That's What He Said

How Conservative Are You? Brooks Bayne Is “Extremely Conservative”

According to an intentionally stacked survey at the Center For American “Progress” (read: Leftism), I’m “extremely conservative” with a score of 32/400. Who knew?

As @Crevek pointed out, “they’ll forget about putting you in a re-education camp”. I guess it’s a bullet for me and indoctrination for the rest of you. Yes, I’m the lucky one. I feel sorry for you folks who will have to read “The Communist Manifesto” at gunpoint.  ;)



I could go on about all the misleading questions, but I won’t. Although, there’s one question that made me LOL - it asks (paraphrasing), “do you feel immigrants are a drain on America’s resources?” Hey, lefty, you forgot the word “illegal”! Immigrants are fine, illegal immigrants are not. So typical for the left to present immigrants and illegal immigrants as synonymous. Fail.

Brooks Bayne at Stone Bar - Table O’ Porn

Recently, I was playing guitar for an artist in Hollywood at a club named Stone Bar. When we walked in, we noticed a table full of smut rags prominently displayed as if they were Newsweeks in a doctor’s office waiting room. The folks at Stone Bar must’ve expecting a bus full of teenagers from Canada.

Speaking of Canada, why haven’t we annexed it yet?

The Newest Way To Game Twitter - Fake Followers

Last night, fellow Los Angelean, Jason Calacanis (@jasoncalacanis) tweeted about several folks acquiring 30k+ new followers in 6 days.



I know Jason pays attention to numbers since part of his business is watching the numbers. Jason’s an industry leader using SEO to promote his business, Mahalo. So, when Jason tweets about something other than his dogs, or poker, I usually pay attention.

Some of you are probably wondering, “So what?”. I understand. For many people this wouldn’t matter. However, there’s more than one use case for Twitter. Some people really do use Twitter for business. In this realm, more followers means more bragging rights and the appearance of more credibility. The number of followers matters to some of us.

I started looking into this and found quite a few accounts acquiring these bogus followers. For example: @veronica, @techcrunch, @anamariecox, @nytimes, @nprpolitics, @wilw, @ijustine, @mashable, @guardiantech, @pennjillette, @algore, @cnnbrk, and @wholefoods. Looks like whoever is following likes liberals and tech nerds. Just one more thing to offend my conservative sensibilites. ;)

Here’s a few screen captures of the follower graphs from Twitterholic to show the massive trend in follower counts starting on the 11th of February, 2009.

@ijustine:


@nytimes:


@guardiantech:


How did they do it? Someone is automating/scripting the creation of fake Twitter profiles and then following a select group of people. I looked at each of the aforementioned Twitter accounts to see what their followers looked like, . Almost every follower on every new page of followers had an account like this following (given the numbers on Twitter, it would have to be most of the followers on each page for these kinds of numbers - we’re talking about 5000 followers a day, that’s 250 pages of fake followers - every day!):



None of the fake accounts has a profile picture. Most of these accounts are following 20 accounts (I’m sure once the word gets out they will change their script). The pool of people being followed appears to be less than 50, however. This is an automated script that randomizes the 20 people being followed out of the pool of 50 at the time the account is created.

Who’s behind this? Dunno, but if Twitter captures the IP address of the person creating the accounts, they could easily determine who is behind this gaming approach.

What was the primary tip-off here for me? Other than the fact that people currently don’t get followers this fast? The fact that Mike Arrington (@techcrunch) and Pete Cashmore (@mashable) don’t get along at all, yet both are acquiring these same fake followers.

I was trying to do a quick analysis of this to see if there was one account that was followed more than others to determine the source. After looking at 50 pages of these bogus followers, I found that @guardiantech was at the top of the list. This seems to be corroborated by the numbers on Twitterholic. I don’t know who @guardiantech is (edit: see my comment at the bottom of the comments for clarification), or if they have the resources to be behind this, but it’s worth noting.

What’s the purpose of following all the other people if you wrote this script to boost your own follower count? Simple. So there would be many more than one account experiencing the same increase and therefore you wouldn’t stand out in the crowd.

I’ll update this as I find out new information. Please Digg this blog post. Follow me, I’m @brooksbayne.

I’m In The Twitter Timeline Again, But Now President Bush’s Speechwriter Isn’t #fail

…as of 3 weeks ago.

I was a bad blogger and didn’t follow up after I posted to Twitter regarding being back in the timeline.

The short: I didn’t hear anything from the Twitter folks until I posted on GetSatisfaction.com, a public customer service website where twitter has a presence. Within a couple days I was miraculously back in the timeline. Kudos to services like GS. Here’s the link to the thread at GS: http://cli.gs/6LyL2j

When I was finally contacted by Twitter, I received an email from them. They didn’t reply to the thread at GS. Twitter claimed I was reported as a “spammer” and it took them over a month to “research” whether or not I was a spammer. So, either a.) it’s all B.S. and people in the Twitter San Francisco HQ are sympathetic to liberal causes, will censor you, and then will drag their heels to resolve an issue like this until you make your grievance public or b.) Twitter’s system is easily gamed, whereby if enough people block you, you get blacklisted and then Twitter’s support will…drag their heels to resolve an issue like this. I mean, we’re talking about people living and working in San Francisco. It’s not really a bastion of conservative thinking in NorCal is it? Sure, have a good laugh at the conservatives being censored, right?

What prompted me to post a followup today was the fact that I just received an @ reply on Twitter from Michael Johns (@michaeljohns), a former speechwriter for George H.W. Bush, in which Johns states that he’s missing from the timeline. This happened shortly after Micheal called out Barack Obama publicly on Twitter for lying. Here’s the link to all of Michael’s tweets in Twitter’s search index: http://search.twitter.com/search?from=michaeljohns You see, there are only a few tweets in the public timeline out of his 65 ( the # at the time of this writing) tweets.

I’m going to recommend that Michael piggyback on my thread at GS and post a description of his problem publicly. I’d encourage any other conservatives to do the same if they find themselves in the same situation of being censored, either by “bug”, happenstance, or intent.

“He who controls the news controls the views.”

Twitter, you need to get this corrected ASAP. It’s really starting to look suspect - even if it isn’t. #fail

What if a liberal who worked at Twitter got offended over something you posted and decided to censor you?

What if?

I’m gonna let some of you in on a little secret. I’m a conservative, recovering Libertarian, and self-described Independent. I don’t live in a bunker in some far away “Hickville”. I live in Los Angeles. I’m sure some of the liberals reading this know that L.A. is in California, but, if at the time you’re reading this, you’re too stoned to know, let me assure you that it is.

During the 2008 election cycle, I (@brooksbayne) made some new friends via Twitter - I also made some new “not friends”. Since the election’s been over, I’ve unwittingly become the resident and leading conservative in the L.A. tech scene (does that come with a door prize?). I’m not dogmatic about my views when I discuss issues with the other side. However, I’ve been told that I can be snarky.

One fine morning, about a month ago, a liberal mommy blogger got pissed off at some harmless Motrin ad posted sympathizing with babywearers about potential neck and back pain that wearing babies can cause. This liberal blogger posted some emotional nonsense on Twitter which was subsequently picked up by Jessica Gottlieb (@JessicaGottlieb) and the #MotrinMoms hashtag was created. Feeling quite pleased with herself after her initial #motrinmoms post, Jessica posted this:



Aw, cute, I just wanna pinch her little cheeks. I wonder if she talks to her kids this way while she’s wearing them. Anway, a Groundswell ensued with people tweeting using the #motrinmoms hashtag (*for a more in-depth look at the #motrinmoms story check out Jeremiah Owyang’s blog about the topic).

FYI, I really don’t have anything against Jessica, or the aforementioned blogger, but I do think they were overreacting. Apparently, corporations can’t say *anything* about fads without getting unduly slammed for it. That’s right. I said fad. Although there are a few younger conservative women who may have been offended it seems a majority of the uproar was from the liberal corner. I asked my 5000 followers on Twitter, many of whom are conservative, if any were offended by the motrin ad. The only responses I got from my conservative mom followers were “No”. I do know of one young conservative mom who was offended, but she only repeated the #motrinmoms talking points.

You see, babywearing has been around in the conservative circles for many years, and in some cultures it’s been around as long as people can remember. Take a look at the photo below, dated 7/8/1996. Here’s an American conservative wearing a baby over 12 years ago…and it’s a man. Some of you might be thinking, “Damn, Brooks, you must’ve spent a long time trying to find this photo of a male babywearer predating the current babywearing fad on the Interwebz.” Well, actually, for those of you who know me can tell, that’s me in the photo along with my son right after he was born. Yeah, I know a thing or two about babywearing. Back then, the liberals I knew thought we were crazy for babywearing. My, how things have changed. As a babywearer, if ever there were an issue that could be described as a tempest in a teapot, it would be the motrin babywearing ad.

“But Brooks, you can’t say this is some new fad.”

Yes we can!

Let’s take a look at the evidence of how babywearing has trended. We can examine the 3 top resulting websites on Google for the term “babywearing” and the history of their content.

By Google search rank:

1. babywearingconference.com - registered 05-jan-2007 - content shortly after.
2. thebabywearer.com - registered 23-jul-2003 but no babywearing information until September of that year per the Internet Wayback Machine.
3. babywearing.com - registered in 30-jul-2001 *but this domain originally pointed to another domain that had *nothing* to do with babywearing when it was registered. In fact, there’s no babywearing information for this domain until late 2004 per the Internet Wayback Machine.

Next, we can look at Google’s blog indexes to gauge the propagation of the term “babywearing” in the blogosphere.

Google blog search has a whopping 5 blog posts indexed between January 2000 and the December 2003. However, from the January 2004 thru December 2007 over 12,000 blog posts were indexed. In 2008 alone, there have been over 35,000 blog posts indexed.

So, based on the above information, we can see the babywearing trend didn’t really get under way until 2004. Where we see a huge upswing in the stats for the term babywearing is in 2008. I wouldn’t say babywearing has “crossed the chasm” just yet.

I know, I know, you’re wondering what this all has to do with the title of this blog post.

Well, the last tweet of mine that was available in the public timeline and in http://search.twitter.com was my snarky tweet in response to the whole overblown Motrin ad debacle. See for yourself: http://search.twitter.com/search?from=brooksbayne



Obviously, as a man who’s been a babywearer for longer than most of these newer upstart women babywearers, I think I would have a valid opinion about the hype over this. However, since posting that tweet, my newer tweets have not been posting to the public timeline and my posts are missing from search too. My Twitter account isn’t hidden/protected by me because you have to select the “protect my updates” checkbox to hide your profile. Mine’s not checked.



I first noticed something was up because I used Qwitter, now defunct, to let me know when people stopped following me. Days went by and all my Qwitter emails referred to that older #motrinmoms tweet of mine. Qwitter would list the last tweet you posted when someone quit following you. Since this was the last tweet of mine that was posted “publicly”, all my Quitter emails referred to it until the time Qwitter had it’s plug pulled by its devs, Contrast. I contacted the guys at Contrast. Here’s that exchange.



I’ve submitted 3 support requests to the folks at Twitter, but they haven’t responded. Twitter did respond to another unrelated support request within a couple days and resolved that issue. Interesting to note is the support request I submitted for this issue. Look at the the line marked (by me) with the red arrow in the pic below where it says “USER IS hidden on public timeline”. My account is obviously not hidden by me. A normal hidden account looks like this secondary account I created: http://twitter.com/bbayne. My primary account isn’t hidden by me. So, how did my account become “hidden” in the public timeline?



I’m one of the the Top Conservatives on Twitter and I can’t post tweets with that group’s hashtag: #tcot. I mean, I can add the hashtag to my tweets, but if any people want to follow that hashtag using tools like Tweetdeck, they won’t see my tweets, because Tweetdeck searches hashtags in the public timeline.

It’s purely coincidental that my last post in the public timeline was regarding #motrinmoms, right? Although, theoretically, it wouldn’t be difficult for the devs to create another Bit column in Twitter’s database and keep people’s posts from hitting the public timeline and search by marking them hidden behind the scenes, but that would be censorship. Is @brooksbayne being censored by a liberal at Twitter who is sympathetic to the #motrinmoms? I have a feeling we’re about to find out.

*Edit - Included a link to Jeremiah Owyang’s blog about the #motrinmoms flap to provide context for the scope of the brouhaha.

How I’m Voting On California’s Ballot Initiatives/Propositions

Prop 1A- Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century.

• For - We need a high speed rail in this country. If there’s any state that needs better public transportation, it’s California. Cost be damned on this one, IMO. Someone has to take the lead.

Prop 2- Treatment of Farm Animals.

• Against - California law already protects animals. If you want animals raised a certain way, then raise your own or buy your meat from places that you trust.

Prop 3- Children’s Hospital Bond Act. Grant Program.

• Against - Too costly. Let the hospitals buy their own equipment.
  

Prop 4- Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy.

• For - I’m a dad. I would want to know if my child was considering an abortion. Bottom line, if I’m the person liable for everything my child does until he/she is an adult, it’s my right to know what sort of care and/or advice they are getting.

Prop 5- Nonviolent Offenders. Sentencing, Parole and Rehabilitation.

• Against - Do the crime. Do the time. Duh!

Prop 6- Criminal Penalties and Laws. Public Safety Funding.

• For - Revisions to gang related crime law which is completely necessary. Sentences would be increased for gang-related crimes.
  

Prop 7- Renewable Energy.

• Against - Too flawed and draconian.

Prop 8- Limit on Marriage.

• For - Just like the signs in the restaurants that declare “no shoes, no shirt, no service” are for someone who actually walked into the place expecting to get service without shoes and a shirt. These days we need to put up signs for everything, unfortunately. This sign is a permanent “no service” sign for all those who haven’t been paying attention.

Prop 9- Criminal Justice System. Victims’ Rights. Parole.

• For - Creates more rights for crime victims. Currently, crazy liberal judges and the system can limit the rights of victims and create leniency for criminals. This mandates accountability.
  

Prop 10- Bonds.  Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy.

• Against - The prop gives tax dollars to one company, one owned by T. Boone Pickens. Wasn’t he willing to spend his own money to move us “forward”?

Prop 11- Redistricting for voting districts.

• For - Many people have complained about political gridlock and this prop addresses that by creating new districts to encourage bipartisanship.

Prop 12- Veterans’ Bond Act of 2008.

• For - The Republican and Democratic parties support this. More loans and assistance for vets is a good thing. Period.