How a Simple Spambot Became the Second Most Powerful Member of an Italian Social Network - 5 views
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Kim Baker on 08 Sep 14"The surprising story of how an experiment to automate the creation of popularity and influence became successful beyond all expectation. Sometimes fascinating discoveries are made entirely by accident. This is a good example." This article shows how digital identify can be constructed and manipulated, leading to questions around authenticity. How many of us would have also been fooled by that Spambot? This example also reinforces why information literacy is now one of the most essential skills for the 21st century.