In social media, talk often revolves around “influence” – it is a topic of blogs, conferences, and even startups to measure. However, later this month, this concept of influence will be under fire when robots take over Twitter to see just how much influence they have on unsuspecting Twitter accounts.
SOCIALBOTS 2011 is a competition in light of Battlebots, but instead of robots, teams will build bots that aim to affect the social behaviors of Twitter targets – 500 of them, to be exact. Sponsored by the Web Ecology Project, it is called a “blood sport for internet social science/network analysis nerds.” The social experiment yields a reward of $500 for the winning team, plus a little fame, glory and some serious bragging rights.
Registration ends January 8th, and those interested should check out the Web Ecology site to register.