Twitter to Remove Images of the Deceased Upon Families’ Request

Twitter said on Tuesday it will remove images of deceased individuals at the request of family members, a move that comes a week after Robin Williams’s daughter said she is quitting the platform after being sent disturbing photo-shopped images of her father’s death.

“In order to respect the wishes of loved ones, Twitter will remove imagery of deceased individuals in certain circumstances,” said a statement tweeted by Twitter spokesman Nu Wexler on Tuesday.

The statement instructed immediate family members and other authorized individuals who would like to “request the removal of images or video of deceased individuals, from when critical injury occurs to the moments before or after death” to email privacy@twitter.com.

The change gives grieving family members a way to scrub the social media outlet of images or videos of their loved ones–whether the content itself breaches Twitter’s rules or not. The new policy is a slight pivot for Twitter, a champion of freedom of speech since its founding and where sensitive content such as nudity and other graphic images have proliferated compared with other social media sites.

Twitter doesn’t allow obscene or pornographic images in user profiles, abusive behavior and threats of violence and the posting of private identifiable information. The company doesn’t actively monitor the half a billion tweets that flood its website and mobile apps for questionable content. Instead, it is up to the users to flag such content, which Twitter will then review.

While its relatively open policy has made Twitter a powerful communication medium, it has also led to plenty of corrosive content and behavior.

This insensitive side of Twitter—though not new—gained widespread attention when Zelda Williams, the daughter of the recently deceased Robin Williams, was harassed on Twitter last week. Williams was reportedly sent fake photo-shopped images of her father’s death and other insulting messages. Williams then said she would no longer use Twitter as well as Instagram and Tumblr. The two Twitter accounts who sent the images were suspended.

In a rare statement responding to the incident, Del Harvey, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, said last week: “We are in the process of evaluating how we can further improve our policies to better handle tragic situations like this one. This includes expanding our policies regarding self-harm and private information, and improving support for family members of deceased users.”

The new policy also comes hours after gruesome photos and videos depicting the beheading of an American photojournalist were circulated on the platform. The account that tweeted the images has since been suspended.

Twitter, however, included a caveat on the removal requests. It added that in its review “Twitter considers public interest factors such as the newsworthiness of the content and may not be able to honor every request.”




Source : blogs.wsj.com

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Twitter video ads enter beta, are heading to your feed

Video advertisements are heading to your Twitter feed, with the company announcing that after months of testing, it is pushing its so-called Promoted Video platform into beta mode. Fortunately, the ads won't auto-play when you scroll past them.

Twitter announced this on its blog earlier today, saying that its Promoted Video efforts over the past months have shown that native video tweets have higher views and better engagement than past options, and as a result it is kicking off a beta test.

Advertisers will be getting tools to upload their video advertisements to Twitter and keep tabs on how they perform through analytics and such. Some unspecified verified users and "select content publishers" are said to be on-board for the expansion.

The company sums up what you can expect in a statement about its ambitions, saying, "The overall goal is to bring more video into our users' timelines to create a richer and more engaging Twitter." There's no word about when you'll be seeing these advertisements pop up.










SOURCE: slashgear.com

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Twitter rolling out refreshed web design based on mobile inspiration

Tis a mobile world we live in, one filled with apps that are, more often than not, updated frequently and a degree or two separated from their Web-based counterpart's design (should such a counterpart exist, that is). Such has been the case with Twitter up until today, with a simple announcement being fired off this afternoon ushering in a new Web design reminiscent of its latest mobile offerings.

It is a simple announcement in and of itself, but a big one at that, with the design getting a refreshed look that is flatter, cleaner, and perhaps more streamlined than its original iteration. The announcement was made in a tweet under Twitter's official account alongside a screenshot previewing the new design. Says the tweet: "We're now rolling out a refreshed twitter.com reflecting the look & feel of our iOS & Android apps."

Not all users are seeing the change yet -- based on anecdotal evidence, it would seem many are still seeing the original design. The change is taking place on a rolling basis, however, and so some will have to wait a bit longer before the change makes its way around. Twitter hasn't provided a general time frame for this roll out, so it's a waiting game at this point.

In addition to the refreshed web design, a slight change has been made to user ability to control the design in Settings. Under the applicable menu, users can now select an accent color for their own account, which comes alongside the previously-existing ability to set a background and choose a profile picture.





SOURCE: Twitter

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Twitter boasts 4 out of 5 world leaders on its service

The fourth annual rankings of the use of social media among world leaders has been published by the Digital Policy Council. The report looks at the number of world leaders that are using the social network Twitter to spread their agendas to the world. According to the report, about 80% of all world leaders are using twitter.

That works out to 4 out of 5 world leaders taking advantage of Twitter. The DPC says that the numbers are an increase of 8% compared to the number of leaders using the service in 2012. The report also lists the top ten tweeting leaders in the world.

President Obama was in the top spot with 16 million followers added in a year according to the report. The biggest Twitter debut for a world leader in 2013 was Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono taking the second place spot. The Indonesian President joined Twitter in 2013 and gained 4.2 million followers in short order.

The world leader that made the biggest climb in the Twitter rankings in 2013 was Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. He moved from number 10 in the Twitter world leader rankings in 2012 to seventh place in 2013. He increased his followers from 1 million to 2.4 million over the year. The biggest world leader holdouts come from China. None of the Chinese leaders are on Twitter, the social network is blocked in the country.






SOURCE: Digitaldaya

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Social Media Update 2013

Some 73% of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind. Facebook is the dominant social networking platform in the number of users, but a striking number of users are now diversifying onto other platforms. Some 42% of online adults now use multiple social networking sites. In addition, Instagram users are nearly as likely as Facebook users to check in to the site on a daily basis. These are among the key findings on social networking site usage and adoption from a new survey from the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project.

About the Survey
The results in this report are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from August 7 to September 16, 2013, among a sample of 1,801 adults, age 18 and older.  Telephone interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (901) and cell phone (900, including 482 without a landline phone). For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.  For results based on Internet users (n=1,445), the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.




SOURCE: Pew Internet

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Tagged sharks send auto-tweets when swimming too close to shore

Shark attacks, while not terribly frequent when viewed in light of how many people visit the beach every day, are a valid concern for beach-goers and have been increasing in recent years. To give surfers and others an edge over the ocean-bound creatures, researchers tagged 300 or so sharks with transmitters. Similarly situated are receivers for the transmitters under the water that keep an eye on where the sharks are and send out tweets when they get too close.

Specifically, when a shark comes within a kilometer of the shore line in various spots in Western Australia, the receivers will detect the sharks fitted with transmitters and will send out a tweet under the @SLSWA Twitter account -- Surf Life Saving WA. Those who follow the Twitter account will then be able to see when a shark is nearby, as well what kind of shark it is and the time it was detected.

One tweet, for example, sent not too long ago shows a Tiger shark detected at the Mullaloo South receiver around 3AM. If shark activity seems too high in one area, but another section of the beach hasn't seen any activity for a while, beach goers are able to make a better decision about where it is potentially safer to swim or surf -- a method that is near instant, rather than posted warnings and other manual means of advisement.

Said the SLSWA rep Chris Peck: "You might not have got some of that [sharks in vacinity] information until the following day in which case the hazard has long gone and the information might not be relevant." Not surprisingly, the tagged sharks are also being used to gather data concerning patterns of shark movement, potentially leading to additional uses farther on down the road.





SOURCE: ars technica

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'Twitter' for BlackBerry 10 Updated

Please read this important updated information about the latest release:

    Twitter version 10.2.2 has been removed from BlackBerry World due to user reported issues. We are actively investigating and will provide an update here when Twitter 10.2.2 has been reposted.

    If you have downloaded the 10.2.2 version and are experiencing issues please follow these steps to downgrade:

        On the home screen, hold the Twitter icon until the X appears. Press the X to delete the application.
        Open BlackBerry World.
        In BlackBerry World go to Settings by swiping down from the top of the screen.
        Select -> General -> Refresh BlackBerry World.
        Search for Twitter in BlackBerry World
        Install Twitter version 10.2.1

The Holidays are an important time for communicating. Whether you’re checking in with loved ones, or staying connected with friends around the globe, we’ve updated the Twitter app for BlackBerry 10 to make it that much better. Designed to be the best way to stay connected to Twitter on your BlackBerry 10 device, the Twitter app for BlackBerry 10 v10.2.2 comes packed with new features:

    Home Timeline Photo Preview – Tweets with Twitter photos let you be part of the moment. Image thumbnails are now displayed on the Home timeline for all pic.twitter.com images – just tap the image to reveal the full screen version.
    BBM™ Connected – If you love BBM and Twitter, you’ll love this update. Now Tweet and update your BBM™ status at the same time.
    Reply within Tweets – It’s now easier to reply to Tweets with a built-in Tweet composer that appears when you tap to see details of a Tweet.
    Improved Search – Now relevant accounts will appear in search after you enter your query.
    Report spam or abuse by clicking on the Tweet details screen.

This release also features performance improvements to help you access your content faster.

Be sure to download Twitter for BlackBerry 10 and let us know what you think in the comments.

Twitter version 10.2.2 is available globally for handsets running BlackBerry 10 version 10.0 or higher.
*Please note that it can take up to 24 hours for releases of new app versions to appear on BlackBerry World.






SOURCE: Blackberry

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Twitter stock breaks records over 3 days due to mobile ad prospects

Twitter's stock price rose to record levels three times in as many days. It closed today at $69.96, rising 8.4% over yesterday. In turn, the price closed 7.5% higher yesterday than the day before. The social media company's market valuation now stands at nearly $40 billion.

In all, Twitter's stock price has risen by 169% since the company held its initial public offering Nov. 6, when it opened at $26 a share. It immediately rose 73%. The IPO was one of the most closely watched in recent memory, drawing comparisons to Facebook's IPO.

Today's and yesterday's surge are due to investor belief in Twitter's advertising prospects. The company has plenty of room for ad growth, some analysts say. Cross-advertising programs with TV programs and networks are among the more enticing plans.

Not all analysts are on-board with the stock price. Some of them say the kissing-$70 price is bloated. Wunderlich Securities Inc. analyst Blake Harper pegs the real value of a Twitter share at $34. He cites a lack of a first earnings report post-going-public as his reasoning for more caution.




SOURCE: Bloomberg

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Vine vanity URLs go live for Twitter VIPs

Vine has launched vanity URLs for its new web-profiles, allowing at least some users of the short video sharing service to reserve their own personal addresses. Confirmed as incoming yesterday, registrations for the custom URLs are now being accepted, though you'll need to be an existing Vine user and a Twitter VIP if you want to snag one initially.

That's because Vine is only allowing those who have both been a registered user for thirty days or more, and who have posted at least two Vines, to be among the first wave of vanity URL users. Everybody else will have to wait until Vine loosens its grip on them.

Even then, today only those with verified Twitter accounts can grab an URL today on Vine; they'll have a pre-suggested name matching their existing Twitter handle. Everybody else will have to wait until Monday, December 23rd when general registration opens up, though since there won't be any pre-suggestions it will be a first-come, first-serve arrangement.

Once registered, the profile page will pull together all of the publicly shared Vines from each user, though not allow new videos to be shared through the web. That will still be handled by the app itself.

While many were initially skeptical of the idea of Vine, questioning whether Twitter users would really jump at the idea of sharing six-second long video clips with each other, the app was a surprise hit. As well as jumping to the top spot for free iOS apps at one point, it spawned a Facebook-made rival integrated into Instagram.

Most recently, Vine updated with video editing tools, as well as the ability to save Vines-in-progress so that they could be finished up later. The ability to modify Vines that have been recorded but not published was also added.

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Announcing Promoted Accounts in Timeline for Twitter's

In 2010, we launched Promoted Accounts to help users discover businesses and people of interest, and to help advertisers build a highly engaged audience of Twitter followers. A study from earlier this year shows that users and businesses benefit from connecting on Twitter - in fact, 72% of the research participants said that they were more likely to make a future purchase from brands they follow or engage with on Twitter.

To help make it even easier for users and businesses to connect, we’ve been running a test that displays account recommendations on iOS and Android devices. These recommendations leverage Tweets as a call to action and display natively in the home timeline. For example, a new coffee shop could run a geo-targeted Promoted Accounts campaign in timeline to build awareness about their business and explain why users should follow them on Twitter.

After a successful test with a number of advertisers, we are excited to expand this beta to all advertisers globally starting today. This option is available in addition to the existing Promoted Accounts format that runs within the Who to Follow section.

As always, if you are an advertiser running a Promoted Account campaign, you will only be charged when a user follows your account.

Our hope is this enhancement to Promoted Accounts will make it easier for businesses to connect with the 76% of our users who access Twitter on their mobile device, and help users connect with the brands they care most about.



SOURCE: Twitter

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Twitter adds private DM 'photos' and new swipeable mobile apps

Twitter has added support for private image sharing via direct message, in an update to the 140-character messaging service that also sees new, swipeable timelines in the mobile apps. The update, which is released for both the iOS and Android versions of the Twitter app, also brings direct messages further out into the open, adding a new tab in the navigation bar for the private communications.

There’s also support for faster navigation between it and the other existing tabs. Whereas before you had to tap to switch between them, now the Twitter app allows for swiping left and right through the columns instead.

Support for private images has been one of the more commonly requested updates for Twitter, since the service integrated its own photo sharing system. Previously, sending an image would upload it publicly; now, however, you can opt to share them without revealing a public copy.

However, not every third-party Twitter client is handling DM image sharing correctly, and we’ve seen reports of some being unable to open the links.

Some of the changes are platform-specific, depending on the capabilities of the individual OSes. For iOS, for instance, there’s now support for in-app notifications which pop up when you receive a DM, a favorite, a retweet, or a reply.

Meanwhile, on Android, there’s now support for mobile notifications from specific users. By starring individual profiles, you can be notified just about those people, not everybody else you might follow.

You can download the new versions of Twitter for iOS and Android from the App Store and Google Play respectively.




SOURCE: slashgear

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Google, Microsoft, Apple & more demand government surveillance reform

Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and other big names in tech have joined forces to protest government surveillance worldwide, calling for “Global Government Surveillance Reform” to better balance keeping citizens safe while also preserving their privacy. The group, which also includes AOL, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Yahoo, sets out five principles for transparency, oversight, accountability, and respect, penning a collective letter to President Obama and the US Congress in which they allege the balance of power has tipped too far away from the people and too much toward the stat

According to the eight firms, while they recognize that governments have a responsibility to protect citizens, they nonetheless believe that it’s time to rework the current laws which no longer address the digital age. Instead, they must be “rule-bound, narrowly tailored, transparent, and subject to oversight” in order to permit privacy and free expression.

The five guiding principles the companies set out echo and expand on those concepts. For instance, governments must be constrained in what user-information they collect, it’s argued, with “sensible limitations” on how much disclosure they can force out of service providers. Google and others have been vocal in recent demands for permission to reveal how many national security requests they receive each year.

Bulk data collection – potentially including the sort of huge location tracking the NSA is believed to be undertaking – is also name-checked, as is the need for a “clear legal framework” in which the right to protest disclosure is supported. Such laws should be set up in such a way that “the courts are accountable to an informed citizenry” it’s suggested.

Meanwhile, there’s also a request that governments be more open-minded about where data is stored – not requiring it to be within a country’s borders, for instance – and for countries to work together on better, more transparent sharing of information between each other.

Whether the pleading for reform will fall on deaf ears remains to be seen, but it’s clear that none of the key tech industry players is keen to go quietly along with increasing surveillance and government intrusion. Google has accelerated plans to encrypt all Drive data as a result, while Microsoft is similarly strengthening its security. The Obama government is yet to comment on the open letter.




SOURCE: slashgear

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