Twitter

social
March 21, 2012
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Twitter turns six; 140 million active users, 340 million tweets per day

By on March 21, 2012 at 4:55 PM.

Twitter turns six; 140 million active users, 340 million tweets per day

Exactly six years ago Wednesday, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey published the first post on his new service Twttr. “Just setting up my twttr,” Dorsey wrote in his brief note. No one knew at the time, but his tweet was the first of trillions of messages that would be posted to the social networking service over the coming six years. Twitter has seen more than 532 million accounts registered in its six years, and the service is used around the world by people in all walks of life. While some still view Twitter as a wasteland packed with irrelevant minutiae, the service is also used by tens of millions of people and organizations as a means of communication and promotion. Twitter has even played an integral role for groups looking to organize in protest against oppressive regimes. Twitter announced on its blog Wednesday that the service is now home to more than 140 million active users who post an average of 340 million tweets per day. As of about a year ago, four months after Twitter celebrated its fifth birthday, the company confirmed that it was delivering an average of 350 million tweets each day.

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social
February 6, 2012
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Facebook and Twitter are more addictive than cigarettes or alcohol, study finds

By on February 6, 2012 at 11:30 AM.

Facebook and Twitter are more addictive than cigarettes or alcohol, study finds

A new study suggests that social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter are more difficult to resist than cigarettes or alcohol. A team from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business recently conducted an experiment involving 205 people in Wurtzburg, Germany to analyze the addictive properties of social media and other vices. Participants in the week-long study were polled via BlackBerry smartphones seven times per day and asked to report when they experienced a desire within the past 30 minutes, and whether or not the succumbed to that desire. They were also asked to gauge each desire on a scale from mild to “irresistible.” More →

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social
January 30, 2012
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President Obama to host a Google+ hangout Monday at 5:30PM

By on January 30, 2012 at 2:45 PM.

President Obama to host a Google+ hangout Monday at 5:30PM

President Obama will be hosting his first Google+ hangout tonight at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. In the discussion, the president will be answering questions that were submitted over the past few weeks through YouTube. Google maintains that the White House has had no role in which questions will be selected. Google’s team will instead choose the top-rated questions among those submitted, ensuring there will be several different issues discussed. The event will take place in the Roosevelt Room of the White House and is scheduled to last 45 minutes. The hangout will also be streamed on the White House’s web site, and reporters and press cameras not permitted inside during the event. Obama has previously hosted town hall meetings on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, all of which received harsh criticism and claims that the President ignored subjects that drew the most questions. More →

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social
January 27, 2012
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Twitter announces ability to censor content by region

By on January 27, 2012 at 4:00 PM.

Twitter announces ability to censor content by region

Twitter announced recently that it now has the ability to, and will begin to, censor content on the social network by country. “As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression,” the company said in a blog post Thursday. “Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there.” Twitter gave France and Germany as examples, two countries that ban pro-Nazi rhetoric from being posted on the Internet. Previously, Twitter would have had to delete specific content worldwide in order to prevent it from being visible, but it can now remove content on a country-by-country basis. Read on for more. More →

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General
January 24, 2012
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Twitter looks to squash spam and malicious links with new acquisition

By on January 24, 2012 at 6:35 PM.

Twitter looks to squash spam and malicious links with new acquisition

Twitter finally appears to be preparing a new wave of attacks on the malicious spammers that have overrun the popular social network during the past year. Web security firm Dasient on Monday announced that it has been acquired by Twitter. ”Since its inception, Dasient has been focused on solving web-scale security problems involving malware and other types of online abuse,” the firm noted in a blog post. “In 2009, Dasient launched its web anti-malware platform, capable of scanning URLs and websites for the presence of harmful content. In 2010, Dasient launched the industry’s first anti-malvertising service to protect ad networks and publishers from the scourge of malicious ads. Over the last year, we have been very active in securing the ads and content of the some of the industry’s largest ad networks and web sites.” The firm is seen as playing a large role in securing new self-service advertising efforts Twitter is preparing to roll out in the near future. A secondary benefit to end users, however, is that the link-spam currently plaguing members of the social network may be quelled as part of Twitter’s efforts with Dasient technology. More →

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mobile
December 8, 2011
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Twitter revamps mobile, web apps

By on December 8, 2011 at 7:00 PM.

Twitter revamps mobile, web apps

Twitter on Thursday announced a complete redesign of its twitter.com homepage and its iOS and Android applications. “It’s now easier and faster to see the information that matters most to you,” Twitter explained. “Immediately access your favorite features from the left-hand side. Photos, videos and conversations are embedded directly in Tweets so you can see the whole story at a glance. And now everything in Home will appear consistently across computers, iPhones, and Android mobile phones.” We found that Twitter’s homepage has been tweaked ever so slightly: information about your profile, trending topics and “who to follow” has been moved to the left side of the page and the timeline is now on the right. It’s clean, though, and easy to use as always. The iOS application seems more limited than before, and it takes more digging to get to what we want. We’re sticking with Tweetbot on iOS for now since it offers a much more robust feature set. More →

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Computers
September 27, 2011
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Windows 8 to give iPad and Android tablets a run for their money [infographic]

By on September 27, 2011 at 10:45 AM.

Windows 8 to give iPad and Android tablets a run for their money [infographic]

Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system is poised to give Apple’s iPad and Android-powered tablets some tough competition according to social chatter following Microsoft’s public unveiling of the OS earlier this month. Social media listening firm Mashwork analyzed Twitter conversations between June 15th and September 22nd of this year, and found that opinions of Microsoft’s next-generation operating system are overwhelmingly positive at this early stage. Read on for more. More →

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Software
September 16, 2011
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Microsoft shows off Windows 8 Metro apps on video

By on September 16, 2011 at 4:30 PM.

Microsoft shows off Windows 8 Metro apps on video

We’ve already seen an 11-minute walk-through video comparing a new Windows 8 beta tablet to an iPad 2 running iOS 5, but there are plenty of features Microsoft is cooking up that didn’t make it into the beta release of the OS. In a new video, Microsoft highlights a handful of currently unavailable applications that make use of the oft-praised Metro user interface Windows 8 borrowed from the Windows Phone platform. In the video, Microsoft shows off several apps including Mail, Calendar, People, Messaging and Photos, which features seamless Facebook and Flickr integration. The People application also features Facebook integration, pulling Facebook friends and address book contacts into a single stream. Microsoft’s full demo video follows below. More →

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General
August 23, 2011
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Facebook fighting Twitter, Google with acquisitions

By on August 23, 2011 at 11:40 PM.

Facebook fighting Twitter, Google with acquisitions

Facebook is expecting to acquire a total of 20 new companies in 2011 in an effort to better compete with Twitter and Google, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The social network purchased 10 new companies last year and just one in 2009, but has already acquired 13 various firms this year. Most recently, Facebook purchased the group-messaging service Beluga, which was created by several former Google employees, and re-released it as the “Facebook Messenger” product for the iPhone and Android smartphones. In an interview with Bloomberg, Facebook’s director of corporate development Vaughan Smith explained the strategy behind Facebook’s acquisitions. “Two years ago we didn’t have a track record in acquisitions,” Smith said. “While we expected them to work well, it was still a crapshoot how they’d turn out. We’ve built a culture that supports entrepreneurs, and it’s working incredibly well.” Facebook other big purchases this year include Snaptu, design firm Sofa and Push Pop Press. More →

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mobile
August 9, 2011
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British Parliament member calls for BBM suspension following London riots

By on August 9, 2011 at 4:15 PM.

British Parliament member calls for BBM suspension following London riots

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has agreed to work with London authorities as they begin their investigation into recent riots. According to some Londoners, rioters were using RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger service, along with social networks such as Twitter, to organize the attacks. “It is clear that technology is being used, including in demonstrations, to direct people and undermine the police,” London’s deputy assistant commissioner Stephen Kavanagh told Bloomberg. “It is not for us to to moan about this, but to adapt policing style and deal with it.” RIM typically prides itself on the security of its BBM service and has denied access to governments worried the chat platform could be used for planning terrorist attacks. “We feel for those impacted by the riots in London,” RIM wrote in a recent tweet. “We have engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can.” Read on for more. More →

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mobile
July 20, 2011
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Microsoft shows off Windows Phone Mango People Hub [video]

By on July 20, 2011 at 9:32 PM.

Microsoft shows off Windows Phone Mango People Hub [video]

Microsoft has released a new video that shows off several of the People Hub enhancements in Windows Phone Mango. The video walks viewers through a new notification Live Tile system for contacts that can be pinned to the homescreen. After a contact has been pinned, the Live Tile will quickly alert you of a new email, message, Twitter or Facebook status, missed calls, and more. If you tap into the card, Windows Phone Mango will show you an entire history of the conversations you’ve had with that person. We’re loving what we see so far and can’t wait for the release. A recent leak has suggested we can expect it, along with new devices, in September. Hit the jump for the video. More →

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General
July 16, 2011
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Microsoft spills beans on new ‘Tulalip’ social network

By on July 16, 2011 at 2:00 AM.

Microsoft spills beans on new ‘Tulalip’ social network

Microsoft accidentally spilled the beans on a new social network it has been working on called “Tulalip.” According to VentureBeat, a splash page for the the social network appeared shortly on Socl.com on Thursday before it was immediately taken down. In an effort to conceal its mistake, Microsoft issued a statement. “Thanks for stopping by. Socl.com is an internal design project from a team in Microsoft Research which was mistakenly published to the web. We didn’t mean to, honest,” Microsoft said. It’s unclear if Tulalip is a legitimate social network or if it really is just an “internal design project,” but given the similarities between Tulalip’s user interface and the tiles found in Windows 8 and Windows Phone, it would certainly be a nice fit. More →

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