Cursebird: A Twitter App to Track Swearing
Now that Spring is almost here I’ve discussed WordPress spring cleaning and found a couple of spring WordPress themes.
I’ve also noticed that the birds are starting to return (the pigeons stay year round). I like birds ok but I frequently wonder what they are so happy about at 5am. At that point I feel like cursing them. And this leads us into today’s post.
If cursing or swearing offends you, then you will probably want to stop reading now. You’ve been warned.
While I swear quite a bit in real life, I try not to online. I am frequently amazed at how casually certain words are used online, especially on twitter. Tweets and almost everything done online is being indexed by search engines so I would think people would use a little more discretion. Unless, of course, swearing is part of your online persona.
Well, now we have Cursebird, which tracks and has a live stream of all swearing on Twitter. You can also search on a username and get their cursing score.
And to prove that I really don’t swear online here is my cursebird score.
You can compare this to my friend @chrissmari ’s score.
I like viewing the live stream when I am grumpy. I don’t know but something about all the silly swearing just makes me laugh.
How about you? Are you a goody-goody like me? Or are you more extreme?
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March 19, 2009 at 8:38 am
I’m a swearer in real life and in email with people I know but I try to avoid it on Facebook and other places online. Especially if its someplace where I’m using my real name. I’ll occasionally let one fly here and there but considering how easily accessible everything is I try to avoid cursing like a pornstar, enthusiastic or otherwise.
Hahaha, lame of 100.
I love the cute little swearing bird too!
Jim´s last blog post – Awareness Test
March 19, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Hi Jim – You swear? I’ve never noticed ;-)
I added the little curse symbols to the twitter bird – poor little guy.
March 19, 2009 at 8:52 am
i don’t swear either but that realtime thingy is really fun to track :)
stratosg´s last blog post – TweepMe: Good or bad?
March 19, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Hi Stratos – Never? Wow! It is fun to track some of the ridiculous things people are saying.
March 19, 2009 at 8:19 pm
no not never when tweeting i mean… you should see me when i am programming or configuring a server… that is swearing all right :D
stratosg´s last blog post – TweepMe: Good or bad?
March 20, 2009 at 9:42 am
What language do you curse it? ;-)
March 19, 2009 at 10:15 am
I think the funniest thing is that since my twitter has been locked for a couple of months that score could be a lot higher than it is.
March 19, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Hi! I was going to tell you about this article but you found it before I had a chance. I didn’t realize that your account was locked – that explains why the search results were only as recent as December.
It’s a shame because otherwise you could make 100% ;-)
March 19, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Hahaha this is funny.
I generally don’t swear, online or offline. So I guess I’m just as lame as you are. :)
Vered – MomGrind´s last blog post – Lipo Dissolve Nightmare: A Cosmetic Procedure Gone Wrong
March 19, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Hi Vered – LOL – I guess it depends on how we define lame ;-)
March 19, 2009 at 1:17 pm
This is super funny app :P I guess, I should myself attach one of those curse cuckoos though I do not swear that often.
Some of these twitter apps, plugins have really funny names…like Quitter and now this one.
Ajith Edassery´s last blog post – Characteristics of a Super Friendly Blog!
March 19, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Hi Ajith – It is pretty funny. Sometimes I think the developers make apps like this just to practice using the API.
March 19, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I am lame of 100, too! I feel so bonded to you!
I do sometimes curse online, but mostly in my blog or on my forums, for effect. One of my forums is named “OFFS” because I found myself saying that all the time while reading the rest of the forum.
Tracy´s last blog post – You can’t touch this
March 19, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Hi Tracy – Took me about a minute to figure out what OFFS was – that’s a good one. I used to work with someone who would say “Oh PFO” , which always made me laugh. He also used PITA a lot too.
March 19, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I swear every now and then in real life (especially when I bang up my knee!) but rarely do it online and definitely not on my blog.
Score: Lame of 100 :D
Carla´s last blog post – Eco Fashion: The Cost of Eco Fashion
March 19, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Hi Carla – I swear an awful lot in real life but only around certain people – like Jim. I try not to around my daughter … she has started saying our cat is pissy. Cracks me up – especially because I NEVER use that word.
March 19, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Hilarious! =) Fun app!
March 19, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Hi – Glad you enjoyed it.
March 19, 2009 at 6:20 pm
oh yes, i’ve seen this – someone tweeted it and of course, even though i know i don’t swear, i tried out the service anyway.
okay sometimes only a curse word will do, but i am turned off by people who do in, especially a lot. why it hurts my ears, i don’t know. just does.
March 19, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Hi Natural – I’ve tried putting different usernames in it to see what the rating is – a lot of the are funny. It really depends on the context and where you are – even though I swear I don’t appreciate the people swearing loudly on the subway.
March 19, 2009 at 7:14 pm
We are equals in the sense that I curse a lot more in real life (especially when driving), but I’m a curse mute on Twitter. :)
~ Kristi
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March 19, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Hi Kristi – I don’t drive but cars inspire me to curse even when walking ;-)
March 19, 2009 at 11:56 pm
Like you I swear a lot in real life but not online–just don’t want the evidence out there digitally.
Tracey Holinka´s last blog post – What Story Does That Web Presence Tell?
March 20, 2009 at 9:44 am
Hi Tracey – I think while it has become a verbal habit for me it has not become a written one. And all my communication online is written.
March 20, 2009 at 4:52 am
Because I don’t swear on Twitter I’m a lame mute, apparently. Which if you think about it is not very flattering!
I don’t swear much anywhere, but have no problem if others do. Even on Twitter. I’m just amazed at what Twitter applications are out there! What will they think of next?
March 20, 2009 at 9:44 am
Hi Ian – No, it isn’t flattering at all. I supposed I wouldn’t want to be an enthusiastic porn star either. ;-)
March 20, 2009 at 7:21 am
Don’t swear at all, unless completely passionate about the subject I’m taking about. No … I’ll take the word passionate back and replace it with angry. Good post for discussion.
Phil´s last blog post – "What a phoney"
March 20, 2009 at 9:45 am
Hi Phil – Most people I know in real life do. My brother doesn’t, however, but he makes up ones. His “son of a biscuit eater” always cracks me up.
March 21, 2009 at 3:16 pm
LOL!! nice little service! I have one curse word it seems. My bad!
Raju´s last blog post – FREE Download of New iPhone 3.0 Beta Firmware
March 22, 2009 at 7:59 am
Hi Raju – I think one is acceptable ;-)
March 24, 2009 at 5:02 am
Lol this is really funny.. I mean the comments that the Cursebird makes.
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March 24, 2009 at 8:58 am
Hi Ben – It’s a funny app for someone to develop. Another friend of mine scored 100%! She said her Mom would be so proud ;-)
March 29, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I think people need to be less careless about anything they say online, including swearing. Basically, if you don’t want it to bite you later, be proactive in what you put out there. Would you swear during the typical job interview?
Just my thoughts. You’ll be held accountable for anything you put online.
tim´s last blog post – Grand Central Resurrects As Google Voice – An Exclusive Review By Timmyjohnboy
March 29, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Hi Tim – That’s a good point. It will be indexed forever.
I don’t think I’ve ever cursed during a job interview ;-)
April 10, 2009 at 12:37 am
I believe I would get a score of 0 but one never knows for sure and the most interesting thing to me is that i don’t know how to look this up or figure it out….such an Lame IT person too!
Still having fun
Patricia´s last blog post – Book Review: Everything Bad is Good For You ~ Steven Johnson
April 10, 2009 at 9:39 am
Hi Patricia – I checked for you. You scored 0 – same score as me :-)