After reading many blogs about the topic of fake followers, I decided to do some investigating on the topic for myself. I found that the business of buying and selling fake Twitter followers is booming, according to a study by Barracuda Labs: Among the top 100 Google search results for the term "buy Twitter followers" are roughly 58 websites and 20 eBay sellers that offer various bundles of fake followers for sale. The average cost of 1,000 fake Twitter followers is just $18.

The study began in May 2012 when Barracuda Labs set up three Twitter accounts and purchased between 20,000-70,000 followers for each account on eBay and Google. After analyzing these followers’ profiles and tweets this is what Barracuda Found:

Dealers (those users who create fake accounts and sell followings):

• There are 20 eBay sellers and 58 websites (within top 100 returns of searching “buy twitter followers” in Google) where people can buy (fake) followers

• Twitter username is used to purchase, no authentication is required

• The average price of buying 1000 followers is $18

• A Dealer can control as many as ~150,000 or more Twitter followers (contact@kashifrox)

• A Dealer can earn as much as $800/day for 7 weeks of selling followings if they can control  20,000 fake accounts (estimated on several random fake accounts reaching 2000 followings in 7 weeks and assume each following involved a minimum $20 purchase)

• In addition to selling followings from these fake accounts, there are numerous opportunities for expansion into other services: selling tweets/re-tweets to earn additional profits

Abusers are defined as those users who buy followers (most of which are fake) in order to look more popular or to use the accounts for selling ads:

• Roughly 11,283 Abusers were identified, each with an average following of 48,885.
• 53% of Abusers have 4,000-26,000 followers.
• 75% of Abusers display a URL in their profile, compared with 31% of Twitter users overall.

Fake Accounts are those created by dealers for selling followings or tweeting. In total, Barracuda found 72,212 unique fake accounts; among them:

• 61% were less than three months old (as of April 16, 2012).
• 55% had roughly 2,000 followers.

Barracuda also reviewed the 17% spike in a presidential candidate's Twitter following. You can read more about it here (its towards the bottom of the study).


What do you think of this study?

After reading many blogs about the topic of fake followers, I decided to do some investigating on the topic for myself. I found that the business of buying and selling fake Twitter followers is booming, according to a study by Barracuda Labs: Among the top 100 Google search results for the term "buy Twitter followers" are roughly 58 websites and 20 eBay sellers that offer various bundles of fake followers for sale. The average cost of 1,000 fake Twitter followers is just $18.

The study began in May 2012 when Barracuda Labs set up three Twitter accounts and purchased between 20,000-70,000 followers for each account on eBay and Google. After analyzing these followers’ profiles and tweets this is what Barracuda Found:

Dealers (those users who create fake accounts and sell followings):

• There are 20 eBay sellers and 58 websites (within top 100 returns of searching “buy twitter followers” in Google) where people can buy (fake) followers

• Twitter username is used to purchase, no authentication is required

• The average price of buying 1000 followers is $18

• A Dealer can control as many as ~150,000 or more Twitter followers (contact@kashifrox)

• A Dealer can earn as much as $800/day for 7 weeks of selling followings if they can control  20,000 fake accounts (estimated on several random fake accounts reaching 2000 followings in 7 weeks and assume each following involved a minimum $20 purchase)

• In addition to selling followings from these fake accounts, there are numerous opportunities for expansion into other services: selling tweets/re-tweets to earn additional profits

Abusers are defined as those users who buy followers (most of which are fake) in order to look more popular or to use the accounts for selling ads:

• Roughly 11,283 Abusers were identified, each with an average following of 48,885.
• 53% of Abusers have 4,000-26,000 followers.
• 75% of Abusers display a URL in their profile, compared with 31% of Twitter users overall.

Fake Accounts are those created by dealers for selling followings or tweeting. In total, Barracuda found 72,212 unique fake accounts; among them:

• 61% were less than three months old (as of April 16, 2012).
• 55% had roughly 2,000 followers.

Barracuda also reviewed the 17% spike in a presidential candidate's Twitter following. You can read more about it here (its towards the bottom of the study).


What do you think of this study?

How many brains do you have? Trick question, I know. Your biology teacher said you have one. However, according to Dr. Mark Goulston your brain has three layers that evolved over millions of years. There’s the reptile layer, the mammal layer, and the primate layer.  Let's take a deeper look into these layers and ways you can tap into these parts of the brain in your sales presentation, customer service, or just everyday life.

Reptilian Brain: This is the most basic of the layers. It taps into your natural instinct of “Fight or flight.” Here, the brain acts and reacts without a lot of thinking going on. Your body is hard-wired to react to stress in ways meant to protect you against threats from predators and other aggressors. It can also leave you frozen in a crisis like the unfortunate deer in the headlights.

Mammal Brain: This is your inner drama queen. This layer of your brain takes hold of the powerful emotions in your life---love, joy, anger, jealousy, grief...

Primate Brain: This is where your logic comes in. Here your brain weighs a situation logically, rationally, and generates a plan of action. This part of the brain collect data from the lower parts of the brain, analyzes it and makes practical decisions.

How is this information useful to you? Simple: you cannot get your message through any other layer but the Primate brain. If you notice someone is reacting illogically or emotionally to your statements stop all together.  You’ll be wasting your time. In this instant you need to talk a person up to the rational primate brain.  You need to understand what the person is going through and try to mirror them. Effectively mirroring a person will create one of the most potent tools you’ll have in getting through to someone.

Like what you've read? There are more tips on marketing, social media, and the automotive industry here!

How many brains do you have? Trick question, I know. Your biology teacher said you have one. However, according to Dr. Mark Goulston your brain has three layers that evolved over millions of years. There’s the reptile layer, the mammal layer, and the primate layer.  Let's take a deeper look into these layers and ways you can tap into these parts of the brain in your sales presentation, customer service, or just everyday life.

Reptilian Brain: This is the most basic of the layers. It taps into your natural instinct of “Fight or flight.” Here, the brain acts and reacts without a lot of thinking going on. Your body is hard-wired to react to stress in ways meant to protect you against threats from predators and other aggressors. It can also leave you frozen in a crisis like the unfortunate deer in the headlights.

Mammal Brain: This is your inner drama queen. This layer of your brain takes hold of the powerful emotions in your life---love, joy, anger, jealousy, grief...

Primate Brain: This is where your logic comes in. Here your brain weighs a situation logically, rationally, and generates a plan of action. This part of the brain collect data from the lower parts of the brain, analyzes it and makes practical decisions.

How is this information useful to you? Simple: you cannot get your message through any other layer but the Primate brain. If you notice someone is reacting illogically or emotionally to your statements stop all together.  You’ll be wasting your time. In this instant you need to talk a person up to the rational primate brain.  You need to understand what the person is going through and try to mirror them. Effectively mirroring a person will create one of the most potent tools you’ll have in getting through to someone.

Like what you've read? There are more tips on marketing, social media, and the automotive industry here!

We know the difference between empathy and sympathy right? To empathize with your customer means that you have a deep emotional connection to their feelings, situation, or problems. To show sympathy with your customer is more of general setback with them because you are not taking the time to acknowledge their feeligns. Given this case, we all want to empathize with someone, not just show sympathy. So why not apply empathy to your marketing tactics as well as your customer service? Read more here to find out how to implement empathy today! 

We know the difference between empathy and sympathy right? To empathize with your customer means that you have a deep emotional connection to their feelings, situation, or problems. To show sympathy with your customer is more of general setback with them because you are not taking the time to acknowledge their feeligns. Given this case, we all want to empathize with someone, not just show sympathy. So why not apply empathy to your marketing tactics as well as your customer service? Read more here to find out how to implement empathy today! 

Does your dealer live chat provide the ability to chat in different languages? Can you speak at least two different  languages? It is no surprise that due to globalization and the Internet, human beings are more interconnected than ever. It is simply not just a perk or advantage that you know another language, it is becoming a must!

At ActivEngage we provide dealer live chat that translates into 16 different languages, from Arabic, to Catanese, and French. It doesn’t stop there either, 37% of our employees are proficient in at least two different languages with Spanish being one of them.  Why is this important? Spanish is the country’s unofficial second language. With more than 40 million Hispanics in the US today and an estimated annual growth rate of 4.65, the Latino community will add 1.7 million people to its population every year. In addition, being bilingual has its advantages:

• Being able to learn new words easily
• Being able to use information in new ways
• Coming up with solutions to problems
• Good listening skills
• Connecting with others easily and quickly

Probably, one of the most important aspects of being bilingual is that we are better at multitasking. As Ellen Bialystok a cognitive neuroscientist states, “There’s a system in your brain, the executive control system. It’s a general manager. Its job is to keep you focused on what is relevant, while ignoring distractions. It’s what makes it possible for you to hold two different things in your mind at one time and switch between them.”

Why partner with a dealer live chat provider that doesn’t offer the ability to translate a conversation into different languages or outsource to a dealer live chat provider that doesn’t meet the demographics you need in order to communicate with your site visitors without a translator? You wouldn’t refuse to hire a salesperson that’s fluent in Spanish if you live in an area where a majority of Hispanics reside, would you? Then why is it not the same case with your dealer live chat? Partner with a dealer live chat company that can meet your dealership’s needs and expectations.

Does your dealer live chat provide the ability to chat in different languages? Can you speak at least two different  languages? It is no surprise that due to globalization and the Internet, human beings are more interconnected than ever. It is simply not just a perk or advantage that you know another language, it is becoming a must!

At ActivEngage we provide dealer live chat that translates into 16 different languages, from Arabic, to Catanese, and French. It doesn’t stop there either, 37% of our employees are proficient in at least two different languages with Spanish being one of them.  Why is this important? Spanish is the country’s unofficial second language. With more than 40 million Hispanics in the US today and an estimated annual growth rate of 4.65, the Latino community will add 1.7 million people to its population every year. In addition, being bilingual has its advantages:

• Being able to learn new words easily
• Being able to use information in new ways
• Coming up with solutions to problems
• Good listening skills
• Connecting with others easily and quickly

Probably, one of the most important aspects of being bilingual is that we are better at multitasking. As Ellen Bialystok a cognitive neuroscientist states, “There’s a system in your brain, the executive control system. It’s a general manager. Its job is to keep you focused on what is relevant, while ignoring distractions. It’s what makes it possible for you to hold two different things in your mind at one time and switch between them.”

Why partner with a dealer live chat provider that doesn’t offer the ability to translate a conversation into different languages or outsource to a dealer live chat provider that doesn’t meet the demographics you need in order to communicate with your site visitors without a translator? You wouldn’t refuse to hire a salesperson that’s fluent in Spanish if you live in an area where a majority of Hispanics reside, would you? Then why is it not the same case with your dealer live chat? Partner with a dealer live chat company that can meet your dealership’s needs and expectations.

Instagram is undoubtedly the most popular photo sharing site in the world. So how can your dealership capitalize on this App , engage users, and gain more followers? I’m here to tell you, of course! =)

There are 5 easy steps your dealership can take to gain more followers on Instagram :read more here

Instagram is undoubtedly the most popular photo sharing site in the world. So how can your dealership capitalize on this App , engage users, and gain more followers? I’m here to tell you, of course! =)

There are 5 easy steps your dealership can take to gain more followers on Instagram :read more here