Hacked! New York Post mobile app compromised in security breach
The New York Post suffered a security breach this weekend when its push notification system was compromised. Unknown attackers used the system to send out messages to users of the New York Post mobile app.
The hackers sent out messages with strange, cryptic content. One read "Heil President Donald Trump!", while others had a religious or spiritual tone to them, and one quoted a Nirvana lyric.
Twitter is cracking eggs -- unveils new gender-neutral default profile photo
Twitter is a great social network, but it has many problems. Targeted harassment is rampant, causing much pain to some users. Many tweets are sexist, racist, and worse -- threats of harm. Sometimes it seems like the company doesn't listen to users either -- it feels like feedback is simply unheard. Just yesterday, the company changed the way replies work, leading to spam and confusion -- a really negative experience. Heck, the company's stock has been terrible too.
Despite all of these concerns, Twitter is unveiling a new default profile picture today. This seemingly superficial change during other outrages is a little bit frustrating, as the company's priorities seem out of order. But oh well, here we are. The new default image is no longer an egg, as the company is adopting a colorless grey gender-neutral picture instead. It is not the first time the default image has changed, but the timing is just awful.
Microsoft, Google, Twitter and Facebook to work with UK government to tackle extremist content
Following UK home secretary Amber Rudd's suggestion that encrypted messaging service WhatsApp was 'a secret place to hide' for terrorists, four major technology companies met with the minister to discuss the removal of extremist material from websites and social media.
Microsoft, Google, Twitter and Facebook met with Rudd amid calls from civil liberties groups for greater transparency. Following the meeting, senior executives from each company signed a statement indicating that they are ready to work with the government to tackle the problem. The matter of backdoors into encrypted apps and services, however, remained off the table.
Twitter tweaks replies to give you more characters and greater clarity
Recent changes at Twitter have focused mainly on clamping down on abuse and trolling, but there have also been adjustment tweaks that allow users to send longer messages. Now the site is introducing another change that effectively means you are able to send longer replies to people.
The latest change does not mean that you are given more than 140 characters to play with, but the 140 character limit is now put to better use. In short, all 140 characters are available for you to reply with as @usernames no longer count towards the total.
Pakistan risks privacy concerns by asking Facebook and Twitter to identify users suspected of blasphemy
Pakistan is seeking help from Facebook and Twitter to help execute its incredibly strict blasphemy laws. Anyone found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammed, or Islam in general, risks being sentenced to death, and the country is keen to track down offenders both at home and abroad.
The two social networks have only been asked to identify Pakistanis, but the move is likely to raise concerns about privacy. Of equal concern will be not only what is deemed to be blasphemous, but who makes that judgement -- particularly when Pakistan is seeking to identify offenders in other countries.
Twitch introduces Pulse, a Twitter copy for gamers
Just as operating systems borrow ideas from each other, the same is true of social networks -- and just about all sites and services feature social networking elements. Twitch, the streaming video platform for gamers, is copying Twitter and launching a social media feed called Pulse.
Described as "a place where streamers can post and engage with all of their followers and the greater Twitch community right from the Twitch front page", Pulse is not just about text updates, but also sharing GIFs.
Twitter cracks down on eggs as part of its anti-abuse measures
Twitter's assault on abusive accounts and its famous problem with trolling was stepped up a gear today as the company announced a series of new measures designed to crack down on harassment.
Having recently introduced account timeouts and refinements to blocking and muting, the company today said it was making it possible to block tweets from Twitter eggs -- those with no profile picture which therefore default to an image of an egg. Other filtering options are available, and algorithms are to be used to automatically identify abusive content.
Google and Jigsaw create Perspective technology to identify abusive comments
Any website that allows contributions from visitors -- whether it is a platform such as Twitter or a site that has a comments section -- has to contend with the problem of abuse, swearing and harassment. Manually keeping on top of this sort of content can be a hellish task, but Google and fellow Alphabet subsidiary Jigsaw have launched a new technology called Perspective to help automate things.
The technology uses machine learning to identify what are being called "toxic comments" (defined as "a rude, disrespectful, or unreasonable comment that is likely to make you leave a discussion") so they can be dealt with appropriately.
Twitter lets customer support operatives use custom profiles with their direct messages
Having become the medium through which upset customers often turn to in order to complain to companies or ask questions, Twitter is fully embracing its role as a customer service platform. But while Twitter is a neat and quick way to get in touch with a company, it tends to have something of an impersonal feel.
This is about to change as Twitter is rolling out a new feature that lets customer service representatives personalize direct messages with their own name and image rather than that of the company they work for. Will this splash of personality help customers feel valued in a marketplace awash with bots?
Twitter tweaks blocking and muting in latest anti-abuse measures
Having just introduced the idea of restricted timeouts for abusive users, Twitter has unveiled yet more measures designed to counter abuse and harassment. Now if you have blocked or muted a user, you'll no longer be notified of replies to a conversation by that user.
You will still, however, receive notifications of replies to the conversation if they come from people you follow, so you are not completely cut out. It has been warmly received by Twitter users, many of whom believe this is how things should have been from the beginning.
Twitter slaps abusive accounts with temporary timeouts
After promising to do something to tackle the problem of harassment, Twitter recently announced plans to stop repeat offenders. An even more recent tweak to lists backfired, and the latest measure sees abusers hit with a timeout rather than a ban.
It is an attempt to placate those who want to see something being done, while simultaneously trying not to anger those affected. The restrictions seem to be -- at the moment -- limited to hiding the offender's tweet to everyone but his or her followers, but it's possible that others may be implemented as well.
'Refugee' Julian Assange arrives on Twitter
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has activated his Twitter account. His profile gives his location as the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and describes him as "refugee" who is "picking the lock to the chain that enslaves mankind -- ignorance."
Within minutes of activating the account, Assange managed to amass thousands of followers, and this is a number that is sure to skyrocket in the coming days now that the account is actually being used. So what did the reclusive man have to say with his first tweet?
Twitter tweaks Lists because of potential for abuse -- and then reverses the changes
Twitter has tried various methods of cracking down on trolling and abuse, and it is now rolling out its latest batch of safety measures. The most recent change only lasted a few hours before it was killed off due to protests.
In a seemingly well-intentioned move, Twitter decided to no longer notify users when they were added to lists. The idea was that lists could be used as a form of abuse: you might not be able to message someone, but you could add them to a list called "you're a douchebag", and they would be notified. But the change did not last very long at all.
Twitter cracks down on repeat offenders -- stops the creation of new abusive accounts
Twitter has long had an abuse and harassment problem, which has put off a lot of would-be users. Over the years the company has taken steps to try to combat the issue, but with very limited success.
However, Twitter is now working hard make the service a more friendly place -- just last week it improved how users report abusive tweets. Today, the company goes even further, and introduces three new changes designed to silence the trolls.
Democracy 'threatened' by the social media echo chamber
In the wake of Donald Trump's election in November, we looked at the phenomenon of social media bubbles and the effect they have on political discourse.
Research released by UK political think tank Demos reveals some of the extent of the echo chamber effect in political discussions on Twitter.
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