As an "early" Twitter user -- before mainstream media was over-saturated with Twitter reports -- I've seen firsthand the evolution of the incredible microblogging website. I started off not knowing what to do with my Twitter account and only had two friends following me. Just over a year ago, Twitter was nothing but Facebook boiled down to just the status update. That analogy seemed to be the best way to explain Twitter to those unfamiliar with the site... until now.
In just a year's time, there has been a considerable growth in innovative ways to use Twitter. Beyond keeping up with what friends are doing, anyone can check the latest news with @cnnbrk (CNN Breaking News) to @nytimes (New York Times) to @huffingtonpost (Huffington Post), see the latest celebrity gossip through @eonline (E! Online) or @PerezHilton (Perez Hilton) and laugh with @michaelianblack (Michael Ian Black) or @fxxxmylife (FML).
(via @naughtyamerica)
None of these basic benefits would prepare me for my most recent revelation. I have seen an increase in spam accounts following me, but it was the latest new follower email notification that really proved Twitter's influence: pornography. That's right, someone followed me offering a link to see Britney Spears's sex tape. I was quite taken aback by their thumbnail picture. Instead of blocking them, I decided to do some sleuthing to see just how much porn existed. Sure enough, Twitter is overrun with porn. Not only have major companies like Ford (@ScottMonty), The Home Depot (@TheHomeDepot), and Burger King (@theBKlounge) jumped on the Twitter bandwagon, but so has the porn industry. Playboy (@Playboy), Naughty America (@naughtyamerica), and Club Jenna (@clubjenna) have all infiltrated Twitter and are gaining followers.
But why is porn on Twitter so significant? In keeping up with Twitter developement on the web, there has been a plethora of new applications and services all utilizing the huge influx of Twitter users and information. Twitter yellow pages (twellow), directory (wefollow), realtime trend search (twitterfall), picture search (PicFog), photo sharing (twitpic), viewing videos (bubbletweet, 12seconds, and ffwd), music (Twisten and musebin), games (@playtwivia), add events to your calendar (Twitter Cal and Calendar Tweet), dating service (Radaroo), and so much more are all available due to Twitter. If you have a Twitter account, it's almost like you don't need anything else.
