It's hard to come up with good, original content, so many people tweet jokes they find elsewhere. The best source of content is Twitter itself. This article is a case study of a stolen tweet.
The Tweet
On Sunday August 7, 2011, Twitter user @Haleys_Hell tweeted the following joke:
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| The original tweet by @Haleys_Hell, click to enlarge. |
I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. 7 AugBeing highly original and funny, this tweet was widely retweeted and favorited. As of this writing Favstar.fm reports it was favorited 194 times, retweeted 38 times, and received 3 Tweets of the day:
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| The original tweet on Favstar, click to enlarge. |
@Haleys_Hell told me that it reached 100 favorites in roughly 24 hours, her fastest tweet to do so. 100 favorites is an important milestone on Favstar, since it triggers the posting of a tweet to the 100 favs leaderboard, which has the slowest turnover ensuring high visibility for a tweet.
Notable copiers
@5tevenw (Steven Winterburn) is an account with 76,977 Followers. In 2011 he was nominated for the 3rd Annual Shorty Awards and placed 8th for The Year's Best Humor on Twitter. In his Shorty Interview he answered the question "What are some big Twitter faux pas?" with the statement "I've not come across any." @5tevenw's timeline consists almost entirely of unattributed content from others.
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| Tweet from @5tevenw, click to enlarge. |
@DBowens96 is David Bowens, a professional football player in the NFL.
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| Tweet from @DBowens96, click to enlarge. |
Timeline
Data for the timeline below was collected using the Twitter search API on 8/18 at 9:29 AM. The timeline is incomplete because Twitter only stores a few days of searchable history.
The search term was 'I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet' (without quotes).
Key to the timeline:
Bold type indicates an origin tweet.
Normal type indicates a retweet (via the retweet function).
Green indicates a retweet of the original tweet from @Haleys_Hell.
Yellow indicates a tweet that credits @Haleys_Hell in the tweet text.
Red indicates a tweet without attribution, or with incorrect attribution.| RT by | Date | Tweeted by | Date | Text |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DarronDiesel | 8/11 13:11 | @DJFreshSA I once had a goldfish... | ||
| grantyO | 8/12 5:33 | 5tevenw | 8/10 5:29 | I once had a goldfish... |
| KelFocker | 8/13 15:40 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| Jose_ATW | 8/13 15:42 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| schwhating | 8/13 15:49 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| AClkwrkStarfish | 8/13 15:57 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| johnabes | 8/13 16:05 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| damalaje | 8/13 16:08 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| majorhomo | 8/13 16:09 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| goddamnchar | 8/13 16:15 | johnabes | 8/13 16:05 | I once had a goldfish... |
| Jnamo48 | 8/13 17:04 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| EmGrems | 8/13 17:50 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| PrinceOfOxford | 8/13 19:33 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| pestmart | 8/14 4:55 | 5tevenw | 8/10 5:29 | I once had a goldfish... |
| OVOadan | 8/14 11:58 | 5tevenw | 8/10 5:29 | I once had a goldfish... |
| fun_tweets | 8/14 18:46 | RT @Haleys_Hell I once had a goldfish... | ||
| jorge_loc | 8/14 18:49 | fun_tweets | 8/14 18:46 | RT @Haleys_Hell I once had a goldfish... |
| IsabelizzySmith | 8/14 18:50 | fun_tweets | 8/14 18:46 | RT @Haleys_Hell I once had a goldfish... |
| ElizabethKay15 | 8/14 18:58 | fun_tweets | 8/14 18:46 | RT @Haleys_Hell I once had a goldfish... |
| Willow_bunnie | 8/14 19:00 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| FLEE32 | 8/14 19:00 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| BieberJustinxo | 8/14 19:00 | FLEE32 | 8/14 19:00 | I once had a goldfish... |
| hiiimz | 8/14 19:01 | i once had a goldfish... | ||
| shawniimal | 8/14 19:02 | hiiimz | 8/14 19:01 | i once had a goldfish... |
| _PrettyMixdChic | 8/14 19:09 | "@FLEE32: I once had a goldfish... | ||
| JediMindPrick | 8/14 19:13 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Migz5 | 8/14 19:16 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| e_russels | 8/14 19:16 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Hommework | 8/14 19:28 | fun_tweets | 8/14 18:46 | RT @Haleys_Hell I once had a goldfish... |
| PSUFan5 | 8/14 19:57 | fun_tweets | 8/14 18:46 | RT @Haleys_Hell I once had a goldfish... |
| D4N13L_T4YL0R | 8/14 20:00 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| LeifOfficial | 8/14 20:06 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| caraa045 | 8/14 20:15 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| iamcharlotteee_ | 8/14 20:15 | caraa045 | 8/14 20:15 | I once had a goldfish... |
| NathanielBaird | 8/14 20:25 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| mckrawford | 8/14 20:37 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Anjew0 | 8/14 20:54 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| QuotesThatShine | 8/14 21:01 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| LalainaRackson | 8/14 21:05 | GuessWhosRandom | 8/14 21:04 | I once had a goldfish... |
| MoreFunnyTweets | 8/14 21:11 | RT@Haleys_Hell: I once had a goldfish... | ||
| ToMyDearJuliet | 8/14 21:20 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| XxSkeletitsxX | 8/14 21:20 | ToMyDearJuliet | 8/14 21:20 | I once had a goldfish... |
| SkreeDeath | 8/14 21:31 | fun_tweets | 8/14 18:46 | RT @Haleys_Hell I once had a goldfish... |
| masjher | 8/14 21:46 | RT @MoreFunnyTweets: RT@Haleys_Hell: I once had a goldfish... | ||
| paig3p00 | 8/14 22:08 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| ChrisWilmoth70 | 8/14 22:15 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| StewartAnoya | 8/14 23:09 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| BroWolf_Geezuz | 8/14 23:22 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| theKITUsuccess | 8/14 23:40 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Bariemma4 | 8/15 0:02 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| mimicozens30 | 8/15 0:20 | iAmTunechiLee | 8/15 0:20 | I once had a goldfish... |
| PrettyBoyreezie | 8/15 0:26 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| JakeJustSaid_ | 8/15 0:37 | I had a goldfish... | ||
| ImNotUglyImRare | 8/15 0:53 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Mr_Incredible_E | 8/15 1:13 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| senselessape | 8/15 2:07 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| TTO_Cash | 8/15 2:13 | iAmTunechiLee | 8/15 0:20 | I once had a goldfish... |
| GetOn_YhurKnees | 8/15 2:15 | iAmTunechiLee | 8/15 0:20 | I once had a goldfish... |
| WALMARTRICH | 8/15 2:35 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| HdDaKidd | 8/15 2:36 | Kml ahhh RT @WALMARTRICH I once had a goldfish... | ||
| DannyAtHome | 8/15 2:40 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Tmcsmokee | 8/15 2:41 | "@WALMARTRICH: I once had a goldfish... | ||
| andrew_mason21 | 8/15 3:34 | once i had a goldfish... | ||
| benbarol | 8/15 3:52 | 5tevenw | 8/10 5:29 | I once had a goldfish... |
| Ntellectual_Jaz | 8/15 3:53 | “@iAmTunechiLee I once had a goldfish... | ||
| _iTweetUFollow | 8/15 3:58 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| TheWellnessLife | 8/15 4:20 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| JeffBizznitch | 8/15 5:22 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Mikaajpg | 8/15 5:26 | JeffBizznitch | 8/15 5:22 | I once had a goldfish... |
| allisonliindsey | 8/15 5:27 | JeffBizznitch | 8/15 5:22 | I once had a goldfish... |
| kyndalbell | 8/15 5:34 | JeffBizznitch | 8/15 5:22 | I once had a goldfish... |
| kelseydawn24 | 8/15 5:40 | JeffBizznitch | 8/15 5:22 | I once had a goldfish... |
| c___square | 8/15 6:49 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| 4rjunrathod | 8/15 7:36 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| gowen77 | 8/15 8:00 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| HomairaSeddiqi | 8/15 8:26 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| blettany | 8/15 8:58 | TheWellnessLife | 8/15 4:20 | I once had a goldfish... |
| janbein | 8/15 10:14 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| KilmarnockChris | 8/15 10:21 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| RunjpRun | 8/15 10:54 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| LuciaWagwan | 8/15 11:12 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| jelenapathak | 8/15 11:27 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Speario | 8/15 11:31 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| MC_DragonBoy | 8/15 11:31 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| TomHeartsCunt | 8/15 11:33 | MC_DragonBoy | 8/15 11:31 | I once had a goldfish... |
| Devi_eQo_Wylde | 8/15 11:55 | iAmTunechiLee | 8/15 0:20 | I once had a goldfish... |
| GregSymes | 8/15 11:58 | Speario | 8/15 11:31 | I once had a goldfish... |
| Edward_CuIlen | 8/15 12:50 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| NessaCSwan | 8/15 12:51 | Edward_CuIlen | 8/15 12:50 | I once had a goldfish... |
| PixieButtAlice | 8/15 12:51 | Edward_CuIlen | 8/15 12:50 | I once had a goldfish... |
| Corzelli | 8/15 12:57 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| evelyn_j94 | 8/15 13:42 | Edward_CuIlen | 8/15 12:50 | I once had a goldfish... |
| TONYbkaChuck | 8/15 14:27 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Mexa_Ken | 8/15 15:08 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| PamelaStfu | 8/15 16:28 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Timewriter | 8/15 16:58 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| iamkyr | 8/15 17:03 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| FrXsh0_o | 8/15 18:00 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| JohnnyCaineFan | 8/15 18:05 | MoreFunnyTweets | 8/14 21:11 | RT@Haleys_Hell: I once had a goldfish... |
| lhilbhookie | 8/15 18:15 | MoreFunnyTweets | 8/14 21:11 | RT@Haleys_Hell: I once had a goldfish... |
| icoleyy | 8/15 20:24 | i once had a goldfish... | ||
| screamforlexx | 8/15 20:29 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| DanToRemember | 8/15 20:57 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| tegantheripper | 8/15 20:58 | DanToRemember | 8/15 20:57 | I once had a goldfish... |
| ellielaverr | 8/15 21:01 | DanToRemember | 8/15 20:57 | I once had a goldfish... |
| Bia21992 | 8/15 21:04 | DanToRemember | 8/15 20:57 | I once had a goldfish... |
| craigymorr | 8/15 21:14 | DanToRemember | 8/15 20:57 | I once had a goldfish... |
| TylerHallas | 8/15 21:16 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| DopeExistence | 8/15 22:12 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| _ViCtOrIa_SmItH | 8/15 22:45 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| christenlee143 | 8/15 22:50 | Haleys_Hell | 8/7 19:41 | I once had a goldfish... |
| Canuck_Nilz | 8/15 23:14 | TheBigDummies | 8/9 1:32 | I once had a goldfish... |
| DeEzkauri | 8/16 0:29 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Mexa_Ken | 8/16 1:16 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| AyeshaChundy | 8/16 1:28 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| ChicoExperience | 8/16 1:32 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| isata_tucker | 8/16 4:05 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| AMilkyNug | 8/16 4:20 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| mcasselburry | 8/16 4:51 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Missfit13138 | 8/16 5:03 | AMilkyNug | 8/16 4:20 | I once had a goldfish... |
| stephhhhcamacho | 8/16 5:34 | mcasselburry | 8/16 4:51 | I once had a goldfish... |
| ihavenohoes | 8/16 5:36 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| BooTRadley | 8/16 5:49 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| xHeyItsMiax | 8/16 5:52 | MoreFunnyTweets | 8/14 21:11 | RT@Haleys_Hell: I once had a goldfish... |
| ChristenHagan8 | 8/16 9:24 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| aaron_white_ | 8/16 19:01 | MoreFunnyTweets | 8/14 21:11 | RT@Haleys_Hell: I once had a goldfish... |
| rtrouten | 8/17 1:04 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| austinredman | 8/17 3:13 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| MikeReid2Real | 8/17 3:23 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| FRESH_KID_J | 8/17 3:24 | MikeReid2Real | 8/17 3:23 | I once had a goldfish... |
| erinbrennan4 | 8/17 5:57 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| aliuser | 8/17 14:18 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| keller2500 | 8/17 17:25 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| FumblingMuffin | 8/17 18:10 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| ShendlxSinger | 8/17 18:10 | FumblingMuffin | 8/17 18:10 | I once had a goldfish... |
| Batnleft | 8/17 18:11 | FumblingMuffin | 8/17 18:10 | I once had a goldfish... |
| DBowens96 | 8/17 20:09 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Billy_Bul_Man | 8/17 20:11 | DBowens96 | 8/17 20:09 | I once had a goldfish... |
| _VanessaSanchez | 8/17 20:15 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| jossy041192 | 8/17 20:16 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| cheslielynn | 8/17 20:57 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| THE_1_sDeLung | 8/17 21:15 | DBowens96 | 8/17 20:09 | I once had a goldfish... |
| 3DMESPORTS | 8/17 23:33 | "@DBowens96: I once had a goldfish... | ||
| VariAguirre | 8/17 23:34 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| justinnlong | 8/17 23:45 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| Dangerous55019 | 8/18 0:10 | I once had a goldfish... | ||
| SmilingStixx | 8/18 3:06 | I Once Had A Goldfish... | ||
| WeedHosAndOreos | 8/18 3:09 | "@SmilingStixx: I Once Had A Goldfish... | ||
| PrinceRyan | 8/18 7:21 | I once had a goldfish... |
In the table above there are 92 origin tweets and 57 retweets. There are 34 variations of origin tweet text.
Mutations
Variations were introduced as the tweet proliferated. There are several types of variations:
- Manual retweet with added (mis)attribution.
- The addition of editorial commentary (such as "lmao").
- Minor changes to wording or punctuation.
The retweet counts are based on the search data covering 8/11-8/18. For @Haleys_Hell and @5tevenw the actual counts are in parenthesis, since the earlier retweets were unavailable from the search.
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. | ||||
| @Haleys_Hell | Followers: 1366 | Retweets: 11(36) | Copies: 47 | Retweets of Copies: 27 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds | ||||
| @Migz5 | Followers: 76 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 8 | Retweets of Copies: 1 |
| RT @Haleys_Hell I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. | ||||
| @fun_tweets | Followers: 2800 | Retweets: 6 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet... but only for about 30 seconds. | ||||
| @5tevenw | Followers: 76951 | Retweets: 4(28) | Copies: 2 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds... | ||||
| @caraa045 | Followers: 1415 | Retweets: 1 | Copies: 3 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| RT@Haleys_Hell: I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. | ||||
| @MoreFunnyTweets | Followers: 975 | Retweets: 4 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| i once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. | ||||
| @hiiimz | Followers: 536 | Retweets: 1 | Copies: 1 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. #funnythensad | ||||
| @johnabes | Followers: 185 | Retweets: 1 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet...but only for about 30 seconds. | ||||
| @TheBigDummies | Followers: 4629 | Retweets: 1 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| "@FLEE32: I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds."««« lmao! | ||||
| @_PrettyMixdChic | Followers: 350 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds.#EndofStory | ||||
| @Anjew0 | Followers: 27 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| "@DBowens96: I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds." Tapped, but lovable. Lol | ||||
| @3DMESPORTS | Followers: 365 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| “@iAmTunechiLee I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds.” | ||||
| @Ntellectual_Jaz | Followers: 319 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. http://t.co/zmsW3LT | ||||
| @PrinceRyan | Followers: 2470 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet..but it only lasted for about 30 seconds! | ||||
| @rtrouten | Followers: 59 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I Once Had A Goldfish That Would Hump The Carpet, But Only For About 30 Seconds :/ | ||||
| @SmilingStixx | Followers: 1951 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| @DJFreshSA I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet... but only for about 30 seconds. | ||||
| @DarronDiesel | Followers: 241 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| RT @MoreFunnyTweets: RT@Haleys_Hell: I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. | ||||
| @masjher | Followers: 7 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I had a goldfish once that would hump the carpet. but only for about 30 seconds. | ||||
| @JakeJustSaid_ | Followers: 161 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. lmao wow | ||||
| @WALMARTRICH | Followers: 17759 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for 30 seconds. | ||||
| @mckrawford | Followers: 26 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet...but only for about 30 seconds before he died #quickpumper | ||||
| @theKITUsuccess | Followers: 828 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| "@SmilingStixx: I Once Had A Goldfish That Would Hump The Carpet, But Only For About 30 Seconds :/" lmao | ||||
| @WeedHosAndOreos | Followers: 744 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet but only for about 30 seconds | ||||
| @ImNotUglyImRare | Followers: 149 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| "@WALMARTRICH: I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. lmao wow"LmAo.. ?? | ||||
| @Tmcsmokee | Followers: 158 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. #goldie | ||||
| @Corzelli | Followers: 116 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds #megaboo | ||||
| @AyeshaChundy | Followers: 17 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds, then it would play dead.. | ||||
| @paig3p00 | Followers: 101 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds......... | ||||
| @D4N13L_T4YL0R | Followers: 87 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| once i had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds | ||||
| @andrew_mason21 | Followers: 9 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet , but only for 3O seconds . then he died . | ||||
| @PamelaStfu | Followers: 210 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds LOL | ||||
| @PrinceOfOxford | Followers: 1536 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet... But only for about 30 seconds. | ||||
| @Dangerous55019 | Followers: 330 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
| Kml ahhh RT @WALMARTRICH I once had a goldfish that would hump the carpet, but only for about 30 seconds. lmao wow | ||||
| @HdDaKidd | Followers: 576 | Retweets: 0 | Copies: 0 | Retweets of Copies: 0 |
Viewers
Below is a timeseries plot showing potential viewership over time. Potential viewership is calculated from the follower counts of the accounts posting and retweeting the joke. Totals are overstated where multiple sources posting or retweeting the joke share followers.
Some data prior to 13:11 on 8/11 was reconstructed using the API to fetch all retweets of the three known early tweets. This reconstructed data did not significantly change the numbers, adding just a few thousand potential viewers to the original tweet.
 |
| Timeseries plot of potential viewers based on follower counts. |
 |
| Scatter plot of follower count for each (re)tweet. |
Potential viewer totals:
| No attribution, or incorrect attribution: | 196907 |
| Correct attribution in the tweet text: | 6016 |
| The original tweet: | 10444 |
The top 20 propagators of the joke, according to follower count:
- 5tevenw 76986
- iAmTunechiLee 20395
- FLEE32 19886
- WALMARTRICH 17759
- GuessWhosRandom 6182
- DBowens96 4694
- TheBigDummies 4667
- justinnlong 3877
- fun_tweets 2800
- LalainaRackson 2164 RT GuessWhosRandom
- SmilingStixx 1951
- AClkwrkStarfish 1900 RT Haleys_Hell
- FrXsh0_o 1540
- PrinceOfOxford 1536
- HerPinkRibbons 1526 RT Haleys_Hell
- Edward_CuIlen 1487
- JeffBizznitch 1461
- iamcharlotteee_ 1440 RT caraa045
- JohnnyCaineFan 1428 RT MoreFunnyTweets
- Haleys_Hell 1417
The Web
The tweet also moved to the web. As of August 18, a Google search of "goldfish that would hump the carpet" got 58 hits. While most hits were either on Twitter itself or sites that automatically reproduced Twitter content, there were a few other sites as well.
Websites with attribution:
Websites without attribution:
- Facebook on 8/10 at 3:10PM & 5:31PM
- MacRumors on 8/15 at 10:06AM
- Plurk on 8/18 at 7:21AM
- Tjshome on 8/8 at 16:21
- A WordPress blog on 8/15
- A Xanga blog on 8/8 at 5:10PM
Discussion
In the plot of potential viewers, the data for the tweets without attribution shows two stairsteps where the audience increased sharply. The first audience spike occured on the morning of 8/10 and is almost entirely due to a tweet by @5tevenw, an account with 76,000 followers. (On the account's profile the bio includes the sentence, "Posts quotes, facts, jokes etc. some new some old." Given that the joke was less than three days old when it was stolen by @5tevenw, one wonders whether he considered it to be old or new.)
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about @5tevenw's presentation of the joke to his audience of 76,000 is how little impact it had on subsequent theft. This tweet took place 18 hours before the search data starts, so it's possible that significant additional copying took place, but the mutation data shows that @5tevenw tweeted a unique version which was only copied twice. It did kick off a short burst of retweets by accounts with up to a few hundred followers. Since the data is incomplete it's not clear if @5tevenw's tweet also triggered additional copying, but for the next several days after the start of the search data there was little increase in the audience for stolen copies of the joke.
The other theft spike occurred in the aftermath of the tweet from fun_tweets on 8/14. This was an attributed tweet which contained @Haleys_Hell's name in the text. While this tweet triggered a number of retweets, it kicked off an even bigger flurry of copying, which can be clearly seen in both the timeline and scatter plot.
The tweet also appeared on the fun_tweets website. The bio on the fun_tweets twitter account says it's "updated daily from the website". The relative timing of the tweet's appearance on the website and its appearance in the fun_tweets Twitter timeline isn't known.
The appearance of the tweet on the fun_tweets feed coincides with the start of a period of unattributed proliferation that lasted thirty-six hours, suggesting that fun_tweets serves as the source of material for copiers.
One website of note where the joke turned up is Tjshome. On 8/8 someone posted a copy to the "Funny Status Message" section, which with 66,000 entries is a trove of copied material. Due to the lack of data before 8/11 it's not possible to estimate the impact of the posting to this site. As is the case with pirated movies and music, it's likely that websites play a role in distributing copied tweets and other short texts.
It's possible that certain Twitter accounts and external websites serve to "launder" stolen tweets by removing the attribution. Once proper attribution is removed and a tweet shows up on a launderers list or website, other people may then feel less inhibited about stealing what appears to be anonymously-sourced content. There wasn't much evidence in the data to support this notion, however.
The potential audience for stolen copies of this tweet was almost twelve times the audience for correctly attributed ones. Only 1 of the top 10 propagators correctly attributed the joke to @Haleys_Hell. Put another way, only 7 percent of the potential viewers of the joke would have seen a correctly attributed version.
Variations of the content arose when people introduced minor changes to copied tweets. The changes involve moving or omitting words, substituting characters with others of similar appearance, or changing the punctuation or whitespace. The intent of these edits is unclear since they don't alter the meaning or improve the joke. They could be attempts by the people copying the joke to stake claims to originality or to evade search engines. Neither case is effective; the edits represent wasted effort as they don't work.
Ramifications
The dilution of recognition across the horde of copiers makes it harder for original creators of content to become known through their work. Original people on Twitter aren't getting the recognition they deserve.
Tweets can "go viral" and spread quickly. Unlike a video whose viral spread usually benefits its creator or star, creators of tweets may receive few benefits from virality. This is because the removal of attribution is trivial. Indeed, it's more work to do an "old style" retweet that includes attribution than it is to do the copy-and-paste needed to steal the content.
Twitter's search function only examines tweets a few days back. This limitation makes it much harder to determine the origins of a tweet. (Can you imagine if Google's search corpus only covered the last week of web activity?) The weakness in Twitter's search history increases the chance that content thieves will go unchallenged, as only a few days need to elapse before the copied content stops being retrievable by search.
For the time being there are many advantages and little downside to presenting stolen content on Twitter. Its Copyright and DMCA Policy only covers linked content and imagery used on account backgrounds or avatars; original content of the Tweets themselves isn't mentioned. The Spam and Abuse section of The Twitter Rules states that, "If you repeatedly post other users' Tweets as your own" it is "conduct...considered to be spamming."
Twitter puts the burden of discovering stolen content on its creator. Creators lack the tools to discover copied content due to the short memory of Twitter's search function. Once copied content is discovered, the only option is to report the thief as spamming. The lack of effective discovery and official reporting tools is contributing to the rampant content theft taking place.
The @ThiefPolice account heads a community-based effort to "name, shame, and help shut down repetitive thieves' accounts." @ThiefPolice accepts reports of stolen tweets via Direct Message, investigates, and then either warns the offender or tweets a report of theft. With 7,000 followers, @ThiefPolice is able to generate enough spam reports to close the accounts of content thieves. The main problem with this method is that the account itself is operated by a single volunteer who must by hand do all the investigation, warning, and reporting.
The Shorty Awards were created to honor "the best content producers on Twitter". One of the accounts tweeting an unattributed copy of @Haleys_Hell's joke was @5tevenw, who in 2011 was nominated for the category of The Year's Best Humor on Twitter. Under "Voting," the rules page states:
- We reserve the right to disqualify nominees that do any of the following: impersonate others, violate trademarks, infringe copyrights, invade privacy, make threats of violence, promote illegal activities, spam others, use bots or scripts for voting, engage in abusive behavior, promise anything of value in exchange for a nomination, or otherwise violate the friendly spirit of the awards.
- Members of the Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences will carefully review the finalists' tweets and Shorty Interview answers (if any) and fill out an anonymous survey with their choices for winners. Academy members are not allowed to vote on categories in which they are finalists or have conflicts of interest
- To determine the winner in each category, the Academy will combine their own judgment with the outcome of the popular vote
Not only do the rules omit any statement concerning plagiarism or stolen content, but Academy members have apparently reviewed @5tevenw's tweets and found them acceptable. It seems incredible that the Academy, whose members include several authors and novelists, would give the appearance of condoning plagiarism by permitting @5tevenw to retain his nomination and place 8th. If there was any organization that should be concerned with recognizing the real creators of content one would think it would be the Academy.
Widespread content theft as documented in this case study also raises issues for companies purporting to measure online influence. One such company is Klout, a startup which has raised more than $10 million in funding. According to Wikipedia,
"Klout measures influence by using data points from Twitter, such as: following count, follower count, retweets, list memberships, how many spam/dead accounts are following you, how influential the people that retweet you are, and unique mentions."In a perfect world it would be valid to examine the metadata concerning an account's activity and from it derive a "score". But the real world of stolen content and attempts to hide a tweet's true souce renders quaint the idea that one can construct an accurate influence network using only "official" channels. You cannot overlay a dirty, underground environment with a clean computer science model and expect it to work.
Klout has a metric it calls "True Reach" which is claimed to be "the number of people you influence." It's undeniable that as the original creator of the goldfish joke, @Haleys_Hell is the ultimate source of the influence that has been stolen by the content copiers. Yet in this example Klout would assign most of the influence to the thieves while remaining profoundly ignorant about their debt to the original source of the content.
Summary
This case study has shown that tweet theft is widespread, and that only 7 percent of the potential viewers of the tweet's content would have seen a correctly attributed version. Accounts with tens of thousands of followers or associated with minor celebrities will retweet stolen content.
As it propagates stolen content will change. The reason for some of the mutations isn't clear.
Tweeted content can spread virally with little benefit to its creator.
Companies such as Klout which purport to measure influence in social networks don't take unethical behavior such as content theft into account, putting into question the validity of their calculated metrics.
Updates
- 8/21 1:36PM: Moved Notable copiers section, added image of @5tevenw's tweet, added mention and discussion of the Shorty Awards.
- 8/21 3:35PM: Added paragraph on @ThiefPolice.
- 9/10 5:50PM: The goldfish joke turned up on Sickipedia.
- 9/18 1:45PM: This blog was written up in Plagiarism Today's Watching Attribution Erode on Twitter.
Thieves should be shamed so the notion of copyrighting tweets would be cumbersome, legally. After all, Shakespeare didn't rely on IP.
ReplyDeleteAllowing tweets to be un-encumbered by IP allows creativity and the greatest amount of sharing.
Oh my god, you need to get a life! So what if a tweet was used by someone else, it is not taking anything away from that person. Twitter is used to each own's discretion. You don't like it, get off!
ReplyDeleteSeptember 18 Anonymous: Had you read the Discussion and Ramifications you would have seen some of the ways in which content creators are harmed by people copying their content. Creators of websites and apps which exchange jokes may be making money off the copied material at the expense of the creators.
ReplyDeleteYou choose to defend the copiers. Obviously you're unaware or don't care about the outrage that content authors feel when they find their material's been stolen.
August 23 Anonymous: While I was originally in favor of shaming copiers, my position has evolved. Now I'm thinking about ways to use a bot to retroactively indicate correct attribution by replying to copied tweets. The intent is to allow original content authors to benefit from viral spread without accusing those who somewhat innocently aided the propagation. Of course, plagiarists who deliberately remove attribution and attempt to pass the material off as their own will be embarrassed.
I've disabled anonymous commenting and lengthened to 60 days the amount of time after a blog entry is published before comment moderation kicks in.
Lovely piece of Info, I hate Plagiarism. There should be more online copyright Laws
ReplyDeleteI too tried to check on ppl tweets but seriously, this problem is getting bigger.
ReplyDelete