The mountain-sized mystery of those parody Twitter accounts

© Otto du Plessis – 123RF.com

Following the fire outbreak on Signal Hill this week, I noticed the typical tweets you'd expect, where onlookers added photos and opinion, but this time around there was something new:

Signal Hill, you alright bro? #signalhill

- Helderberg Mountain (@MountHelderberg) November 19, 2014

Big thanks to @TableMountainNP, @vwsfires, @cptfrs and everyone involved for keeping me safe last night. No legs, cant run. #SignalHillFire

- Signal Hill Noon Gun (@Signal_Hill_Gun) November 19, 2014

So it seems the 'Internet of Things' is transforming more than just household objects - the whole world is on Twitter, and you can literally reach anyone or thing across the globe.

Me gazing lovingly at one of the mountains in my life, Lion's Head. Sadly, it doesn't follow me on Twitter

Whether or not the 'wonder of nature' tweeters respond is another story though, as my requests for follows so that I could converse offline with the parties responsible for the Lion's Head and the Noon Day Gun Twitter accounts went unanswered.

@AthloneTowers and @HelderbergMountain, on the other hand, were super quick to respond with follows and direct messages...

Striking gold with the Athlone Towers and Helderberg Mountain Twitter accounts... not so much

I had the most luck with the Athlone Towers account, when a query into who was behind the account answered with: "I'm a blogger, I ran the devils peak account but changed the account to something else now."

So that's why the Devil's Peak account's no longer active. But my hopes were dashed against the rocks, so to speak, when a query into his/her true identity was only met with "No, my real identity may not be revealed."

And the Helderberg Mountain? Well, the ghost writer - make that ghost tweeter - behind the account said: "I don't know about the others, but I don't have a strategy at all... Definitely not going to reveal my identity! I'm just a fan who lives close to the Helderberg and thought our mountain could join discussions with the other mountains."

Seems we've hit a metaphorical brick wall then. I'm sure we'll unearth the genius(es?) behind these accounts sooner or later, as they continue to add spot on, timely tweets that make us giggle and click that 'favourite' button - I know I certainly will if they continue to spark a 'twar' for my online attention, like this...

@AthloneTowers i saw her first! @Leigh_Andrews #getusaroom

- Helderberg Mountain (@MountHelderberg) November 19, 2014