5 ms·

Yes, but they also used someone's profile picture, so I don't think that was the issue.

by philwebster 13y ago

blowski 13y ago
Even so, this seems like outrage for the sake of outrage. Did the users suffer any kind of harm whatsoever?
- dllthomas 13y ago
  They weren't paid for their endorsement.
  - blowski 13y ago
    It's like being focused on at a football match. They didn't 'endorse' the match or the broadcaster, and it seems like most people love their 5 seconds of fame.
    - dllthomas 13y ago
      That's different because they showed up at the football match, and that's all that's being relayed. They didn't endorse the match or the broadcaster, but we're also not being told they did - which is what the fake tweets are doing. “This @baristabar ad is giving me the coffee shakes. Looks so good!” “I wish I could make fancy lattes like in the @barristabar commercial,” “What is the song in the new @baristabar commercial? I love it!”
      - blowski 13y ago
        Barista Bar is fake so they're not endorsing anything really. I agree that it's a mistake on Twitter's part, but it doesn't seem malicious or serious. Public accounts and photos have got a bit more publicity than they expected.
        dllthomas 13y ago
        No, it doesn't sound malicious or serious. Article is worthwhile almost exclusively as a "hey, don't do this"
  - eli 13y ago
    Is it still an endorsement if the thing they're endorsing doesn't exist?
  - duaneb 13y ago
    They didn't even endorse a real company....
- potatolicious 13y ago
  Real harm would be hard to prove, but this is deeply unprofessional on Twitter's part. You could probably make a case for implied endorsement, and maybe even win, but that seems besides the point. This would be like a Google commercial featuring "blowski, Google User" in one part. There's no real harm to you, and you are a Google user (I assume), but you've been publicized in a massive way that you never consented to. People do not appreciate being thrust into the limelight suddenly and without warning. This isn't a huge outrage, but it does suggest some process failure on Twitter's part. You never, ever, ever, ever, ever mock up designs with real user data. This looks like what happened here - someone thoughtlessly used the username and profile pic in a mockup, which eventually made its way to PR without verification. There are some poor processes in Twitter's design department, evidently. Hopefully they'll learn from this. Never mock up designs with real data. Twitter should have a reserve of handles/profiles they actually own for marketing uses.
  - ampersandy 13y ago
    Most feature launches that need a 'scapegoat' use employees' likenesses or profiles. For example: - the 'Twitter Teacher' who appears in the sign up flow used to work at Twitter; - and, the profiles used in the verification flow are also employees (http://dashes.com/anil/2013/03/what-its-like-being-verified-on-twitter.html http://dashes.com/anil/2013/03/what-its-like-being-verified-...). I agree that this was unprofessional though and hope the offenders learn from the mistake.
  - duaneb 13y ago
    > deeply unprofessional on Twitter's part. Agreed, but 'deeply unprofessional' should not imply hysteria. Worst case scenario, someone thinks their friend likes a coffee shop that does not exist.
    - dllthomas 13y ago
      I agree that hysteria would be an inappropriate response.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]

Yes, but they also used someone's profile picture, so I don't think that was the issue.

blowski 13y ago

Even so, this seems like outrage for the sake of outrage. Did the users suffer any kind of harm whatsoever?

dllthomas 13y ago
They weren't paid for their endorsement.
- blowski 13y ago
  It's like being focused on at a football match. They didn't 'endorse' the match or the broadcaster, and it seems like most people love their 5 seconds of fame.
  - dllthomas 13y ago
    That's different because they showed up at the football match, and that's all that's being relayed. They didn't endorse the match or the broadcaster, but we're also not being told they did - which is what the fake tweets are doing. “This @baristabar ad is giving me the coffee shakes. Looks so good!” “I wish I could make fancy lattes like in the @barristabar commercial,” “What is the song in the new @baristabar commercial? I love it!”
    - blowski 13y ago
      Barista Bar is fake so they're not endorsing anything really. I agree that it's a mistake on Twitter's part, but it doesn't seem malicious or serious. Public accounts and photos have got a bit more publicity than they expected.
      - dllthomas 13y ago
        No, it doesn't sound malicious or serious. Article is worthwhile almost exclusively as a "hey, don't do this"
- eli 13y ago
  Is it still an endorsement if the thing they're endorsing doesn't exist?
- duaneb 13y ago
  They didn't even endorse a real company....
potatolicious 13y ago
Real harm would be hard to prove, but this is deeply unprofessional on Twitter's part. You could probably make a case for implied endorsement, and maybe even win, but that seems besides the point. This would be like a Google commercial featuring "blowski, Google User" in one part. There's no real harm to you, and you are a Google user (I assume), but you've been publicized in a massive way that you never consented to. People do not appreciate being thrust into the limelight suddenly and without warning. This isn't a huge outrage, but it does suggest some process failure on Twitter's part. You never, ever, ever, ever, ever mock up designs with real user data. This looks like what happened here - someone thoughtlessly used the username and profile pic in a mockup, which eventually made its way to PR without verification. There are some poor processes in Twitter's design department, evidently. Hopefully they'll learn from this. Never mock up designs with real data. Twitter should have a reserve of handles/profiles they actually own for marketing uses.
- ampersandy 13y ago
  Most feature launches that need a 'scapegoat' use employees' likenesses or profiles. For example: - the 'Twitter Teacher' who appears in the sign up flow used to work at Twitter; - and, the profiles used in the verification flow are also employees (http://dashes.com/anil/2013/03/what-its-like-being-verified-on-twitter.html http://dashes.com/anil/2013/03/what-its-like-being-verified-...). I agree that this was unprofessional though and hope the offenders learn from the mistake.
- duaneb 13y ago
  > deeply unprofessional on Twitter's part. Agreed, but 'deeply unprofessional' should not imply hysteria. Worst case scenario, someone thinks their friend likes a coffee shop that does not exist.
  - dllthomas 13y ago
    I agree that hysteria would be an inappropriate response.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]