Faults and Defaults: How Twitter’s Settings Tripped Up Weiner

Veteran tech journalist Steven Levy has a useful backgrounder up on Wired.com on how Twitter’s default settings for following and messaging other users tripped up congressman Anthony Weiner. Levy’s key point: requiring you to follow other people–a public act–before you can direct message them privately meant that Weiner’s penchant for flirting/sexting with some of his female followers was at least partially public. Weiner, of course, could have made his Twitter account private, but then that would have prevented him from converting his public fame into private games. One assumes that opposition researchers across the political spectrum have taken note, and will be zealously tracking whom politicians follow.