If you’ve been looking for the option to change your Twitter profile picture and can’t find it, you’re not alone.

Twitter have reported via their blog that the option is currently unavailable and that engineers are working to repair it.

The same problem happened last October, however with it failing shortly before Halloween, many more people noticed when they tried to add an updated pic.

Twitter reports that the service should be available later today..

The Twitter app Profile Spy is currently trending on Twitter by sending Tweets on behalf of users without their consent.

If you look at the Google real-time results for the term “Wow Profile Spy” you can see how this has ramped up in volume today causing it to trend.

However if you scroll back through time, you can find the first mention of the tweet on the 2nd of April:

If you check out the details on this particular Twitter account it appears it has now been suspended:

The term “Profile Spy” is currently trending on Twitter due to rogue tweets being sent without user consent.

The Tweets take the form of :

Wow! See who viewed your twitter with Profile Spy <link to app>

There is no way to track who viewed your Twitter profile, this is purely a scam to generate traffic.

If you think your account has been compromised by the app, follow these instructions to revoke access.

Log into Twitter via the web then click on your profile name at the top right and select “Settings”

Click on the “Connections” tab

Find the Profile Spy app and then click on the “Revoke” button:

The app will no longer be able to send Tweets on your behalf now.

You can watch the spread of the spam on a Google map using our own Seek A Tweet app which we promise won’t send any Tweets on your behalf!

http://www.seekatweet.com/?distance=2500&lat=38.713375686254764&lng=-96.0150146484375&zoom=3&filterkeywords=profile spy

I just discovered that our Twitter App www.mapmyfollowers.com wasn’t working?   When logging in it gave the following error:

Woah there!

This page is no longer valid. It looks like someone already used the token information you provided. Please return to the site that sent you to this page and try again … it was probably an honest mistake.

Turns out the fix for this was simple although it took some hunting down!   The date/time on the server running the app had somehow become a day behind.    Twitter checks the time sync when using the API, and if the client doesn’t have the correct time, it’ll report the above error.

On the 15th December, authors @shelisrael @pistachio @ASegar @robbinphillips @SalesLounge @DKRex and more assembled on Twitter to answer questions on Social Media.  

The session was organised by Jay Daughtry @ChatterBachs under the hashtag #SMFastFwd.   There are many great takeaways from the conversation which is shown below.   It turns out that #SMFastFwd is held every Wednesday so I’ll be sure to tune in next week to see what’s being discussed!

My Takeaways/Tips from the session:

Generate relevant, topical content for your followers

Be quick to react/respond to events

Focus on gaining followers interested in your niche, rather than lots of general followers/bots who don’t care what you tweet about

Develop a community both online and offline

Listen and engage with your community

The Participants:

Here’s the participants in the discussion – hover over for their twitter handle, or click on the image to view their Twitter Profile.

The Conversation:

Here’s a run through of the 8 questions asked, along with the various answers.   It’s certainly an interesting read, and you’ll see common ideals and theories between all the participants.  Sorry If I’ve missed any from the flow of responses!

Q1 : Who are you, Where are you, What do you do? Favorite vaction spot?

@shelisrael : Laura Fitton, based in Boston, running @oneforty to help businesses engage with twitter & social, co-author Twitter for @dummies

@pistachio :  I’m Elliot V from Washington DC. I work with govWin as their Community Manager. Favorite Vaca spot? sanibel island

@ASegar : Adrian Segar, author of "Conferences That Work: Creating Events That People Love" & event designer. Anguilla (don’t tell anyone).

@DKRex :  Deb Rexon, JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ – AF librarian; will vacation anywhere

@robbinphillips : Robbin Phillips, courageous prez of Brains on Fire and Co-author of book by the same name. I love hot yoga and cold beer

@SalesLounge: Hi Jennifer Abernethy, America’s Sales Stylist-helping others grow their business..Vacation spot? (Paris/Bermuda)

@maddiegrant : Maddie Grant, author of Open Community. work with associations and nonprofits to help them build community online

@E5V :  I’m Elliot V from Washington DC. I work with govWin as their Community Manager. Favorite Vaca spot? sanibel island

@mollsiebee  #SMFastfwd newbie here, I’ll be in and out of the convo. Molly in D.C. I’m an editor covering IT, business & fed government. Vacay? #Alta!

Q2: How has your writing been impacted by #socialmedia? How has #socialmedia been impacted by your writing?

@mollsiebee : I tweet/post as soon as stories are published. If they resonate, I’ll lead w/ them in e-newsletter subject lines.

@DKRex : try to belevant, no babbling; SM introduced me to new sources of info, trends, apps

@DKRex : the word is Relevant (& to be a better, faster typist)

@LoAshley :  SM gives my writing a venue, especially blogging, which in turn makes my writing better because I’m practicing

@shelisrael : Since 2005, my entire life has been immersed in SM. I use SM to crowdsource books & articles about SM

@shelisrael : SM serves as my editor, fact checker, idea tester, kindest and harshest critic

@E5V : I’ve noticed my sentence structure tends to be shorter, but writing with the Gov requires short and sweet

@ASegar : Blog posts were a new format for writing for me. And what I write about is strongly influenced by my SM community

@ASegar : Also, plenty of practice condensing what I’m trying to say into 140 characters

@robbinphillips : SM has made me shoot more from the gut, and be more thoughtful at the same time

@pistachio : my writing exists BECAUSE of soc. med, and an obsessive urge to help more people and businesses benefit from it

Q3 : How has #socialmedia increased and/or enhanced your connection with your audience?

@robbinphillips : Again, the ability to ask and listen is everywhere

@robbinphillips : easier to spot "same tribe" people

@robbinphillips : I’m talking to all of you today. That might not have happened without SM

@maddiegrant : social media helps build relationships with people you never in a million years thought you could reach and chat with

@LoAshley : I didn’t have an audience before SM! It created one for me, which is growing over time and it’s awesome

@Asegar : Pretty much all the important connections I’ve made since my book was published a year ago have come about via Twitter->f2f.

@E5V : Social media has allowed us to reach outside of our community and possibly get them interested in #govcon

@shelisrael : I literally braid with my audience. Twitter people provided over half the stories I told in Twitterville

@shelisrael : @scobleizer & I posted 1st drafts of chapters for Naked Conversations, & had readers review, edit & correct

@SalesLounge : It takes One connection to change your business and LIFE…SM allows you to connect to just about ANYONE!

@mollsiebee : I can be better advocate 4 my audience. Real-time Twitter reactions at an event tell me what else 2 follow up on w/ sources

@pistachio : agree with those who said social media CREATED my audience

@DRex : Sources I never would have dreamed connecting w/ & dif areas of expertise – invaluable for a librarian (outside my box

@ASegar : Over and over again I find my SM connections turn into great meaningful face-to-face relationships

Q4: What principles from your most recent work resonate the most w/ readers? What is often quoted back to you?

@robbinphillips : It’s about people

@robbinphillips : also love is circular transaction

@robbinphillips : Movements have shared ownership. Let go of control.

@robbinphillips : Participation does not equal engagement

@robbinphillips : we all want, long to be a part of something bigger then our own lives

@robbinphillips : It’s about the passion conversation, not the product conversation

@robbinphillips : It’s not about numbers, it’s about real engagement.

@LoAshley : I kind of stole your philosophy, @chatterbachs, that the key word in social media is social

@JeniseFryatt : My most popular posts are on Twitter particularly the concept of Engage, Inform & Retweet

@ASegar : The concept (which I didn’t invent) of “the people formerly known as the audience”

@ASegar : Also the description of what I do as "structured unconferences".

@pistachio : most recent work is connecting people to context/tools for social. community RAN with it!

@pistachio : I hear back my "4 word guide" to Twitter/social media/(life): Listen. Learn. Care. Serve

@shelisrael : Twitterville was more about telling the stories of weet people then making points. Much recent talk of Braided Journalism

@shelisrael : Also concept of Lethal Generosity, using SM to out position competitors by good-mouthing them as Molson has done to LeBatt’s

@E5V : Relate your context to your audience. The more followers you get the harder this will be. As @govloop says: Be Awesome

@mollsiebee : The charts and infographics that analyze a topic and make it easily digestible.

@maddiegrant : clarity over control

Q5: What questions do you get most frequently about your work? What surprises you most with these questions?

@robbinphillips : will you work for us for free? can you send us come ideas?

@robbinphillips : Can any organization start a movement?

@robbinphillips : Can you really start a movement about ________?

@pistachio : I most often hear "how do i get more followers?" What surprises me: REALLY? Pointless goal!

@pistachio : Say it together, you want *BETTER* followers not *MORE* followers. Some huge # of @pistachio follows are bots, spam, junk

@pistachio : Be Useful. Share good Sh*t. Ask questions. Listen. RT @CR4_News: @Pistachio What’s the best way to get those *BETTER* followers?

@LoAshley : I am always amazing at how social media illiterate almost all of my clients are. "What is this Twitter thing?" etc

@SalesLounge : Yes..those that follow thousands just to "have" thousands of followers don’t have good quality collective followers

Q6: Any misperceptions about your work that you’d like to clarify now? Any additional lessons to pass on?

@LoAshley : That SM marketing takes skill and not just any college grad with a Facebook account can do it

@LoAshley : I’ve lost clients because ppl think their teen kid can do their SM marketing for them. Grr

@robbinphillips : Igniting community and sparking a movement is hard work. It takes time

@robbinphillips : make sure you understand a movement is not a campaign.

@robbinphillips : Community has to live offline and online. OFFLINE is where real engagement begins

@robbinphillips : Make sure you have buy from the top. Work hard to help everyone understand that customers can now be your best friends

@robbinphillips : Brains on Fire is not a book about social media

@robbinphillips : Every company should have a CHIEF LOVE OFFICER. http://www.brainsonfire.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/29/chief-love-officer/

@shelisrael : The misperception is that by writing a book we become gurus or experts when all we have done is report what others have done

@ASegar : It turns out that conference audiences can create better programs than any event’s program committee

@maddiegrant : community is about people, not tools

@DKRex : For me SM is data mining – not abt me, me, me Looking for gems to share, use, what stories there are to share

Q7 : What is the one chapter you wish you could add to your most recent book? Why?

@robbinphillips : I would have liked to know then what I know now. (smiling)

@ASegar : I learn from every event I run. Will create an update service for readers to communicate improvements to my event design.

Q8 :Who/what do you read? How do they inspire/challenge you? What’s on your “to read” list?

@LoAshley : I have a big blogroll, but for me semi-related books about human behaviour give me unique insights for my writing and job

@C_Pappas : In my pile right now to read are #ContentRules and The Influencers. Just finished The Referral Engine – good stuff!

@robbinphillips : Dan and Chip Heath, Switch. Love every word

@robbinphillips : I am adding @unmarketing to the list

@robbinphillips : I am inspired by anyone who writes like a human being.

@ASegar : Just read Brains on Fire gr8! Change Handbook, Gamestorming, Seating Matters, resonate are on the big pile in the office

@shelisrael : I read great story tellers. Tony Horwitz, David McCollough and of course Malcolm Gladwell. My "to read" list exceeds 140 vols.

@shelisrael : Currently reading Baghdad without a Map by Tony Horwitz

@C_Pappas : Am consistently inspired by @dmscott @chrisbrogan @marketingprofs @mvolpe @ginidietrich Just to name a few

@pistachio : i wish i could put the entire @dummies book online and make it fluidly updated by the community that’s inventing @Twitter

@Pistachio : anyone i can find time to read. looking forward to Heath brothers’ Switch and @marketingprofs @cc_chapman

@C_Pappas : Not #socialmedia related, but just finished 3 Cups of Tea. SO good and very inspiring too!

@DKRex : Reading Brains on Fire, The World is Flat, & Digital Habitat

Twitter has once again fallen foul of a viral automatic tweet.   Although the last outbreak of twifficiency did warn that it would tweet on your behalf (admittedly in small writing initially), this new outbreak relies on jquery to manipulate the Twitter site to tweet on your behalf simply by hovering over an image (cunning!).

This got me wondering – is it possible to track the source of the outbreak as there must be a “First Tweet” to start the ball rolling?

This is where Google search comes in handy.    The piece of code which everyone has appeared in all of the viral tweets is quite unique – so I tried searching Google and selecting Updates for the latest tweets.   You can then move the timeline back to the first mention, and hey presto:

Are you unable to log in to Twitter this morning?    If so, it’s probably due to a recent update to the  Twitter API.

As of August 31st, applications which access Twitter need to use the OAuth protocol.   This means that if your application is using the old authentication method and hasn’t been updated, you won’t be able to log in.

According to Twiiter, there are some 250,000 applications which access Twitter, so expect some disruption as they all move to OAuth!

Following the viral success of Twifficiency over the last 48 hours, The Courier, a local Scottish newspaper has interviewed James Cunningham on Video.    James is also due to appear on British Sky TV later today.

If you’ve been watching Twitter over the last 24 hours, chances are you’ve seen at least one post from Twifficiency.    

The service analyses your followers, who you follow and your tweet history to generate a “Twifficiency score”.

As you can see from the following Google Trend – the growth of Twifficiency traffic has exploded over the last 24 hours:

Now that so many people have fallen for the novelty, people are starting to have second thoughts about the service – is it secure, could it be a scam, have I compromised my twitter account?

Where Did Twifficiency Come From?

Well firstly, here’s a bit of background on Twifficiency.    It was developed by a (now rather shocked) 17yr old web developer from Dundee in Scotland.   James Cunningham (@jamescun) describes himself as :

“17 year old Coder, designer, gamer and wannabe-entrepreneur. Fascination with random facts. Doesn’t always make sense to anyone other than myself.”

Is it secure?

Looks like it – yes!   According to James, Twifficiency is based around the open source oAuth which means that he has no access to your Twitter password.

If you’ve used Twifficiency and want to remove the connection to your account, use the following page on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/settings/connections 

It’ll be interesting to see what becomes of James and Twifficiency since becoming so popular on Twitter!

Do you use the official Twitter App on a 3GS iPhone?   Have you experienced problems?   

I thought it was just me until I came across a post on the twitter support pages asking for feedback.    Looks like others are experiencing the same white screen, and then the app closes after a few seconds of loading.

Here’s the support page at twitter:

Twitter for iphone 3.0.1 crashes back to home screen