Twitter

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Twitter Leapfrogs Over Facebook and Bans Political Ads

Andrew Orr ·

I’m actually impressed with Twitter’s move. A corporation is willingly giving up the money it would make from political ads (Although it’s easy for them since these ads were a “small fraction of Twitter’s revenue). Still, kudos.

[Twitter CEO Jack] Dorsey touched on the conflict between hosting paid political ads and trying to fight the spread of misinformation.

“For instance, it‘s not credible for us to say: ‘We’re working hard to stop people from gaming our systems to spread misleading info, buuut if someone pays us to target and force people to see their political ad…well…they can say whatever they want!'” Dorsey tweeted.

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#BoycottApple Trends on Twitter After Company's Recent Moves

Andrew Orr ·

The hashtag #BoycottApple is trending on Twitter after Apple removed the HKMap and Quartz apps from the App Store at the behest of China.

Just after Apple removed the apps, #BoycottApple has been trending on all the social media platforms with users voicing their discontent with Apple’s move. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Apple has been under fire for pulling something like this. Back in 2017, the company pulled The New York Times app from the App Store stating that the Chinese government had requested the app’s removal because it was “in violation of local regulations.”

Phil Schiller: “Courage.”

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Oops! Twitter Accidentally Used Your Phone Number for Ads

Andrew Orr ·

Twitter admitted yesterday that it “unintentionally” used some email addresses and phone numbers for advertising purposes. These phone numbers were specifically used to keep your account safe with two-factor authentication.

We recently discovered that when you provided an email address or phone number for safety or security purposes (for example, two-factor authentication) this data may have inadvertently been used for advertising purposes, specifically in our Tailored Audiences and Partner Audiences advertising system.

This is exactly why SMS-based two-factor authentication needs to go away. SMS is inherently insecure, as the FBI recently noted. Funnily enough, I recently removed my phone number from Twitter, although it’s probably too late.

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The (In)Security Behind Trump's Twitter Account

Andrew Orr ·

According to an investigation of President Trump’s Twitter security, his account might be vulnerable to being hacked, although some disagree.

The source who shared information about Trump’s Twitter security said they don’t believe the account will be hacked, but that the risk should be kept in perspective. “Remember we are talking about access to a Twitter account, not access to the nuclear launch codes,” they said. “While the optics would be bad if the account were ever hacked, it would not be a national crisis.”

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Apple Brings Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in for Employee Talk

Bryan Chaffin ·

Apple brought Twitter cofounder and current CEO Jack Dorsey in for a talk with some Apple employees. We don’t yet know specifically what he talked about, but I thought it was an interesting development. We do know that he was speaking to folks in Phil Schiller’s marketing team, according to Bloomberg.

While the address itself didn’t point to a new partnership between Dorsey’s companies and Apple, it was indicative of their bond and existing collaboration. Apple promoted Twitter as an iOS app coming to the Mac this fall, and the social media service is deeply integrated into both the iPhone and iPad. Apple was also among the first retailers to sell Square’s now-common credit-card reader.

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Twitter Web Redesign Rolls Out For All Users

Andrew Orr ·

A Twitter web redesign is rolling out for all users, simplifying navigation, a sidebar, profile switching, and more.

The update is designed to make it easier to move around Twitter. Before, you’d have to click on your Profile icon to access features like Lists, Themes, Settings, and other options. Meanwhile, getting to Moments was available both in this Profile dropdown menu and in the main Twitter navigation at the top of the screen, next to Notifications and Messages.

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Twitter Bans Dehumanizing Language Targeting Religion

Andrew Orr ·

Twitter is banning dehumanizing language aimed at religious groups. Users can no longer compare these groups to animals or other analogies.

Notably, though, the new rules do not address other groups that may be targeted by this type of hate speech. The company says it plans to eventually expand the policy to cover dehumanizing language that singles out others based on their race, gender, or sexual orientation, though it’s not clear how long that might take.

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Twitter Starts Flagging Tweets From World Leaders That Break its Rules

Andrew Orr ·

In a blog post today, Twitter said it would start labeling tweets from Donald Trump government officials that break its rules against bullying and abusive behavior.

A critical function of our service is providing a place where people can openly and publicly respond to their leaders and hold them accountable.With this in mind, there are certain cases where it may be in the public’s interest to have access to certain Tweets, even if they would otherwise be in violation of our rules.

On the rare occasions when this happens, we’ll place a notice – a screen you have to click or tap through before you see the Tweet – to provide additional context and clarity. We’ll also take steps to make sure the Tweet is not algorithmically elevated on our service.

Twitterific 6 With Full Images, GIPHY Integration, and a Subscription
Cool Stuff Found

Twitterific 6 With Full Images, GIPHY Integration, and a Subscription

Andrew Orr ·

Twitterrific 6 brings a lot of great features and improvements. You can disable video and GIF autoplaying, or choose to have them silently autoplay. With the new integration with GIPHY, you can find just the right GIF, and refine your search with filters like Reactions, Memes, and Swear Trek. Twitter’s new quoted tweets with media is supported by Twitterrific 6. Add media to a quoted tweet, and it will display both in your timeline. A new attachment preview lets you view media and add descriptions. There are three new icons: Crow, Dove, and Neon, five new themes: Dove, Akikiki, Puffin, Falcon, and Parakeet, 12 new “Olliemoji” stickers in the iMessage sticker pack, support for the San Francisco Compact Rounded Font, a High Contrast Text option, and more. App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)

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Jack Dorsey Will Talk to President Trump About Twitter

Andrew Orr ·

Jack Dorsey and other Twitter executives will have a 30 minute meeting with President Trump about “The health of the public conversation on Twitter.”

“As you know, I believe that conversation, not silence, bridges gaps and drives towards solutions,” Dorsey wrote. “I have met with every world leader who has extended an invitation to me, and I believe the discussions have been productive, and the outcomes meaningful.”

Jack: “Mr. President, please stop threatening people on Twitter.”

Jumbo Privacy Assistant Can Manage Your Social Media
Cool Stuff Found

Jumbo Privacy Assistant Can Manage Your Social Media

Andrew Orr ·

Jumbo is a privacy assistant that can manage your social media. It can delete your old tweets, manage your Facebook privacy settings, delete your Google search history, and delete your Alexa voice recordings. Jumbo has no servers, so your data doesn’t leave your iPhone. When it comes to deleting tweets, there are several options to choose from, like tweets from the past day, week, month, and year. Due to Twitter’s API limitations, Jumbo can only clean 3,200 tweets at a time. Instagram and Tinder are coming soon to the app, so you can clean your Instagram photos and videos, and delete Tinder matches and messages. Personally, I also hope support for deleting Reddit posts and comments will come in the future. App Store: Free

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True Twitter Dark Mode Will Roll Out on iOS Today

Andrew Orr ·

Good news, fellow lovers of dark mode! True Twitter dark mode is rolling out today, called Lights Out.

If you still like the blue-and-gray dark mode better, which is now dubbed Dim, don’t worry because it’s not going anywhere. You’ll still be able to use it in the app, in case you want to use it over the black-and-white one. With Lights Out, Twitter says that the color palette emits no lights on your smartphone since the pixels are turned off, which could potentially help save battery life — along with helping reduce eye strain, naturally.

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In The Future You Could 'Clarify' Tweets (But Still Not Edit)

Andrew Orr ·

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced the company is considering adding a feature that would let you explain tweets by adding new or additional context (via Mashable). [Touch Twitter’s Sparkle and Something Wonderful Will Happen] Clarification This sounds like Twitter is considering clarification instead of editing. So while you won’t be able to correct that typo,…

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Twitter will Livestream NBA Games, but Just Focus on One Player

Charlotte Henry ·

Twitter might just have found a great way to get into streaming major live sports. The social network struck a deal to livestream the second half of a number of NBA games, with its camera focussing on just one player, Re/Code reported. During the first half, users can vote for who they want that camera to focus on via the @NBAonTNT account. The deal covers 20 games, including at least one playoff game, beginning with the All-Star Game on February 18th.

The deal, which is clearly an experiment, reflects the quandary facing TV executives today: As more and more people stop paying for traditional TV, professional sports leagues and their broadcast partners are trying to figure out how to translate great TV content, like live sports, to places that aren’t television, like Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and Google.

I watch a lot of sports. Often I have Twitter running at the same time and chat online about what’s happening in the game. I think Twitter might just have come up with a really good way to capitalize on the second screen phenomenon.

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