Social Networks

The Clubhouse live audio app removed its invite system so anyone can join the platform, it said Wednesday. The social app, which saw explosive early growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, previously required people to be invited by an existing user or request to join a waiting list. He said in a blog post that he had always planned to open the app, but invites had been a way to moderate the number of users. Clubhouse faces new competition from social media companies, including Facebook, Twitter, as well as streaming company Spotify, which has launched similar audio chat services. “We know there will be many more ups and downs as we scale, and the competition from the big networks will be fierce,” the company wrote in its post. Clubhouse said it had added 10 million people since its launch on Android in May. Estimates from analytics firm Sensor Tower found that the app had reached roughly 7.8 million global installs in June, up from 3.7 million the previous month.  » Read More

Nats swept by O's, putting players further into trade limbo originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington With five days before the MLB's trade deadline, the Nationals dropped to eight games under .500 Sunday after being swept by the lowly Orioles. NBC Sports Washington’s offense put five runs on the board in the series finale — more runs than it scored in the first two games combined — but a blown save by closer Brad Hand resulted in a walk-off win for Baltimore. The Nationals hoped to climb back into the NL East race this weekend, playing three games against the Orioles after taking two of three from the Miami Marlins. Instead, they were swept by a club that had only won three in a row against a single team twice all season. The losing streak has pushed Washington further into seller territory, making it more likely that their roster loses a few pieces by the end of the week.  » Read More

Jamaican gymnast competes for 11 seconds, fulfills the dream of a lifetime Danusia Francis spent about 11 seconds on the uneven bars during the first day of gymnastic competition at the Tokyo Games on Sunday. It was the time of her life. Tokyo Olympics Watch all the action from the Tokyo Olympics live on NBC Francis, who competed as a gymnast at UCLA, is representing Jamaica in Tokyo. But at some point during training, she badly injured her left knee, which she announced on Instagram in a post following podium training last week. “The arena is stunning,” she posted. “Unfortunately, I do have a knee injury so only did bars today, but happy with my performance & enjoyed myself out there!” View social media post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CRoGwn6NgsE On Sunday, however, Francis performed several simple maneuvers on the lower of the two bars before gently dismounting on her right leg. Her left knee was heavily wrapped. View social media post: https://twitter.com/jaflygirl/status/1419302047363514373 Francis was all smiles, however, waiving to cheers and touching the world with her positivity and inspiration that lit up social media. Her alma mater UCLA gave her a shout out on Twitter: “Congratulations, Nush! We are so proud of you,…

A business premises ablaze during widespread looting and protests in Durban, 12 July 2021. (Photo: EPA-EFE / STR) In less than a month, 12 Twitter accounts became central to the instigation that caused mayhem and destruction as they spearheaded the call to release Jacob Zuma from prison. The Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC) is a non-profit organisation that was formed in 2017 to act in the public interest. The CABC is incubated at the Graduate School of Business (GSB) at the University of Cape Town (UCT). The team is drawn from various organisations including the GSB, the Alan Gray Centre for Values-Based Leadership, the Citizen Research and Dialogue Centres and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The team covers a wide range of skills, including academia, technology, research analytics, dialogue facilitation, conflict mediation, communication, and advertising. Accounts belonging to the RET forces network have been discovered in the top 12 accounts responsible for inciting violence on social media during the recent unrest in South Africa — initiated by calls for former president Jacob Zuma to be released from prison. The top 12 accounts — four of which belong to the RET forces network — repeatedly retweeted hashtags intended…

Many people in the world use WhatsApp to be able to communicate with your loved ones. Through the app you can send all kinds of multimedia content even to the point of activating the photos and videos that disappear, so that when a contact looks at them they disappear suddenly, this to protect your privacy from others. But not only that, WhatsApp you are working on a new function called multi-device, the same that allows you to open your conversations on any computer or PC that uses WhatsApp Web, this will also mean that you do not depend exclusively on your cell phone. But there are a number of details that catch the attention of several people and it is about the emojis: each of them has a series of meanings, some quite familiar, while others need a second look. One of them is the emoji de WhatsApp fist which has gained notoriety in various parts of the world. What does it mean? Could it be for something bad? If someone sent it to you, then be attentive to what we will tell you. WhatsApp It currently has more than 500 emojis on its keyboard. Each of them has a…

Ajit Mohan, Managing Director, Facebook India. Ajit Mohan talks about providing space to content creators beyond elite sections, says some of changes at Apple will be harmful for small entrepreneurs, asserts Facebook will remain a free service, and says partnership with Jio will benefit kirana stores. The session was moderated by Principal Correspondent Aashish Aryan AASHISH ARYAN: When social media intermediaries say that they are just third-party platforms who have no role in controlling information, is it an attempt to escape responsibility? Tech platforms more broadly, and social media in general, have a huge role to play in the world today, including in India. If you look at the evolution of these platforms over the last 14-15 years, these platforms have been… used by people at large to increasingly further businesses and the agenda of entrepreneurship. We have a few core principles that have guided the development of the Facebook app, Instagram and WhatsApp. We believe that we play a positive role in helping people connect to each other… If you look at the scale, if you look at the engagement, if you look at how deeply immersed each one of these platforms is in India, I think the reality…

Social media firms Twitter and Snap are continuing to add users even as pandemic restrictions ease.Snapchat's number of daily users topped 293 million in the three months to the end of June, beating analysts' expectations.And Twitter reported it passed the 200 million mark for daily active users who view adverts on its platform in the same period, up 11% year-on-year.Both California-based companies also saw revenues increase.Snap owns the mobile app Snapchat, best known for its video and photo "stories" that disappear after 24 hours. The firm reported revenues more than doubling to $982m (£713m)."Our second-quarter results reflect the broad-based strength of our business, as we grew both revenue and daily active users at the highest rates we have achieved in the past four years," Snap boss Evan Spiegel said.The company was, however, still $152m in the red, down from $326m in net losses for the same period in 2020.Meanwhile, micro-blogging site Twitter said sales rose 74% year-on-year to $1.19bn, generating a profit of $65.7m for the company.This is the first time Twitter's advertising revenues have passed the $1bn mark. The firm said it had invested in making advertising campaigns easier to buy into for small and medium-sized businesses."As we enter…

Psyche / PleasantlyTwstd. Slowly but surely, Twitch is becoming more diverse but it’s still heavily dominated by cis white men. Where exactly does that leave female streamers? It’s fair to say that Twitch – along with social media in general – can be toxic for women. Between body-shaming, stalking, unfair bans, alleged sexualisation, being demonetised and even cosmetics brands lacking diversity, the amount of harassment faced by women online is appalling. A recent survey found that 59 per cent of women hide their gender when playing games online to avoid harassment. The main reason for this is that 77 per cent of women have received gender-specific discrimination when gaming. So how does this impact female Twitch streamers?  “I feel like women tend to be targeted with appearance related insults in a way that other people aren’t,” says Psyche. “Unsolicited comments about our weight, how attractive we are, and other similar kinds of comments are made rather than commenting directly on our content or gameplay in the case of streaming.  “I hate that it feels like, as a woman, my worth as a content creator is measured by how attractive I am to a particular person rather than any of the…

A Chicago man accused of planning to kill a witness in a murder case will remain behind bars without bail, a judge ruled Saturday. Andres Giler, 20, has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 20-year-old Sebastian Serrano, who was found dead on Christmas Day with gunshot wounds to the chest, back, arms and legs, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. On Dec. 30, Giler allegedly messaged Antonio Reyes on Snapchat to tell him Serrano was dead. Giler, who was arrested Thursday, confessed that he helped plan the murder of Serrano, who was serving as a witness against Reyes. His partner, the alleged gunman, has not yet been charged. Andres Giler has been charged with first-degree murder. (Shutterstock) Last summer, then-17-year-old Reyes allegedly murdered a man because he was upset about his breakout, according to police. After the split, Reyes told his ex that he was going “to go kill a King right now,” referring to a local gang, the Sun-Times reported at the time. Luis Davalos-Garcia, 26, was shot in the right temple and chin and transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Reyes has also been tied to a Thanksgiving shooting that left a…

Adulthood is just endless cycles of laundry. Let's face it: We're all getting old. NBC Unless you're still a teenager. Then click away — this post isn't for you. And although there are great things about getting older...things aren't exactly how many of us expected they'd be. Disney Here are 28 Tumblr posts that really just sum up what it's like to look around and realize, "Holy shit, I'm old": 1. This post about ~wild nights~: 2. And this one about every adult's worst fear: 4. This reminder of the one teenage part of ourselves that remains: 5. This unfortunate reality: 6. This interesting suggestion: 7. This relatable statement: 8. This horrifying realization: 9. This question that perfectly sums up what it's like to feel old and simultaneously way too young: 10. And this similar post that brings up some fair points: 11. This horrible reminder: 12. This sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with: 13. And this video that I find way too relatable: 14. This text that shows how much fun it is to have to pay for your own healthcare: 15. And this one that shares my general confusion and frustration over money: 16. This post that called many…