The universal answer seems to be: “Everything I don’t want to receive from someone I don’t know.”

So that leaves us with approximately six billion different opinions. The problem is, Viagra is a nuisance to some, a blessing to others. So who decides what are spammy or undesirable tweets?

Over the weekend I did a Twitter search for ‘twitter spam.’ The list of spam complaints from Twitter users was endless.  However, I still had no clear definition of what twitter spam was.

So we’re asking you, what might be on your list when defining spam:

• Tweets that are misleading, i.e. the tweet has nothing to do with its link
• Anyone promoting ‘how to make money online’
• Multi-level marketing promotions
• Lonely hearts club – (look at my pictures variety)
• Pornography
• Spam-robot factories
• Annoying people that tweet endlessly about mindless stuff
• Malware or viruses
• Sponsored tweets
• Corporations advertising and marketing their products and services

I would like to hear from you. What’s your definition of spam (or spammers and undesirables)?

Is twitter spam different from email spam?

How bad is twitter spam in comparison to email spam (where 80% of emails are estimated to be spam)?

Twitter Spam: Can You Block What You Can’t Define? is a post from The Dustpan - Discussing Twitter Spam

Password

This is simple… make sure you have a good password, and an independent password – use a different password for Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, gmail (I know it’s hard). If you use a common password for all of them, just think of the problems if someone discovered that 1 password (they would have access to your entire web life). So make sure you protect yourself with a solid and separate password.

Report to Spam

You used to use the @spam twitter function, but Twitter just recently added a Report to Spam function which makes that all that much easier. When on targeted spammers profile page – there is a report to spam link.

TwitSweeper

Use TwitSweeper (shameless plug?) – We developed the app for a reason (to automatically get rid of your spammy followers on an ongoing basis).

Say no to Spam Topics

Stay away from spam topics… the more you mention spam related topics – the more attention you will bring to your account – and this is the wrong type of attention. There are applications out there that search for spam and then connect spammers together – it’s an easy way to get their numbers up.

Don’t use Automated Programs

“Receive 10,000 followers in one day, just click here”, Sure that sounds great, but you need to be realistic, it’s not going to happen that easy. Again you can purchase programs that will follow a whole whack of people in hopes that they follow you. Remember Twitter is a communication tool – keep it personable, tweet good content, you might not get as many followers, but you will appreciate the quantity of your followers.

Don’t follow Spammers

1. Before you choose to follow someone – check their name – does it feel like it was automatically generated – ie. JohnSmith101
2. Bio – Usually Twitter Spammer’s include some spam messages in their bio ie. Make money online fast.
3. Tweets – Look at their 10 most recent tweets – is it spam, is there useful content there. – If you see any mention of making money online fast, or get rich quick, lose 20lbs in 10 days just look the other way or better yet – report to spam.

How do you protect yourself from Twitter Spam? Tell us in the comments.

How to protect your twitter account from spam is a post from The Dustpan - Discussing Twitter Spam