The Tweekender: The lifespan of a Twitter parody account

With hundreds of millions of tweets per day, it’s impossible to follow everything happening on Twitter. Every Friday, the Daily Dot rounds up notable Twitter news and stories from the past week—in 140 characters or less.

• Twitter is hoping to continue growing in Europe, especially in Germany.
• The company’s cool with you putting ads on your profile background.
• Speaking of ads, the CW network placed a live Twitter feed on a screen inside issues of Entertainment Weekly.
• Embedded advertising surveys are coming to Twitter.
• Mitt Romney debate parody @FiredBigBird was created, suspended, and reborn in a day.
• Here’s a fascinating piece on what the “tweets per minute” metric actually means, and whether it’s accurately reflective of the Twitter hivemind.
• A Manhattan district attorney shared insight on the challenges of law enforcement when it comes to Twitter and Facebook.
• Here’s how one professor is using Twitter as an education tool.
• Twitter’s becoming “a thing” in corporate Canada.
• Lady Gaga became the first person to hit 30 million followers Friday.
• Lolo Jones made concussion jokes to a paralyzed former football player after he challenged her to a race. (She didn’t know of his condition.)
• How long do specific satire and reactionary parody accounts last?
• Gizmodo pointed out just how weird and wonderful the U.S. Air Force’s account is.
• The Data Necklace is pitched as a visualization of your data, and can include laser etchings of your tweets. I don’t get it.
• Soccer star Ashley Cole had some choice words after his defense of Chelsea teammate John Terry in a racism case was criticized.
• A volunteer was barred from handling the Buncombe County Republican Party Twitter account after saying President Obama sounded “white.”

The week’s best new accounts: One of the world’s best soccer players, Steven Gerrard, joined to discuss his foundation for kids. Old-school wrestler Gerald Brisco is trying to figure Twitter out.

Photo of the week: Before confirming her status as the theme song singer of new Bond movie Skyfall, Adele teased fans by tweeting a photo of the sheet music. (@OfficialAdele)