<P> A Twitterbot is a type of bot software that controls a Twitter account via the Twitter API . The bot software may autonomously perform actions such as tweeting, retweeting, liking, following, unfollowing, or direct messaging other accounts . The automation of Twitter accounts is governed by a set of automation rules that outline proper and improper uses of automation . Proper usage includes broadcasting helpful information, automatically generating interesting or creative content, and automatically replying to users via direct message . Improper usage includes circumventing API rate limits, violating user privacy, or spamming . </P> <P> It is sometimes desirable to identify when a Twitter account is controlled by a bot . In a 2012 paper, Chu et al. propose the following criteria that indicate that an account may be a bot (they were designing an automated system): </P>

What is the point of a twitter bot