#Twitter Advertisers Say Service Needs More Users

from wsj.com: For some advertisers, 218 million people isn't a big enough audience. That's their message to Twitter Inc., which Thursday detailed plans for an initial public offering. Ad buyers say that the short-message service will need significantly more users, and a bigger sales force, to win more spending from their mass-market clients. "Scale still matters," says Adam Shlachter, senior vice president of media at DigitasLBi, a digital-ad firm owned by Publicis Groupe SA. "How consumers embrace [Twitter] and tap into it or tune in or out is going to be critical."

How the cops watch your tweets in real-time

from arstechnica.com: Recent leaks about the NSA's Internet spy programs have sparked renewed interest in government surveillance, though the leaks touch largely on a single form of such surveillance—the covert one. But so-called "open source intelligence" (OSINT) is also big business— and not just at the national/international level. New tools now mine everything from "the deep Web" to Facebook posts to tweets so that cops and corporations can see what locals are saying.  

Due to the sheer scale of social media posts, many tools don't even aim at providing a complete picture. Others do.

For instance, consider BlueJay, the "Law Enforcement Twitter Crime Scanner," which provides real-time, geo-fenced access to every single public tweet so that local police can keep tabs on #gunfire, #meth, and #protest (yes, those are real examples) in their communities. BlueJay is the product of BrightPlanet, whose tagline is "Deep Web Intelligence" and whose board is populated with people like Admiral John Poindexter of Total Information Awareness infamy.

BlueJay allows users to enter a set of Twitter accounts, keywords, and locations to scan for within 25-mile geofences (BlueJay users can create up to five such fences), then it returns all matching tweets in real-time. If the tweets come with GPS locations, they are plotted on a map. The product can also export databases of up to 100,000 matching tweets at a time.

A look at the BlueJay interface shows it to be a fairly basic tool, but one that gets its power from full access to the Twitter "firehose" of all tweets. Users who want to search the Twitterverse have three basic options: Twitter's search API, Twitter's streaming API, or full firehouse access to Twitter from third party providers like GNIP and DataSift. The first two are free but limited; BrightPlanet notes that even the broader streaming API returns somewhere between one and 40 percent of the relevant tweets depending on Twitter's load at the moment. The firehose requires some serious infrastructure and a paid contract with Twitter, but it provides all relevant tweets.

BlueJay partners with firehose providers and touts this fact in its marketing copy: "BlueJay captures tweets from the entire Twitter stream, unlike all other products on the market that only get a fraction of the tweets that are being posted." BlueJay is meant only for local monitoring of tweets, but this also keeps the price in reach of local police departments—$150 a month.

Of course, once you have this basic data, you may want to do more with it. Say a suspect is tweeting from a GPS-enabled phone client and appears to be dealing drugs. Forget bothering with the paperwork needed to track the phone through a cell phone provider. BrightPlanet also offers GeoTime, a separate data visualization tool that can take exported BlueJay data and mine it to show where and when the target travels, what he tweets about at various locations, and where his phone resides at night. (BrightPlanet describes this as using "pattern recognition to automatically detect and annotate time-space behaviors, such as meetings, gaps, connections, clusters, and motion.)

"The bad guys are out there, and they’re talking to each other online," BrightPlanet says in its sales pitch to law enforcement. "We’re intimately familiar with OSINT needs and deliverables, and we will deliver the Deep Web Intelligence that finds the bad guys and lets you get them behind bars."

As with most general purpose surveillance tools, though, the tech can be turned to any purpose. In a sales flyer, BrightPlanet suggests using BlueJay to "monitor large public events, social unrest, gang communications, and criminally predicated individuals" to "identify potential witness and indicators for evidence" and "track department mentions." The company has also expanded its tools to provide OSINT to the pharma and financial services industries.

Do people really tweet about things like #meth? They certainly do, though not all tweets provide any sort of actionable intelligence (and many are about Breaking Bad):

Criminals do just come right out and tweet about their crimes, but BlueJay appears to be more useful as a way to "listen in" on people who would not ordinarily be talking to police. Used well, such tools should make police departments more aware of both local problems and complaints about their own work. Used less than well, it can be a bit creepy, sort of on par with having a kid's uncle listen outside her bedroom during a slumber party. And used badly, it can make a nice tool for keeping an eye on critics/dissenters.

BlueJay is a reminder that tweets are public. It's an obvious point, but one that's easy to forget. No matter how many followers you have, your tweet stream is really being broadcast to the world. And the world is watching.

Twitter Wants to Start Tracking You on the Web, Here's How to Opt-Out

from LifeHacker.com: In a blog post today, Twitter announced that they're "experimenting with new ways of targeting ads," which is their way of saying they're planning to track you around the web—even when you leave Twitter—and relay that information to advertisers to craft better ads. Here's how to opt out.

If this sounds familiar, it should. Twitter started experimenting with this kind of off-site tracking a year ago, only then it wasn't explicitly opt-out. Twitter already uses things like Follow buttons and social widgets on websites to see where its logged in users go after they leave Twitter itself, but now they're putting it in print, and that's actually a good thing.

To turn off Twitters new tracking:

1. Log in to Twitter and visit your account settings page.
2. Uncheck the box that says "Tailor Twitter based on my recent website visits."
3. Uncheck the box that says "Tailor ads based on information shared by ad partners."
4. Scroll down and click "Save Changes."

On the bright side, at least Twitter is being above board with its changes (unlike Facebook when they started doing the same thing)—they say that users won't see more ads on Twitter, just better ones, as a result of the tracking.

At the same time, it's one thing to use data collected while someone uses your service to improve your advertising—it's another to continue collecting data when someone leaves your service in order to improve your advertising. Still, opting out is easy, and we suggest you do it as soon as possible. For more tips on how to protect yourself from this kind of tracking, check out our guide to stopping everyone from tracking you on the web, and the best browser tools to protect your privacy.

Apple, Facebook, Twitter Hacks Said To Hail From Eastern Europe

Cyber Hacking Likely From Europe, Not China
from cnet.com: While many security experts have been pointing the blame at China for the recent wave of cyberattacks on U.S. companies and newspapers, Bloomberg reports that some of the malware attacks actually may be coming from Eastern Europe.

Investigators familiar with the matter told Bloomberg they believe a cybercriminal group based in either Russia or Eastern Europe is carrying out the high-level attacks to steal company secrets, research, and intellectual property, which could then be sold on the black market.

Evidence that the attacks may be coming from Eastern Europe is the type of malware being used by the hackers, which is more commonly used by cybercriminals than by government spying. Also, investigators have tracked at least one server being used by the hackers to a Ukrainian hosting company.

Roughly 40 companies have been victims of cyberattacks over the past several months. These companies included tech businesses, such as Apple, Facebook, and Twitter, and newspapers, such as The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press.

#DataDump: Inception, Recognition, Space Sugar and more

Researchers Hack Brainwaves to Reveal PIN Numbers, Personal Data*
Inception helmet creates alternative reality*
Twitter Fights Back to Protect 'Occupy Wall Street' Protestor*
Russia’s Former Spooks Invest In Social Networking Propaganda Bots*
FBI to Share Facial Recognition Software with States*
Dotcom’s Frozen Funds Partially Thawed by New Zealand Court*
Wiper Malware That Hit Iran Left Possible Clues of Its Origins*
Toyota Contractor Accused of Sabotaging Company Network, Stealing Data*
Qatari Gas Company Hit with Virus in Wave of Attacks Targeting Energy Companies*
EFF Sues to Get Secret Court Rulings Showing Feds Violated Spy Law*
Storms spoil NASA second bid to launch satellites to Earth's radiation belts; next try Sunday*
UK Govt. Employee Arrested for Downloading Surveillance Footage of Couple Having Sex*
Topless UFO Enthusiasts Return to the White House Sunday*
Sugar Found In Space: A Sign of Life? ... floating in the gas around a star some 400 light-years away*

#DataDump: God Particle, Predictive Programming and more

CERN Physicists Claim Evidence of Higgs-Boson*

Video: What is a Higgs Boson? -
Physicist Michio Kaku Responds*
Theorist Peter Higgs lives to see his boson*
Video: Alan Alda's '#Flame Challenge' Illuminates Importance of Communicating #Science*
Life Imitating Art: Robot Avatar Body Controlled By Thought*
Video: Proof That 'Predictive Programming' Works*
DNSChanger Could Leave Thousands Stranded When Domains Go Dark on Monday*
Government Demands Growing for Twitter User Data*
L.A. Cops Embrace Crime-Predicting Algorithm*
Video: Dan Bull "Death of ACTA"*

#DataDump: Infiltration, Asylum, Aircraft and more

Facebook‬ To Buy ‪Israeli‬ ‪Biometrics‬ Startup ‪Face‬.com For $100 Million*
Face.com App Allowed Facebook, Twitter Account Hijacking*
Researcher: CIA, NSA may have infiltrated Microsoft to write malware*
Apple fined more than $2m over 4G claim*
US Demands for Google User Data Grow, But Full Picture Remains Murky*
House Committee Approves Sweeping, Warrantless Electronic Spy Powers*
NSA: It Would Violate Your Privacy to Say If We Spied on You*
Open Letter to Internet Companies:
Tell Us How Much We are Being Surveilled*
Do You Know Where Your Database Is?*
Report: US and Israel Behind Flame Espionage Tool*
Assange Seeks Political Asylum from Ecuador*
Assange Breached Bail in Seeking Asylum, British Police Say*
Acting Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA):
Who Is Kaigham Gabriel?*
The Most Immediate Threats to Global Energy Security*
China‬ sends first female astronaut to space*
UFO Sighting In Maryland? No, a Military Aircraft*
Summer Solstice and 8 Modern Celebrations of the Sun*
Video: Summer Solstice - The Heat Is On*

#DataDump: Initial Solar Offering

Solar #Eclipse Blazes #RingOfFire' This Weekend*

Space weather expert discusses solar flares*

Three-man Soyuz crew departs for space station*

Preparing for World Web War I*

FBI Fears Bitcoin’s Popularity with Criminals

Should Yahoo fire CEO Scott Thompson?*

US Skype death soldier Bruce Kevin Clark 'not shot'*

Can Murder Viewed on iPad Video Chat be Introduced as Evidence?*

Kodak confirms it had uranium in lab*

Four treated for chemical exposure at Intel in Hillsboro*

A Guide to Oregon’s Extraterrestrial Past and Present*

Twitter Hits Back at Court, Prosecutors Over 'Occupy' Order*

FBI Wants Backdoors in Facebook, Skype and Instant Messaging*

Principal Accused of Spying on Students, Parents with Fake Facebook Account*

Facebook Co-Founder Drops U.S. Citizenship to Avoid Taxes*

Facebook's $16 billion IPO one of world's largest*

California, Congress Move to Keep Facebook Passwords Private from Employers*

Search Results Protected by First Amendment, Google-funded Analysis Says*

Seized Hip-Hop Site Lashes Out At Feds, RIAA*

It’s Tinkerers v. Hollywood, As Copyright Office Mulls New Jailbreaking Rules*

Feds Considering Allowing DVD-Encryption Cracking*

FTC Slaps MySpace For Privacy Breaches*

Billion-Dollar City without Residents to be Built to Test New Technology*

Anti-DotCon: .Secure Proposed as the Internet’s Safe Spot*

Comcast Suspends Data Cap Temporarily, Will Test New Overage Fees*

More Americans Worried about Cybarmegeddon Than Terrorism, Study Finds*

Strapless iPod Nano Watch: Just Implant These Magnets in Your Wrist*

Rebekah Brooks charges take the phone-hacking scandal to a new level*

Court Upholds Google-NSA Relationship Secrecy*

To Warrant or Not To Warrant? ACLU and Police Clash Over Mobile Phone Location Data*

Video: National Security Agency Utah Data Center*

Video: Increased wiretapping under Obama*

Video: FBI wants flat-out totalitarian spying on the internet*

12/29 #defcon: ç¥∫´®ßπåç´∑å® - 404 file or directory not found

#2012 watch: the countdown begins*

how the world might end in 2012 (or maybe later)*
top 10 most bizarre tech stories of 2011*
ten plotlines you'll find in science fiction - over & over again*
twin probes to orbit moon, study gravity field*
sen. ron wyden leaps into middle of internet piracy fight*
army 'red teams' test communications security*
epic sues dhs over covert surveillance of facebook & twitter*
video: giant solar flare slams earth, could disrupt phone & gps*

12/22 defcon: planets, tweets & patents

2 earth-size planets discovered orbiting star*

darpa's new spy satellite could provide real-time video from anywhere on earth*
taliban, US military waging war via twitter: report*
twitter use by shabab in somalia incites US*
apple wins partial victory on patent claim over android*

9/15 defcon: virgin, havoc & white space

virgin aims for first space launch within a year*

US military plane forced to land after north korean electronic attack in march*
netflix for books? amazon is considering*
cry #havoc! and let slip the tweets of war*
white space database system, would manage unlicensed broadband devices, to face its first trial*
google purchases big blue patents to defend android*
twin towers on mars*

9/1 defcon: unusual clouds & cattle mutilations

Milly Dowler phone hackers 'used more than one voicemail'*
Lawmakers Call for Probe of Medical Devices After Researcher Hacks Insulin Pump*
UFO spotted over Mishawaka, IN*
'UFO' Over Chinese Airport Just an Unusual Cloud*
New Mexico Cop Says Military Responsible for Cattle Mutilations*
Big pharma discredited by Twitter drug-pushing: Official*

nypd forms new social media unit to mine for mayhem

from national terror alert: The NYPD has formed a new unit to track troublemakers who announce plans or brag about their crimes on Twitter, MySpace and Facebook. Newly named Assistant Commissioner Kevin O’Connor, one of the department’s online and gang gurus, has been put in charge of the new juvenile justice unit. He and his staff will mine social media, looking for info about troublesome house parties, gang showdowns and other potential mayhem, sources said.

8/11 defcon: focused chaos, miracle weapons & the facebook op

twitter users face arrest for inciting london looters*

how the london riots showed us two sides of social networking*
hackers declare cyberwar on US police*
antisec campaign exposes data from 74 sheriff's offices*
researchers say anonymous & lulzsec need to focus their chaos*
defcon trains 8-year-olds in hacking*
mossad's miracle weapon:
stuxnet virus opens new era of cyber war*
google admits handing over european user data to US intel*
survey finds smartphone apps store too much personal data*
missouri law: teachers & students can't be facebook friends*
video: anonymous vows to destroy facebook on nov5*

7/28 defcon: black ops, blacklist, #fuckyouwashington

murdoch's fox ran black ops dept, fmr exec claims*

british telecom ordered to blacklist usenet search engine*
why did director of US cybersecurity arm of dhs abruptly resign?*
anonymous gets cyber tsar to resign*
lulzsec spokesman arrest could incite more cyber attacks*
fbi working from list of top 1,000 protestors in anonymous raids*
video: jeff jarvis on #fuckyouwashington hashtag*
4.5m will cut tv cord this year -
12m cut by 2015*
paypal users mistakenly charged as much as $4k for mac os x lion*
russia to de-orbit international space station*
iss to crash into the ocean in 2020*
russian telescope launch pulls national space program out of black hole*
china reportedly developing emp weapons*
nasa readies juno for trip to jupiter*
boeing's millennium falcon floats using nazi technology*
dhs fears modified stuxnet could attack US infrastructure*

7/7 defcon: the atlantis event & awesome announcements

atlantis launch will be iconic event, the last of its kind*

full range of opinions & emotions surrounds last shuttle flight*
video: space shuttle atlantis' big-screen launch events & tributes*
nasa's dramatic rescue plan in case of shuttle emergency*
plans to strip mine the moon may soon be more than just sci-fi*
security grifters partner-up on sinister cyber-surveillance project*
army's $2.7b cloud computing system does not work*
hackers are everywhere. panic!*
hackers claim apple security breach*
hacker allegedly breaches florida voting database*
@foxnewspolitics twitter feed hacked; assassination hoax tweeted*
facebook's "awesome" announcement is... skype video chat*
one in three 'overwhelmed by technology'*
video: geocaching treasure hunt leads to uk bomb scare*

5/19 defcon: blockage, bills, threats & storms

obama doj tries to block unclassified info from nsa leaker trial*
new yorker mag sheds new light on nsa's warrantless wiretapping & data mining*
senate bill requires warrant for email, cloud content*
senate bill makes illegal internet streaming a felony*
bill clinton: create internet agency*
US secret service questions 13yr-old over facebook 'threat'*
twitter feed @omgfacts lawsuit underscores power of a tweet*
prolific 'spokesman' for 'anonymous' leaves hacker group*
dhs's top cybersecurity official resigns*
giant storm revealed on saturn*
video: scientists discover habitable earth-like planet*

5/12 defcon: secret service, globalhell, expendables

cyberwarfare rules included in defense bill*
white house to unveil cyber security proposal*
US secret service takes to twitter*
after approving nbc buyout, fcc commish becomes comcast lobbyist;
fcc chairman applauds colleague departing to become fcc lobbyist*
obama meets with giffords, husband (and his identical astro-twin) in florida*
giffords aims to return for shuttle launch*
veteran of 90’s cyber gang 'globalhell' charged in swatting conspiracy*
find out if you're a target in biggest US bittorrent lawsuit ever*
comcast says they're not blocking pirate bay -
problem appears to be impacting several isp's*
broadband leads to drug abuse, say US boffins*
under look and key: pc iris scanner security device set to go on the market in months*

updates: google's blogger finally limps back into action after over 20+hrs of downtime (the media monarchy kingdom has recovered, but others are apparently not so lucky...)*
playstation network hack launched from amazon ec2*
dropbox lied to users about data security, complaint to ftc alleges*
netflix: metered broadband a pure cash grab -
company not pulling punches in per byte debate*
mo mercy for gary mckinnon: as obama prepares for uk visit, holder insists US will not bend on extradition*
vigilant guard '11: responders train for cyber attack on madison power grid*
video: california students jam out with musical robots*

2/10 defcon: harsh sentences, trojan horse, hotfile

hackers hit nasdaq computers*
hypnosis by lcd becoming increasingly rampant*
pole shift threatens to cause weather chaos*
child porn prosecutions & harsh sentences rising dramatically*
fcc net neutrality is a regulatory 'trojan horse,' eff says*
motion picture association sues hotfile.com for direct copyright infringement & theft 'on a staggering scale'*
twitter valued at $10b as google, facebook & the social network sharks circle; will they be the latest sellout?*

killswitch: obama admin fears egypt-style revolt in US

from paul joseph watson: The Obama administration is busy attempting to pass legislation that would give the President a kill switch for the Internet in the United States while at the same time decrying Egyptian authorities for shutting down the Internet in a bid to deflate the unfolding revolution against Hosni Mubarak. The reason is simple – the government fears an Egypt-style revolt occurring in the U.S. and wants to block access to the world wide web if and when it happens... While Obama criticizes Egyptian authorities for shutting down web access to disrupt protesters, his own administration prepares to launch a fresh attempt at instituting the exact same powers in America, which as recent history clearly demonstrates, represent tools for tyrannical regimes who wish to silence legitimate political opposition.

related: dhs' new terror alert system to use facebook, twitter