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As the hype surrounding Twitter growth reaches fever pitch UK’s Geek Squad (yes, that’s a company name) has co-opted a 104yr old woman in a retirement home as part of a PR stunt….and the journo’s took the bait. TechCrunch Editor Mike Butcher unmasked the stunt after performing back breaking investigation you’d expect a first day cadet to think of doing before letting it run:

Step 1)

Look up Ivy’s Twitter page

Step 2)

Read the content and analyse the timing of 104yr old Ivy Bean’s first tweet “I’m on Twitter! Come and follow my feed at IvyBean104.” Rightly wonder what sort of 104yr old woman would feel at ease with the “follow my feed” lexicon.

Step 3)

Take a look at the Geek Squad good samaritan smirking in the back of the photo which eliminates any remaining doubts you have that the whole thing is a ruse. You conclude Geek Boy set the whole thing up and Ivy barely new she was even awake let alone that she was starting the Grey Nomad Social Media Revolution.

UK’s The Daily Telegraph and The Sun took the bait and the story shot up the Digg click paths at a respectable rate. I would bet Ivy’s pension cheque that Mike’s story doesn’t get one tenth the coverage of the original. Then I’d double down on someone pulling an even more audacious Twitter stunt before I finish this blog.

Photo – Martin Dix (Geek Squad) & Ivy Bean (104yr old “Twitter Convert”)