Articles about Twitter

Salesforce is reportedly considering purchasing Twitter in a move that would give the software company access to the huge amount of data generated by the social network and could help fuel its push to develop artificial intelligence.

Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com, has grown his 17-year-old company to compete against Microsoft, Oracle and other big players in the field. Lately, the company has acquired a number of startups working in e-commerce and artificial intelligence. Talks between Twitter and Salesforce are said to be at an early stage but an acquisition could end up helping both companies.

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When people think of Twitter, their minds might conjure images of short-form messages filled with emoji. While it is much more than that, it is how some people view the social network. Lately, however, the company is looking to expand into other markets, such as streaming media. As a publicly-traded company, Twitter could be looking to rejuvenate a relatively stagnant stock.

Today, Twitter announces that its streaming video is no longer limited to your phones and tablets. Yes, folks, it is finally time for Twitter's video in your living room, as the company releases a free app for three popular TV-connected media devices -- Microsoft Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV. While the experience on all three will be similar, it looks like Apple's device will be slightly better thanks to an exclusive side-by-side split-screen feature.

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Twitter 140-character tweet limit has been one of its defining features for a number of years now. Originally introduced because of the limitation of SMS, the restriction has frustrated many users who find it too much of a constraint.

On 19 September it all changes. Unlike what it has done with Direct Messages, Twitter is not dramatically increasing the maximum length of a tweet, but it is changing what counts towards that limit. Images and other attachments, for example, no longer use up characters, leaving more for messages.

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The market for chat and messaging tools is a busy one, with the likes of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and countless others all vying for attention. Keen as ever to appeal to as many users as possible, Twitter is constantly trying to reinvent itself, and it's currently doing this by revamping its Direct Messages feature.

Having already dropped the 140-character limit some time ago, Twitter has now introduced even more features that make it more chat-friendly. Among the changes is a typing indicator which lets chat participants know when others are responding to messages.

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There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth from YouTubers in recent days as rumors started to circulate that YouTube was demonetizing videos deemed not "advertiser friendly". Seasoned 'Tuber Philip DeFranco was one of the more high-profile to speak out, likening YouTube's actions to "censoring" people by hitting them in the wallet.

But YouTube has responded to these claims by saying that its policy on video monetization has not changed at all. While YouTubers have just started to complain that video about depression, videos with swearing, videos with controversial subject matter, and so on are being denied the opportunity to make money from ads, YouTube says the only thing that has changed is the way users are notified. DeFranco says this is "very concerning" and reveals that YouTube has clearly been secretly demonetizing videos for a while.

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Believe it or not, Twitter launched over 10 years ago. The social network, which is now publicly traded, is no longer a young tech rebel. Instead, it is a mature platform that is leveraged by celebrities, companies, and regular folks like yours truly.

Since non-tech companies like Arby's and Fruit of the Loom have Twitter accounts, surely tech giants like Microsoft and Apple have accounts too, right? Actually, while the former is on Twitter, the latter has long been absent from the platform. True, the @Apple account has existed since 2011, but it has long been inactive.  With that said, Tim Cook is active on the network, as are accounts for some of its services like Apple Music and News. Today, ahead of the upcoming September 7 iPhone event, the @Apple profile shows signs of life. Better late than never, eh?

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YouTube 'personality' (or walking, talking, narcissistic ego with a webcam, depending on your point of view) PewDiePie has been kicked off Twitter -- just like @Nero. It comes just a day after the internet star was stripped of his blue verification checkmark.

The debacle kicked off when Pewdi… sorry, Felix Kjellberg... lost his blue badge and he subsequently posted a video in which he revealed the 'reason' for this. A fake news story had popped up suggesting he had links with ISIS, and Kjellberg used his video to 'joke' that he had in fact joined ISIS. The ban hammer swiftly followed.

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Twitter is to start sharing ad revenue generated by videos with the people who create those videos. The monetization model will start in the US for now, but it opens up a platform that was previously only available to big names such as the NFL and CBS.

All of the key players in social media are focusing their efforts on video, and in giving users the opportunity to make money through their footage, Twitter is really upping the ante. It's a move that pits the company against the likes of YouTube, and one that will be seen as a desperate bid to attract more users.

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There are many complaints levelled at Twitter, but two crop up time and time again. The first is that if you follow a lot of people, you're likely to be overwhelmed with notifications; the second is that there's just too much crap out there.

Twitter is introducing a couple of changes to address both of these problems with an update that's rolling out today. Arguably the more interesting of the two is the "quality filter setting".

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Twitter continues its drive to clean itself up, purging unwanted content and users from the service. Today the company announces that in the last six months it has closed down 235,000 accounts relating to extremism.

It's part of the company's plans to scrub as many accounts from existence as possible that push "violent threats and the promotion of terrorism". With the recent spate of terrorist attacks around the world, Twitter's resolve has been hardened.

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Emoji are used for everything from basic communication, to diversity promotion, and even as a means of learning to code. While dismissed by some as the language of the millennial or the hard-of-thinking, emoji have their place in the modern lexicon, and an Australian company has launched a tool to show how they are being used.

Ad agency The Works has created a real-time emoji tracker that reveals how the handy little icons are being used right now. The company says of the recent additions to our language, "this is not a bastardisation but the next evolution of how we communicate". So what's the most popular emoji at the moment?

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While I am technically not a millennial, I border on the cut-off. Actually, I think I am considered Generation Y, but I digress. Still, I can understand some of these young folks' likes and behaviors. While I cannot grasp the popularity of Snapchat, for instance, I totally love emoji.

Speaking of emoji, Twitter recently introduced "Stickers" which are really just emoji overlays for photos. In other words, you can jazz up your pictures on the social network with virtual stickers. Yes, it is arguably millennial nonsense, but it is actually quite fun. Today, Twitter announces 'Promoted Stickers' -- a way to monetize the feature. The first partner is Pepsi -- a sugar-water seller which once billed itself as "The Choice of a New Generation".

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Online hate crimes are to be targeted in the UK by a new specialist police team. Based in London, the small team of five officers will be tasked with identifying online abuse and helping victims.

In addition to this, the taskforce will use its two-year pilot program to educate and train other police officers and community groups about how to deal with online abuse and harassment, particularly on social media.

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When it comes to Twitter, I don't like change. Many folks likely feel the same way -- its users seem to be very passionate, as if the social network is sacred. Quite frankly, from an engagement standpoint, that is a good thing.

The social network's 'Moments' feature -- a curation of Tweets focused on storytelling -- annoyed me at first. I found it to be a waste of space -- something I only accessed by mistake. Over time, however, I learned to love it. It is a great way to keep track of trends and follow stories. Unfortunately, not all creators have access to contributing to it. Today, Twitter announces that it will be opening access to 'Moments' to more people, beyond the existing curators.

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The same day that Windows 10 Anniversary Update started to roll out to computers around the world, the launch date for the Windows 10 Mobile version has been revealed.

The Lumia India team -- so an official Microsoft source -- said on Twitter that Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update will be available from August 9. This is just one week after the desktop launch, and it will give those with compatible handsets to take advantage of a raft of new features.

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