Facebook now allows you to create multiple personal profiles so you can maintain separate online personas
After a period of experimentation, Meta has finally decided to permit users to create multiple Facebook profiles. Each profile -- and you can have up to four -- can have its own connections, and will have its own customized Feed.
Meta suggests that Facebook users could use the new option to keep personal and professional relationships separate, but there are many reasons for wanting to maintain more than one Facebook profile. But while the change to allow multiple profiles is a big one, there are limitations and some things are not changing.
As Twitter flounders, rivals Mastodon and Bluesky flourish, and Meta launches Threads on Thursday
The rocky journey for Twitter continues under Elon Musk, with this weekend seeing bizarre constraints introduced in an attempt to reduce unspecified "data scraping". Users of the service found themselves hit with rate limit warnings as Twitter placed restrictions on the number of tweets that can be viewed each day.
Rival Mastodon has already seen a steady influx of Twitter escapees, and this continued over the weekend with a 300,000 jump in the number of active users; Bluesky is also faring well, to the point that sign-ups have been paused to allow for tweaks and fixes to be implemented to accommodate the levels of interest. But now eyes are turning towards Meta, as the Facebook owner prepares for the launch this Thursday of its own Twitter alternative, Threads by Instagram.
New pricing for Twitter API access is astonishingly expensive
When Twitter announced that it was ending free access to its API, it said nothing about what the new pricing structure would look like. But now the company has finally revealed the price tags for different tiers of access -- and it is worse than anyone predicted.
In all, there are now three tiers to choose from, each allowing for different numbers of tweets and giving varying levels of access. The cheapest, the Small Package tier, costs a staggering $42,000 per month (or just over $0.5 million per year), while the Large Package costs an eye-watering $210,000 per month (or a shade over $2.5 million per year).
Prioritizing privacy and making social media 'social' again [Q&A]
While social media sites like Facebook remain popular, many people have worries about how their data is is being collected and used by the companies behind them.
Bret Cox is founder and CEO of True, a social network which doesn't monetize user information and focuses on people you really know. We talked him to find out more.
Twitter has killed Movetodon, the service that simplified moving from Twitter to Mastodon
The exodus from Twitter to Mastodon shows little signs of slowing down, and numerous websites and services have popped up to make it easier to jump to the decentralized social network. One such tool is Movetodon, designed to help anyone moving to Mastodon to find the people they were previously following on Twitter.
Movetodon has proved incredibly popular, but it has just been killed off by Twitter. The Elon Musk-owned site announced this week that it is ending free access to its API on February 9, but ahead of this, Twitter has blocked Movetodon's access to the API, rendering the service non-functionable, alleging violation of unspecified rules and policies.
If you're daft enough to pay for Twitter Blue, prepare to dig deeper into your pockets
It was hardly a surprise when Twitter launched a subscription service in the form of Twitter Blue. In exchange for $2.99 a month, anyone keen to gain access to extra feature could help top up the social media company's coffers.
But it seems that the coffers have not been topped up enough as Twitter has announced a price hike. The cost of a Twitter Blue subscription jumps by two thirds for new subscribers with immediate effect, and existing subscribers can expect to pay the new, higher price in the near future.
Elon Musk goes shopping for Twitter
Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter at a price of $54.20 per share, valuing the company at around $43 billion.
This comes a week after the SpaceX and Tesla billionaire became the company's largest shareholder and declined the chance to join its board -- which would have prevented a takeover by putting a cap on his shareholding.
While it works on an 'edit tweet' option, Twitter adds the ability to step away from mentions
Elon Musk's recent colossal investment in Twitter made him the largest shareholder in the company. His tweets after this became public made it seem as though he was going to be something of a trouble-making disruptor, stirring things up with talk of an edit button, but it soon transpired that Twitter really is working on the option to edit tweets.
It's hard to say quite when the feature will be made available, and it is likely to be limited to Twitter Blue subscribers -- at least to start with. In the meantime, users who are not willing to pay for extra features can enjoy another new option: Unmention
Twitter's latest direct message test is criticized for harassment potential
Twitter has announced that it is testing a new way to start direct message conversations with users on the platform, leading to criticism from those concerned about the potential for abuse.
The new system means that it will be possible to start a DM conversation by simply clicking a newly added direct message button in individual tweets. While Twitter says that the move is about making it easier to start conversations, critics point out that it is likely to be used for harassment.
The dislike button on Twitter is going global
There are many things that Twitter users would like to see implemented on the platform, not least of which is the option to edit tweets. As this is extraordinarily unlikely to happen, they'll have to make do with the next best thing -- a dislike button.
Except Twitter doesn't want you to call it that. And it does not function in the way you'd probably hope. So... prepare to be underwhelmed and disappointed by the downvote option which is now available worldwide.
Meta launches new Privacy Center, leaving Facebook users the unenviable task of learning about privacy and security
TCFKAF (the company formerly known as Facebook), Meta, has launched Privacy Center, a new way for users to "learn more about our approach to privacy across our apps and technologies". Across five modules -- Security, Sharing, Collection, Use and Ads -- Meta gives users information about privacy across its services.
It also provides links to its endless and scattered collection of tools, settings and options for taking control of privacy and security. The new hub has already come in for criticism, however, as it places onus the burden of responsibility on users rather than hand-holding then through the process of locking down privacy.
The chronological feed is coming back to Instagram
The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, has revealed details of tests that are currently underway that will change the way feeds are displayed on the platform. Among the options that are on the way is the much-requested ability to see a chronological feed.
In all, there are three feed viewing options that are undergoing testing -- something Mosseri describes as giving "you more control over your Instagram experience". Of the three views, two of them allow for chronological scrolling through posts.
Twitter acquires Slack rival Quill -- only to close it down
The big news at Twitter recently may have been the departure of Jack Dorsey, but incoming CEO Parag Agrawa has wasted little time in stamping his mark on the company.
After revamping its privacy policy, Twitter has now acquired Slack rival Quill. As a result of the acquisition, the messaging service has a very short future ahead of it. Users have just a few days to export their messages before Quill servers close down and all user data is deleted.
Donald Trump launches his new social networking platform called TRUTH Social
Having been kicked off Twitter, Donald Trump is making good on his promise to launch his own social media platform. The new venture is TRUTH Social and it is the former US president's attempt to "fight back against Big Tech".
TRUTH Social comes from the newly created Trump Media and Technology Group and Digital World Acquisition Group, and Trump says that it will operate as "a rival to the liberal media consortium", adding, "I am excited to send out my first TRUTH on TRUTH Social very soon". From what we can see of it at the moment, it looks very much like a Twitter-clone.
Is Facebook about to change its name... and does it matter?
Over the years, Mark Zuckerberg has shared various visions for the future including getting the entire world online. His latest idea is that of the metaverse, a far more immersive, connected experience that blends the realms of virtual reality and the internet.
While details of quite what Facebook's plans for the metaverse might be currently remain vague and ethereal, it seems that Zuckerberg could be on the verge of announcing a rebranding and a new name for Facebook.
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