Hackers take over HBO's social media accounts and publish '4th Wave HBO Leak'
The nightmare continues for HBO. After suffering a hack and then leaks of various shows including Game of Thrones, hackers have now struck at the network's social media accounts. The hacking group OurMine took control of the main HBO Twitter accounts, as well as those for various shows, including Game of Thrones.
OurMine is no newcomer to the scene -- the group has previously hacked Mark Zuckerberg and Netflix's Twitter accounts. Separately to this, what has been dubbed the "4th Wave HBO Leak" has been made available online. This time the data dumps include content relating to Game of Thrones season 7, and Westworld season 2.
Facebook announces new birthday features -- fundraisers and celebratory videos
Facebook has been busy rolling out a batch of new features and even a new look in the last few days. Today the social network is taking the wraps off two more new features, both with a birthday theme.
The one that's likely to be used the most is are new personalized videos which are essentially the photo-slideshows-as-a-video we have become used to from Facebook. The second new feature is the option to "donate" one's birthday, raising money for a particular cause by calling on friends for donations.
HBO leaks Game of Thrones S07E06, Beyond the Wall
Season seven of Game of Thrones has been an absolute disaster for HBO. We have seen leaks and spoilers from both hackers and HBO's distributors, but now episode six of the season has leaked and HBO has no one to blame but itself.
HBO Spain accidentally made the episode available to subscribers for a full hour before pulling it. Of course, this hour gave people plenty of time to capture the show, and spoilers are now being shared online. On Reddit, talk of download links has been pushed to PMs as moderators are only too aware that HBO will be monitoring what's going on in light of the inadvertent leak.
Facebook News Feed undergoes a redesign to improve readability and navigation
Facebook is rolling out a fairly significant redesign, giving the News Feed a cleaner look, and borrowing ideas from Twitter. The social network says that the changes improve readability and navigation, and they affect various areas.
The redesign is far from insignificant, but perhaps the most instantly noticeable changes are the dropping of blue accents, and the switch to Twitter-style round images. There are, however, more changes to explore.
Facebook expands Marketplace across Europe
Looking to compete with the likes of eBay and Craigslist, Facebook's Marketplace serves as a place for people to go to buy and sell locally. Following on from success in the US, UK, Australia and other countries, the social network is expanding the exchange further into Europe.
In total, Facebook's Marketplace is spreading to 17 European countries, meaning that it is now available in a total of 24 countries.
Facebook launches Watch, a new platform for original shows
Facebook has launched its new Watch platform which will be used to show original video content. The social networking giant says that the time has come for a dedicated home for episodes of shows, and Watch will feature both live and recorded video.
Facebook will be working with a number of partners to come up with content for Watch, and advertising revenue will be shared 55:45, with Facebook keeping the smaller share. Of course, the video output has a social element to it, with Facebook encouraging viewers to make use of Reactions, and also highlighting shows that are being watched by people you are connected to on the social network.
Facebook clamps down on address cloaking to protect users from spam and porn
Facebook has introduced a ban on address cloaking, a technique used to bypass review procedures and display content that violates the social network's policies.
Cloaking is used to disguise the true nature of posts and ads from reviewers, so they will see different contents to real-world users when they click through. Facebook says that it will be working with other companies to find ways to fight cloaking and implement punishments. AI will be called upon to do some of the legwork.
Brand influence of Snapchat declines while Instagram increases
Marketers are keen to take advantage of the latest social channels to boost their profiles, but it can be a bit of a lottery for brands to know which have the most influence on customers.
A new study by marketing platform Snaplytics has analyzed over 800 influencers in depth over the last quarter, to identify how many updates contain brand mentions, which brands are being mentioned and who mentions them on what platform.
Apple joins Instagram to boast about iPhone photography
Smartphones have forever changed the photography market. While a standalone camera, such as a DSLR, may take a better photo, they can be a chore to carry and maintain. Not to mention, they can be very expensive. For many non-professional photographers, their phone is more than good enough. Heck, some people claim an iPhone, for example, can rival dedicated cameras.
Apple seems keen to brag about how good its iPhone is at photography -- there are countless TV commercials produced by the company that highlight that exact thing. Apple is also taking its bragging a bit further by way of social media. After increasing its activity on Twitter lately, the company has now joined Instagram too. Under the @Apple handle, the MacBook-maker is not sharing photos of its products, but instead, photos taken with them.
Report: Free Basics by Facebook is creepy, limited, and violates net neutrality
It's been a little while since we heard anything about Free Basics by Facebook -- the successor to its Internet.org project which aims to provide access to a number of online services, free of charge, in developing countries (63 in total) -- but a new report slams the service.
On the face of it, this is a good thing, but Free Basics from Facebook has certainly not been without its controversies: the service was banned in India and Egypt, for example. Now a report from Global Voices -- a "global anti-censorship network of bloggers and activists dedicated to protecting freedom of expression online" -- has published a damning report about the service.
Twitter looks to boost profits with $99 per month automatic tweet promotion beta
When Twitter revealed its Q2 earnings yesterday the figures weren't quite as bright as people would have hoped. With growth stalling, the company is seeking new ways to bring in money, and its latest idea is a tweet promotion service for a fixed monthly fee.
Twitter is testing a new ad program which automatically promotes tweets and profiles for $99 per month. The program is currently in private beta, but it could be rolled out to a wider audience at any stage.
LinkedIn Website Demographics lets website owners track the type of visitors coming to their sites
The tracking capabilities of social media sites has long been a cause for concern, with Facebook being the most notable example. Now the Microsoft-owned professional social network LinkedIn has announced details of a new tracking feature that will be of interest to website owners.
LinkedIn Website Demographics does not (despite what some reports might suggest, #PrivacyKlaxon) allow for the tracking of individual users, but it does give website owners the chance to get a better idea of the demographics of their visitors. This is less about creating targeted content, and more about determining whether existing content is attracting the right audience -- although clearly one leads to the other.
Europe says Facebook, Twitter and Google need to improve user terms or face fines
Facebook, Twitter and Google have failed to impress EU authorities with their proposed revisions to user terms. The three companies have been under pressure to amend their terms to bring them in line with European law.
The European Commission and consumer protection authorities wrote to the tech giants last month, giving them until July 20th to submit proposals about their respective social networks. The companies have until September to implement changes that satisfy Europe, or fines could be handed out.
Facebook acquires Source3 to help prevent video piracy because its own tools aren't up to the job
Any online platform must contend with the problem of piracy and intellectual property rights, and Facebook is no different. The social network gives content owners the opportunity to monetize their videos, but in order for this to work, owners' rights need to be protected; this is why Facebook introduced its Rights Manager tool a couple of years ago.
But it seems that Facebook's own weapons in the fight against piracy and content theft have not been as effective as the company -- and content owners -- would have hoped. As such Facebook is taking Source3 under its wing. The startup develops tools for tracking intellectual property to allow for the monitoring of unauthorized sharing.
Amazon Spark is a shopping social network for iOS
Over the years Amazon has spread its wings in various directions, and the latest venture sees the online shopping giant dipping its toe into the waters of social networking. While not strictly a social network, Amazon Spark has many of the hallmarks of one.
Borrowing heavily from Instagram and Pinterest -- among others -- Amazon Spark is available for Prime subscribers using iOS. There is, of course, a strong emphasis on shopping, and members are able to post photos of items for sale, and can click through to buy, post comment, and leave "smiles" -- Spark's take on likes.
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