> as there were a number of "following nobody, and nobody follows" accounts
This is actually very common. Twitter recently took down a large number of bots and published a paper about their classification. One of the attributes of a Twitter bot account is it's reputation. By remaining idle, it can establish a reputation within Twitter's spam detection system, becoming more valuable when sold.
This is actually very common. Twitter recently took down a large number of bots and published a paper about their classification. One of the attributes of a Twitter bot account is it's reputation. By remaining idle, it can establish a reputation within Twitter's spam detection system, becoming more valuable when sold.
Edit: HUZZAH! After Googling like crazy, I found the paper: http://www.imchris.org/research/thomas_sec13.pdf