiable. They’re usually obvious-looking “fake people” who are trying to push porn sites, get-rick-quick schemes or other nefarious ‘net institutions. The best defense against these bots is to simply block them and move on.

2.) Human spambots: I couldn’t think of a better term for this class of Twitter scum. Unlike spambot accounts, these are Twitter accounts that are owned and operated by real, live humans. Problem is, all these accounts do is spew out endless, auto-generated links to blog sites, Flickr photos, forum posts and anything else that has an RSS feed. If I’m interested in someone’s content, then I’m probably already subscribed to it. If I’m not, using the human spambot approach won’t get me to. I don’t always block these users, but I never follow them.

3.) Numbers runners: Again, I couldn’t think of a better term for this final, and most vile class of Twitter scum. Numbers runners go on massive follow/unfollow campaigns, in the hopes of artificially boosting their follower counts. While there are plenty of valid reasons to follow/unfollow someone on Twitter, there is no good reason for any Twitter user to add hundreds (if not thousands) of followers in a couple of days, and then immediately unfollow 90% of them. Again, this tactic is used by Twitter scum who want to appear to be super-duper awesome, ’cause you know, they have like 10,000 followers but they’re only following 20 of them back. I figured out a way today to track down potential numbers runners. I clicked the “Following” link on the sidebar of my Twitter homepage. That showed me the list of all of the Twitter users I’m following. Any users listed there that didn’t have the “Direct message” and “nudge” links right under their names are users who aren’t following me back. I could then easily go through the list and weed out any who originally chose to follow me but have since unfollowed.

I understand that Twitter is a dynamic service, populated (mostly) by people. And people can and will change their minds. I don’t care if someone chooses to unfollow me. I do find it annoying when Twitter users try to buck the system by becoming numbers runners. To me, Twitter is best as a conversational tool, and I’m not interested in connecting with people who aren’t there for the conversation. I welcome any and all Twitter users to connect with me through the Twitter ID in the sidebar. But if you’re Twitter scum, don’t expect me to follow you back.

Earlier this week, Jen asked me to print about 600 photos from my iPhoto. I printed out the first 100 here at home, before I realized how expensive the project would become. For example, 100 sheets of 4×6 photo paper cost about $12.00/package. Ink cartridges run about $40.00/each, and this many pictures would require several of them. Given these pricey conditions, I decided to find an online photo lab that could do the printing instead. A Google search brought me to Winkflash. The site’s pricing looked good, so I signed up. I made several attempts to upload my photos to the Winkflash site. Because I’m a Mac user, I was forced to use the site’s Java-based upload tools. These tools suck. They are slow and they do not work. I tried at least five times to upload my files using these Java-based services. Each time, the Winkflash site either timed out or gave me a “proxy error.” In Winkflash’s defense, I didn’t bother to contact the company’s tech support, and they do provide a toll-free support phone number right there on the upload page. But I don’t want to talk to anyone. I want to upload my photos. Winkflash touts the ease of use of its “Transporter” application. But Transporter is Windows-only. And yeah, I have a Windows box here. But I don’t want to transfer all these files to that machine, just to transfer them again to Winkflash. So I’m done with Winkflash. I’ve moved on to another site, and I’m in the process of uploading my images to that site now.

I will report on my experience with that site when I’m done with it.

I’m proud to report that one of my photos was featured on a cool blog called DisplayCraze. Awesome!

(The original photo is here.)

Just before I began typing this entry, I realized that this site is about to hit its first anniversary. Hooray for blogging. Hooray for me. It’s kinda funny, really. I’ve been considering shutting this site down. Been feelin’ like it’s time to move on. Find some new digs out on them thar Interwebz. Or something like that. I mean, as a personal blog, this site is OK. But I probably could’ve achieved what little I’ve achieved here anywhere. I could’ve set up shop at Blogger or MySpace or wherever. Hell. I could’ve just kept my old blog going. And saved some money on a domain name, too.

When I launched Shawnogram, I envisioned it as a rich “multimedia” site where audio, video, photos and text would all live happily together. Side by side. Sorta like the United Nations, but better. All that’s really happened is I’ve gone through cycles of doing just one thing for weeks at a time, usually followed by doing nothing for weeks at a time. That depresses me. Shawnogram isn’t really a “content-rich” environment. It’s kinda like the Santa Maria mall in that way. Sure, there’s a few good things. But really, it’s mostly empty, and what good is that?

I had an idea this morning for a new site. And in reality, the new site wouldn’t be all that different from Shawnogram. Except it would be different. You see, I’d really like to start creating things on a daily basis. Things like audio podcasts, videos and even fun text entries. Sure, I could just start doing that here. But this idea is also attached to a new URL, and I like the sound of that particular URL. It’s something that I think the boingboing crowd and the iKidz of these crazy Internet times would like and remember. It’s certainly better than Shawnogram. And oh yeah, the other thing. I also thought I’d try and get some other folks on board for this one. You know, guest submissions, regular contributors. Stuff like that. I know, I know. I’ve tried all of that in the past, and it’s never worked. But maybe this time’ll be different! Because… because… I don’t know. It just will!

Or maybe I’ll just leave everything as it is. In the meantime, if you’re reading this, and you’d like to be a part of the next Big Deal in Internet, contact me using one of the handy methods available in the sidebar. And hey, you! Thanks for reading!

Read a short article about the cool software app Grazr that features input from me! For more information on how I’m using Grazr, take a look at this entry.