How would it feel if we lived in a haunted apartment building where more than half of the tenants are "shadows" of normal people? With seemingly normal life, interests, specific occupations and activities but… without physical presence? This is how one could describe the internet of our daily life. A collection of people and bots struggling to compete in an arena of virtual popularity, at name of -fantastic- profit.
The internet today resembles a live canvas where it spreads overwhelmingly. This canvas tried to map it an Internet service company Incapsula, which presented in December 2013 a highly interesting finding: 61,5% of Internet traffic comes from bots rather than regular people.
The question is whether this bot traffic it changes the very existence of the internet. Opinions differ but the debate leads to creative conclusions that attempt to "scratch" it surface των απόλυτων αριθμών. «Το διάβασα κι εγώ αυτό το νούμερο και να σου πω την αλήθεια δεν μου έκανε καθόλου εντύπωση. Για να κάνουν τον κόσμο τους “μετρήσιμο” οι διαφημιστές και οι έμποροι έχουν ρίξει εκατομμύρια στα crawlers, τα bots κι όλα αυτά τα tools που κάνουν τη “δουλειά” τους. Μόνο την Google να δεις πόσες φορές χτυπάει τις σελίδες σου καθημερινά, θα καταλάβεις γιατί αυτό το bot traffic είναι τεράστιο αλλά και απαραίτητο», λέει ο Geoff Desreumaux, Digital Marketing expert και δημιουργός του We Are Social Media, a team of experts to explain and "unlock" the secrets of social media.
The very significant increase in bot traffic on the internet in just one year (51% in 2012, 61,5% in 2013) is partly explained by the spread of online services offered. Google's anti-spam campaign has significantly reduced the number of spammers, but the threat of "malicious" bots remains. "The research rate is really impressive. Despite the fact that it is part of the internet, if things are as described then it creates a very negative impression of the medium itself. This constant trend of commercialization can "burn" the user", explains Sergios Dimitriadis, Associate Professor at the Department of Marketing and Communication of the Athens University of Economics and Business with a research project in the field of applicationof new technologies in marketing.
In the search for these "digital ghosts", the social media industry is fatally involved. The social media space has been transformed into a display contest, with the showcase becoming more relevant than the content. "False popularity, fake likes and false followers on Facebook and Twitter, or false views on YouTube pose a threat to platforms and pose a problem of trust in the tools themselves. The world is slowly becoming suspicious, and this case can turn boomerang and influence the very economy of the internet itself, "Sergius says.
From Facebook's report for the fourth quarter of 2013 we learned that the platform has 1,23 billion monthly active users, 757 million log in daily, while 945 million people use the social network every month from their smartphones and tablets . But we learned that for 2013 the percentage of fake users varies between 5,5% and 11,2%. That means fake accounts start at 67,65 million and go up to 137,76 million! But things are not better on Twitter either. According to research published in late 2013, at least 10% of users are fake. A production product - in a very large percentage - fake followers, made to "play ball" in the world of measurables data.
"False accounts did not wait for social media to appear on the internet. There were much more time back. From the first e-mail campaigns several years ago. I believe that the very existence of social media is not threatened by this phenomenon as far as the part of the users is concerned. Companies, on the other hand (and the advertisers), have done a great deal of damage to the behavior of the social media themselves, turning them into a "playground" of "more and more", "explains Geoff. "Popularity does not say anything. At one time, most believed that by itself the number of likes is enough for a company. That's where the whole industry of fake likers was based. In the course of things things have shown a tendency to change, but as far as Greece is concerned, we are still at a very early stage, "Mr. Dimitriadis adds.
The industry of false followers and likes is accessible to everyone. Enough is a Google search, and you will fall over dozens of companies that promise - but legitimate - campaigns with a plethora of price lists. 1000 followers on Twitter start at about 11 $ and go up to 40 $ if you want to get top quality accounts that are not just "eggs" but have a full profile and behavior like regular people. On Facebook, there are 5.000 Likes 260 $ 'packages' and prices and 'delivery date' change according to the target. The same is true for all social networks like YouTube, Instagram, and so on. A common denominator of the promotion of such services is to somehow ensure that our "digital admirers" do not violate the rules of the platform. But what about the real legal framework of this "digital deal"?
"The process of buying friends, likes and followers, based on Greek law, is not illegal. But deliberate popularity is unethical, "explains Antonis Brumas, a lawyer with an emphasis on the electronic communications industry and editor-in-chief of the website of legal interest, Law and Tech. "The only case that can be brought to justice is unfair competition, but it is very far-fetched. Only in this case, at least theoretically, one could establish this category. With the false popularity - theoretically - you can cause damage to the competitor, it is enough for him to prove that. But do not forget that the relationship between the user and the platform is governed by a private agreement. It is like a "state" which regulates the rules and policies of use. If you violate them, your "penalty" is deletion. But these are the rules of the economy. If you have the money, you have the strength too. "
Sergios Dimitriadis is also on the side of this extreme commercialization trend: "It is very intense everywhere, on all social media now. But let's not forget that these were set up as communication tools between people. That is why there is a tendency to flee, especially in the USA and Britain, which is based on two factors: the "market" shift of social media, and the protection of their personal data".
