The Horse is a Lie: 'horse_ebooks' Twitter spam is performance art

Twitter is quite the medium. An endless source of looping GIFs, "viral" videos, and, sadly, bad advertising. Most of the latter category is quickly dismissed by the block and report spam features of Twitter, but the occasional spambot elevates its "craft" to a level of surreal bliss which begs attention. "horse_ebooks" is perhaps Twitter's best example of that phenomenon, offering indecipherable (and delightful) missives that are heavily retweeted and always nonsensical. "How to get the best bargains in satellite," for instance. Sadly, it looks like we've all been had. What many (ourselves included) thought to be an accidentally hilarious spam account for a low-rent eBook publishing firm is actually a long-running art installation by Jacon Bakkila (a 29-year-old Buzzfeed employee). Bakkila outed the ruse this morning in an exhibit at New York City's FitzRoy Gallery named "Horse_ebooks 2," where Bakkila himself and two friends are answering phones all day (from 10AM to 9PM ET) and giving users a verbal taste of the content you'd normally read on...well, the horse_ebooks Twitter account (the phone number is 213-444-0102 if you'd like to call). It's unclear if the account will continue from here. It sounds like a no, though, as Bakkila tells The New York Times that, "The goal was not to appropriate the account but to become the account," referencing the account's previous Russian owner and its original use (to sell eBooks). Gawker's got a walkthrough of the art gallery... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2013-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #giving users #phone number #sell ebooks

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NBCU Courts Smaller, Performance-Focused Advertisers at One23 Ad-Tech Event

NBCUniversal is launching Peacock Ad Manager to all advertisers in 2023 in an effort to court small businesses and performance marketers, the publisher announced today at One23, its ad-tech-focused showcase for advertisers. "We're really democratizing access to television for performance... Continue reading at AdWeek

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Tinuiti’s Q4 digital ads report shows soft pricing but promise for performance channels

Tinuiti's analysis of fourth-quarter activity shows most corners of the digital media landscape saw less than stellar financial results. Continue reading at Digiday

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Twitter is reportedly struggling to break even as advertisers continue to flee

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Nothing is Real: Craig Brown on the Slippery Art of Biography

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[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-08 15:07:39 UTC ]
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After Further Revue, Twitter to Shut Down Newsletter Publishing Platform Jan. 18

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The Morning After: Apple has ‘fully resumed’ advertising on Twitter, according to Elon Musk

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Engadget Podcast: Kindle Scribe review and the rise of Twitter clones

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Hands on with Microsoft Designer, an AI art masterpiece

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Elon Musk never cared if Twitter was a business failure – he wants a political win | Richard Seymour

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What happens to Substack if Elon Musk ruins Twitter?

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The Guardian view on Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover: the unfulfilled promises pile up | Editorial

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The Art of the Hand-Sell: 31 Spooky, Eerie, and Uncanny Books for Halloween

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Biden Reestablishes President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

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These Books have an Edgy Secret: A History and Gallery of Fore-Edge Painting and Art

From 1600s British literature to Sarah J. Maas books on TikTok, fore-edge painting is an enduring art form that adds even more magic to books. Continue reading at Book Riot

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NPD BookScan: US Print Book Market Shows a ‘Strong August Performance’

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