Social Networks

Ethiopia is willing to give big tech a run for its money following a recent report that it has started creating apps to replace Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Zoom. It should be recalled that in June, Facebook erased fake accounts antagonising opposition figures contesting for Ethiopia’s House of Peoples’ Representatives election. An act which was interpreted by the director-general of the Information Network Security Agency (INSA), Shumete Gizaw, as Facebook deliberately frustrating the works of people who are preaching peace in the country. Hence, the news to replace the apps does not come as a shock.  However, according to the state communications security agency, the big tech apps will still be in use but not as significant because the local apps will assume superiority.  Shumete proudly disclosed that Ethiopia is making use of local expertise to build the apps. “The rationale behind developing technology with local capacity is clear … Why do you think China is using WeChat?” he said. Due to the unrest in the Tigray region during the election, the Ethiopian government shut down the internet and social media services, WhatsApp and Facebook inclusive. This generated tons of criticism from its citizens as well as other countries both…

Wed, Aug 25, 2021 | Updated 04.29PM ISTIs there any way to stop people from adding me to a WhatsApp group?FacebookTwitterLinkedinEMailDeeksha Somani/ Updated: Aug 25, 2021, 04:28PM ISTFacebookTwitterLinkedinEMailYou might get annoyed when you see a random chat appear on your WhatsApp saying that you are added by abc to this group. Thankfully, the Facebook-owned app comes with a feature that allows its users to stop unwanted contacts from adding them to group chats without their permission. Both iPhone and Android users can access this privacy feature on WhatsApp and prevent themselves from being added to unwanted groups. Moreover, it is important that you have the latest version of WhatsApp installed on your device.How do I stop people from adding me to WhatsApp groups on Android?Open WhatsApp on your Android mobile Tap on the three vertical dots that are on the top-right cornerNow tap on Settings > Account > PrivacyFurther tap Groups and select ‘Nobody’ from the other options that are ‘Everyone’, ‘My Contacts’ and ‘My Contacts Except’On selecting ‘Nobody’, Admins will not be able to add you to a group directly. They would be prompted to send you the group invite through a private chatHow do I add a person…

As the world’s leading community for gamers, Twitch continues breaking records in 2021, both in the number of viewers and the total hours watched. According to data presented by MejoresApuestas.com, as the most popular game on the live streaming platform, League of Legends hit over 43 billion all-time views last week, close to Fortnite and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive combined. LoL Average Monthly Viewers Hit All-time High in May The live streaming industry grew enormously last year as people sought ways to stay connected during the COVID-19 lockdowns. As a result, streaming platforms have continued to set new records each quarter. The Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet data showed Twitch viewership hit an all-time high for the third quarter in a row, with 6.51 billion hours watched in the second quarter, up from 6.33 billion hours in Q1 2021. Also, Twitch viewership increased by 27% year-over-year, compared to 5.11 billion hours watched in Q2 2020. As the most popular Twitch game by all-time views, League of Legends had a huge role in this increase. Statistics show the average monthly number of LoL viewers has been rising since the beginning of 2021. In May, it hit an all-time high with more than 233,700…

Gamescom Opening Night Live returns this year with a two-hour-long stream packed with a ton of new announcements. Hosted by industry pundit Geoff Keighley, this year's event promises around 40 different world premieres as well as updates on games we already know about. It's sure to be exciting and make up for the dud that was E3 2021. The Gamescom stream will begin at 11:00 am PST/1:00 pm CDT/2:00 pm EST/7:00 pm BST and can be watched over on the Game Awards' official Twitch account and on the Gamescom YouTube page. We've embedded the YouTube link below so that you can stick right here and catch all of the action. For those of you here early, fear not. Keighley Tweeted out last week that the Gamescom Pre-Show would include an additional eight world premiere reveals that couldn't get crammed into the main two-hour event. The pre-show will begin half an hour earlier on both the Game Awards Twitch and Gamescom YouTube channels and will be hosted by Kyle Bosman. As for what's in store, Keighley has promised new info on Age of Empires 4, Death Stranding: Director's Cut, Far Cry 6, Genshin Impact, King of Fighters 15, Sifu, TMNT: Shredder's…

Today, Vimeo Inc Inc’s (NASDAQ: VMEO) stock gained $0.04, accounting for a 0.11% increase. Vimeo opened at $36.30 before trading between $36.87 and $34.68 throughout Tuesday’s session. The activity saw Vimeo’s market cap rise to $5,574,229,975 on 1,805,680 shares -above their 30-day average of 1,626,836. Visit Vimeo Inc's profile for more information. About The Nasdaq Stock Market The Nasdaq Stock Market is a global leader in trading data and services, and equities and options listing. Nasdaq is the world's leading exchange for options volume and is home to the five largest US companies - Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook. To get more information on Vimeo Inc and to follow the company's latest updates, you can visit the company's profile page here: Vimeo Inc's Profile. For more news on the financial markets be sure to visit Equities News. Also, don't forget to sign-up for the Daily Fix to receive the best stories to your inbox 5 days a week. Sources: Chart is provided by TradingView based on 15-minute-delayed prices. All other data is provided by IEX Cloud as of 8:05 pm ET on the day of publication. DISCLOSURE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the…

Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.

Earlier this week, Twitter celebrated the 14th anniversary of the hashtag, a day it otherwise called #HashtagDay.The idea of the hashtag as a way to organize tweets and posts online was born on August 23, 2007, US time, when American blogger @chrismessina tweeted #barcamp. He asked Twitter users how they felt about using what was then more popularly known as the pound. Messina campaigned for its use, with some adopters of the idea using it to make it easy to search for grouped content, growing from there. In a 2009 article, the New York Times wrote, "Many conferences, for example, announce the so-called hash tag at the start of the event so attendees can mark all their posts the same way and people can search Twitter for everything written on the conference." Funnily enough, Twitter had not been the most supportive at the start. The Times also quoted Messina saying back then: “I begged and pleaded for them to support this feature, and they said, ‘No, it’s only for nerds, no one will get it.'" Eventually, Twitter warmed up to the idea, and started hyperlinking hashtags to make them more user-friendly. "Over the past 14 years, has evolved…

Digital influences people’s purchase decisions nowadays for most of the categories such as smartphone, TV.Over the last few years, Instagram has gradually turned to be one of the major platforms used by brands for reaching out to the target audience. Facebook too grabbed the opportunity and introduced Reels which are now being leveraged by brands to advertise as well as drive transactions. In a conversation with BrandWagon Online, Arun Srinivas, director, global business group, Facebook India, talks about how brands are leveraging the platform. (Edited Excerpts)How Instagram has contributed to building Facebook’s India business?Instagram is a pivotal part of our platform. We see it as a place where people are able to interact with their interests and affinities alongside creators, celebrities and businesses. As businesses are able to leverage both creators and celebrities along with the communities that follow them or like them, we are able to translate full-funnel solutions for them where we can help businesses drive awareness, consideration, and purchase. Today, over 90% of audiences on Instagram follow at least one business.We have seen that a lot more businesses are adapting to online forms of advertising and consumer engagement, especially post the pandemic, given that a lot of…

In partnership with Music Matters Academy Music industry leaders from Spotify, TikTok and YouTube will be sharing their knowledge at the Music Matters Academy, a free online series of panels that will launch later this month. The Music Matters Academy hopes to give musicians and industry professionals an insight into how the music business works – from touring to distribution to publishing – through eight free-to-attend virtual panels, workshops and chats held across three months. Music Matters Academy will launch on August 31 with a module on music publishing. The module will feature an ensemble of industry leaders including Amy Thomson (Hipgnosis), Simon Moor (Kobalt Music Publishing), Gregor Pryor (Reed Smith LLP) and David Shiels (YouTube). On September 1, a second module titled Distribution Matters will tackle topics related to the distribution of music. It will feature Christopher Muller (YouTube), Paul Smith (Spotify), Andreea Gleeson (TuneCore) and Ole Obermann (TikTok) – as well as the electronic duo Sofi Tukker. Other planned modules will cover topics such as artist management, marketing, live-streaming, touring, mental health, and working with brands and partnerships. For more information and registration, click here. The Music Matters Academy is a creation of Branded, the organiser of conference…

Sharing knowledge and digital content creation globally is the dream of many YouTubers. In Cambodia, there has yet to be many people able to rise to the status of “influencer”. Cheng Sopheak, knowns as Sopheak Reanthort, is a Cambodian YouTube creator who produces content teaching photography. With 341,000 subscribers to his channels, he was invited to attend a webinar hosted by Google and YouTube with the Ministry of Post last Friday explaining how creators can best utilise the platform. Sopheak told Khmer Times on Monday that he wants to encourage other creators to produce content. “I am very honoured that I was the only YouTuber in Cambodia to attend the webinar as this is the first time that the government and the international platforms joined hands to inspire content. We have different talents, perspectives, vision, missions and goals but we all want to reach as many people as possible,” he said. “We must value our own national language but also have international communication skills in order to produce global content. Now I am considering to create more content in the future with English content together with subtitles,” said Sopheak. “As one of the creators or a YouTuber, I faced cyberbullying.…