Social Networks

FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Instagram logo in this picture illustration (Reuters) -Facebook Inc’s Instagram said on Monday it is testing a feature to notify users of outages or technical issues directly on the photo-sharing app, days after two outages disrupted the social media giant’s services. The test will run in the United States and will go on for a few months, Instagram said in a blog post.(https://bit.ly/3oRjLwM) On Oct.4, a six-hour long outage prevented the company’s 3.5 billion users from accessing its social media and messaging services, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. Earlier on Monday, many users faced problems with Instagram, according to user reports on web monitoring group Downdetector. The company is also planning to roll out a feature that will help making it easier for people to know whether their account is at risk of being disabled. The social media giant, which has been the center of memes and jokes on Twitter following the outages, is also grappling with former employee turned whistleblower Frances Haugen’s accusation that the company repeatedly prioritized profit over clamping down on hate speech and misinformation. Haugen, who provided the documents that underpinned a…

A whistleblower says Facebook's algorithms could be stoking tensions and fanning ethnic violence in Ethiopia. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: Hate and division on Facebook are not just a problem in the U.S. That's one of the messages whistleblower Frances Haugen took to Congress last week, where she accused Facebook's algorithms of quote, "literally fanning ethnic violence in Ethiopia," a country that's endured nearly a year of civil war. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) FRANCES HAUGEN: My fear is that without action, divisive and extremist behaviors we see today are only the beginning. What we saw in Myanmar and are now seeing in Ethiopia are only the opening chapters of a story so terrifying, no one wants to read the end of it. CORNISH: The United Nations says millions of people have been forced from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are facing famine-like conditions because of the conflict between the Ethiopian government and Tigray rebels. Freelance journalist Zecharias Zelalem has been reporting extensively on Ethiopia, and he says he agrees with Haugen's assessment.  » Read More

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Nate Persily, director of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, about his proposal to allow for more independent oversight of Facebook. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: Tomorrow marks a week since Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified to Congress, accusing the company of incentivizing the spread of hate and misinformation and failing to share research on its platform's negative impact on kids' mental health. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) FRANCES HAUGEN: Until the incentives change, Facebook will not change. Left alone, Facebook will continue to make choices that go against the common good, our common good. CORNISH: In the days since that testimony, the years-long drumbeat for Congress to take action and impose stricter regulations on social media and tech giants has grown louder. One plan includes forcing these companies to allow independent researchers to analyze its data from the platforms on which, quote, "almost all of human experience is now taking place." Those are the words of Nathaniel Persily, a professor of law at Stanford Law School and director of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center.  » Read More

All Twitter users can now remove a follower without having to block them. The company started testing this option last month, and starting today, everyone will have access to it. To quietly stop someone from seeing your tweets in their feed, go to the Followers tab on your profile, click the three-dot menu next to the user in question and select the "Remove this follower" option.This is part of Twitter's efforts to reduce harassment on the platform. Blocking someone you don't want to follow you could lead to retaliation from that person via their allies or their secondary accounts after they find out. Cutting them in this fashion and muting them will mean they're none the wiser that they're out of the loop.This method won't prevent someone you boot from your followers list from seeing your public tweets. Only blocking them or making your account private will do that. Elsewhere, Twitter is testing a Safety Mode, which automatically blocks accounts that use “potentially harmful language.” It's also looking into more ways to filter and limit replies, so it seems the company is making its anti-harassment efforts a bigger priority.

by: Nexstar Media Wire Posted: Oct 11, 2021 / 03:28 PM EDT / Updated: Oct 11, 2021 / 03:28 PM EDT TOPSHOT – This photograph taken on October 26, 2020 shows the logo of US social network Twitter displayed on the screen of a smartphone and a tablet in Toulouse, southern France. (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images) (NEXSTAR) – Twitter announced Monday that all users will have a new level of control when it comes to managing their followers. Last month, Twitter Support announced that they were testing the ability to remove followers manually without blocking them. Now anyone can trim unwanted followers by going to their profile, clicking “followers,” then clicking the three-dot icon and selecting “remove this follower.” Other social media apps, such as Instagram, have already offered the tool as a more surreptitious way of keeping one’s content out of the feeds of unwanted users. Previously, a blocked Twitter user would see that they had been barred from seeing someone’s tweets and interacting with them, which could give rise to angry retaliation on other platforms. Some users resorted to a workaround called a “soft block,” which entailed blocking an abusive user, which removed that person…

Ten years ago, many people didn’t realize LinkedIn would become a ubiquitous social media platform, but today, the platform has over 774 million members worldwide. Every second, 81 hopeful job candidates submit applications. Even more impressive, four applicants are hired through the platform every minute. That’s a lot of business professionals connecting in one place. While this social media platform has nearly endless potential for promoting business growth, many businesses make LinkedIn a low priority, thinking it’s only for individuals trying to find a job. I recently met with Josh Steimle, author of “60 Days to LinkedIn Mastery,” to discuss the levels of growth LinkedIn makes possible for businesses. Steimle explains, “Not only is LinkedIn the largest professional networking platform in the world, and it’s still growing. Mastering this platform right now is the key to becoming a thriving brand in the business world of the future.” Build Brand Credibility By Becoming a Thought Leader A major aspect of building a business is establishing brand credibility …You need people to believe that you are the expert in your field. Says Steimle, “Building a strong presence on LinkedIn is all about thought leadership. When you share useful information that people can’t…

Social media platform Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) stock has surprised investors to the upside as it continues to expand its products and user growth. Daily active users (DAU) rose 23% in Q2 2021 to 293 million. The platform has gotten much deeper during the pandemic as the Company launched it Spotlight product. Spotlight DAU grew 49% with average daily content submissions more than tripling and daily time spent by U.S. users rose 60% sequentially. The Company is operating on all cylinders constantly expanding its partnerships and products. The level of sophisticated synergies is impressive and its DAU continues to grow, unlike its peer Pinterest (NASDAQ: PINS) which is showing a decline as users leave home with the acceleration of COVID vaccinations. Fears of a DAU reversion for Snapchat usage upon the return to work and the reopening trend has so far been put to rest, but still lingers in investors’ minds. Prudent investors seeking exposure in this growing social media platform can watch for opportunistic pullbacks in shares. Depositphotos.com contributor/Depositphotos.com - MarketBeat Q2 FY 2021 Earnings Release On July 22, 2021, Snap released its fiscal second-quarter 2021 results for the quarter ending June 2021. The Company reported an adjusted earnings-per-share…

Inclusion has become an increasingly important focus over the past few years, which has changed the way that brands communicate, and how marketing messages should be framed, often through simple language shifts. It’s an important consideration – according to a recent report from Facebook, only 41% of consumers feel represented in the ads that they see, while younger generations, in particular, are increasingly looking to align with businesses that show an awareness of social issues, and a willingness to align with cultural shifts. As such, this new guide from LinkedIn could be a valuable companion, with its 7-page ‘Inclusive Language’ pocket guide offering some important points to consider in formulating your brand messaging. The guide outlines the key elements of an inclusive language approach, and the importance of being considerate in your messaging. As per LinkedIn: “We define inclusive language as that which does not exclude or stereotype people based on race, sexual orientation, age, gender identity, ability, socioeconomic status, or any other characteristic. In other words, it’s about making your brand feel welcoming and accessible to all.” The guide raises some interesting points of consideration, many of which you likely never considered. These are more subtle forms of gendered…

Do you want to have and show off a new way of seeing your conversations in WhatsApp? Attentive to the following. Through it you can chat for free, as well as make remote video calls in a world where we must be separated today. The latest version of WhatsApp It also brings a series of details that will surprise you: for example, it is now possible to activate messages that disappear as soon as they are seen by all your friends, such as photos and videos, as well as those texts sent and that are not opened by your contacts in 24 hours. LOOK: Know what was the reason for a drop of blood on WhatsApp Although the application has a number of details, there are other little-used ones that need to be learned. Just as there is the “super dark” mode, you can also use the “super light” mode. How do I activate it? To have it on your cell phone, it is not necessary to download a complementary application to WhatsApp that, in most cases, tends to take part of your personal information or access the list of your contacts. HOW TO ACTIVATE THE “SUPER CLEAR” MODE IN…

Picture For Representation Only. Noida: The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) on Monday issued a helpline number, which is dedicated for the residents to register incidents of air pollution such as burning of garbage or dust conditions in the city, news agency PTI reported quoting officials. The complaints can either be registered by either calling on the dedicated helpline number or sharing details over Whatsapp.Also Read - Bio-Decomposer, Smog Towers: How Delhi Plans to Bring Air Pollution Under Control During Winter According to the officials, the facility has been set up by the GNIDA in an effort to check air pollution that spikes during winters in the national capital region with air quality also slipping to severe levels. Also Read - Niti Aayog Launches 'Shoonya' Program to Promote Zero-Pollution Delivery Vehicles The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority issues Helpline numbers Also Read - Delhi Issues Complete Ban on Storage, Sale and Bursting of Diwali Firecrackers Over Pollution Concerns K R Verma, who has been appointed nodal officer to check air pollution, said, ”A control room has been set up to address cases of air pollution. Residents of Greater Noida can call the control room and report incidents of air…