Social Networks

LATEST UPDATES: Tracking COVID-19 | Vaccines | Racial Justice Thursday, April 8, 2021 By Jacob Aere Credit: San Diego Vaccine Bot Above: A screenshot of the San Diego Vaccine Bot Twitter page is shown, April 8, 2021. Eligibility and demand for vaccines always seems to outpace the supply. So some people with technology backgrounds are trying to help others book that elusive vaccination appointment. They’re using Twitter to create automated accounts, known as bots, that do the bulk of the appointment searching for those who are looking to be vaccinated against COVID-19. One of the accounts is called San Diego Vaccine Bot, which was created in early March by the bay-area based cybersecurity engineer Omar Darwish. He has multiple bot accounts for large population centers in California, all of which scan for appointments on the My Turn platform. Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames. Content can be viewed at actual source page: https://youtu.be/LxhOvHZuMKs> Reported by Jacob Aere “This bot does that checking for you, all the time, once every five minutes,” Darwish said. “And if it finds something, it’ll let you know that there is something for you to scoop…

When trying to change an entire system, we have to be next-level driven and ready to double down. Meanwhile, startups, the venture capital that backs them and the illiquid market have largely remained the same for decades. Venture capitalists pick the companies they want to back, mostly via warm introductions from their existing network – friends of friends. Then, once these founders and startups are funded, there is a lack of data on pretty much every aspect of the business.   This way of connecting means the process has inherent bias and some of the best entrepreneurs remain hidden – unbacked and unable to share their visions on the scale they deserve, simply because they don’t belong to the right network. An early passion for tech Martijn De Wever, serial entrepreneur and Founder of Floww, is changing all of that. He grew up fixing computers that his dad brought back from his job at IBM. It was here that his true passion for technology and innovation began.  De Wever later combined this passion with his wide-ranging experience as a London credit trader to launch his own venture captial firm,  » Read More

PITTSBURGH — UMass Twitter takes care of its own. When the Minutmen qualified for their second Frozen Four @curryhickssage, one of UMass’ most prominent supporters on the platform tweeted: “Alright #UMassTwitter. Time to open up your checkbooks to get @UmassReindeer and a friend to Pittsburgh for the Frozen Four. He quoted me a budget for two tickets to both games plus a hotel and some gas money. It’s reasonable.”He then included a Venmo link and contributed $50. @CurryHicksSage, a 35-year-old New York City resident who prefers to go by his screen name, is a longtime fan and originally from the Pioneer Valley.@UMassReindeer is sophomore Quinn McCarron from Worcester. McCarron wears a reindeer costume to the Mullins Center and sits — more like stands — with the Militia in the student section. At least he did when fans could still attend UMass hockey games.“I haven’t missed a hockey game,” McCarron said.Well.“That was at home,” he said. “With us available to go.”The reindeer costume was birthed of necessity and happy accidents. McCarron lost a Chewbacca costume his freshman year and needed something to wear for Halloween his freshman year of college. His mom stopped by Goodwill and purchased the reindeer costume, which is too small to…

A progressive journalist is sounding the alarm about actions YouTube has taken against his news outlet as part of a broader effort to suppress independent voices on the platform. Jordan Chariton, the co-founder of Status Coup, took to Twitter on Thursday after facing yet another round of punishments from the Google-owned company. "After @YouTube @TeamYouTube has taken down 7-10 REPORTING videos from @StatusCoup of Trump supporters' bogus election fraud claims—which we challenged—they're now warning us we'll get a strike and week ban if more are found," Chariton tweeted with screenshots of the warnings sent by YouTube. "YouTube is really trying to push us off the platform," Chariton added. YOUTUBE'S 'DANGEROUS' CRACKDOWN ON INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS: 'IT DEFIES ALL LOGIC AND REASON'Chariton, a vocal supporter of Bernie Sanders during the 2020 presidential election, then wrote, "Honestly, the way things have been going on YouTube--with our subscriber growth and views NOSEDIVING because of its suppression of our content--I genuinely don't know how much longer @StatusCoup can survive. Status Coup has gained support from other progressives and independent journalists on social media. "The people who have agitated and are still agitating for more and more online censorship -- led by journalists at the NYT, CNN & NBC -- are not only destroying the…

To hold elected representatives responsible for decisions they make, Americans need to know what those officials and their advisers are saying. That’s an essential democratic principle, and it’s as true for coronavirus response as any other policy challenge. So it’s chilling that Google’s YouTube, through its “medical misinformation policy,” appears to be systematically undermining the ability to access material in the public interest. Last September, YouTube scrubbed a Hoover Institution interview with Scott Atlas, then one of President Trump’s coronavirus advisers. In January it censored a U.S. Senate committee hearing on unapproved coronavirus treatments. Now it has taken down a video of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holding a policy discussion with Dr. Atlas and the three creators of the Great Barrington Declaration, a group of physicians and scientists critical of strict lockdowns to fight the coronavirus. In the hour-and-forty-five minute video, Mr. DeSantis and the four panelists lambaste the U.S. coronavirus response as excessively draconian and ineffective. They emphasize unintended public-health harms from lockdowns and school closures, criticize mask mandates and generally celebrate Florida’s response. The video was shared in a story from a Tampa Bay, Fla., news station, and its removal from YouTube was first flagged by the American…

This April 23rd through 25th, a selection of Stephen King movies will be available to watch online for free. Hosted by Canadian film production company Barker Street Cinema, the virtual festival, called STEPHEN KING RULES, will screen 25 submissions by filmmakers from all over the world, many of which have never been seen by a global audience before. Related Article: Stephen King’s THE JAUNT to Teleport Terror To Your TV Since 1977, the Master of Horror Stephen King has allowed emerging filmmakers to adapt his previously unproduced short stories into films that may help launch their careers through what is called the “Dollar Baby Deal”. Barker Street’s STEPHEN KING RULES Dollar Baby Film Festival will showcase an exciting line-up of these independent movies, including interviews and panel discussions with the filmmakers themselves. Barker Street Cinema partners James Douglas and Norm Coyne will lead the festival. Three years ago they also made their own Dollar Baby adaptation of King’s Sherlock Holmes mystery The Doctor’s Case. It will also screen at the festival. Douglas points to the film as the launchpad for his film career. And also the remarkable effect the program has had on so many. Related Article: Spielberg & The…

A woman who was sexually abused and raped as a child has waived her right to anonymity to speak out against the harmful affects of easily-accessible pornography.Dandy Doherty says she was sexually abused at the age of 11 and raped at the age of 15 - and that her abusers were the same age as her. She is one of many to contribute to the website Everyone's Invited, but she's waived her anonymity because she feels inaction by schools and parents has "trickled down" to create an abuse culture. Image: Everyone's Invited - testimonies uploaded to the site have prompted multiple police reports of abuse More than 14,000 allegations have now been made by school pupils on the website, which is gathering testimonies of sexual violence and abuse."Consent needs to be talked about from very young age," says Dandy. "Pornography needs to be talked about from a very young age. "It's not inappropriate to talk to a 10-year-old about sex, it's inappropriate for a 10-year-old to be watching fake sex online and thinking that that's what's normal. "That's the bad part. It shouldn't be uncomfortable to have this conversation.""I was sexually assaulted, for the first time at 11 ,12, 13…

As Swifties are anxiously awaiting the re-recording of Taylor Swift's 2008 studio album Fearless, the singer released a preview of her track "Fifteen" on Snapchat. Get ready to start singing, "When you're fifteeeeeeen," on repeat, because the Snapchat Lens plays a clip of the updated tune. If you can't wait to hear the re-recorded version of her second studio album (not to mention the six new tracks), here's how to get Taylor Swift's "Fifteen" Snapchat Lens.Although you don't have too much longer to wait until Swift's Fearless rerecorded version drops on April 9, there's plenty to be anxious about. In addition to the original tracks, the singer is unveiling six unreleased songs — one of which already premiered ahead of the album debut. Thankfully, Snapchat is giving fans an early listen of "Fifteen (Taylor's Version)" with a preview Lens and a clip in its Sounds section. With further ado, here's how you can get your hands on the sweet, sweet preview.How To Get Taylor Swift's "Fifteen" Snapchat Lens:Open Snapchat and head to the Camera. From there, tap on the Smiley face icon to open the Lens carousel.The "Fifteen" Snapchat Lens is featured in the carousel in the first few spots.…

The market has been seeing a lot of movement in tech stocks recently. As earnings begin to trickle in, products prepare for launch, and companies square off in court, there are a lot of driving forces behind the winners and the losers. Let’s take a look. Source: Koshiro K / Shutterstock.com Snap (NYSE:SNAP) stock is continuing a bullish year as it looks to expand beyond its current capabilities. The owner of messaging app Snapchat is reportedly looking to expand into the world of e-commerce. While Snap hasn’t confirmed the rumors yet, it has acquired e-commerce startup Screenshop and is looking into ways to better tie in online shopping with Snapchat. Additionally, the company is looking into a physical product line, hoping to more successfully revamp the failed Snap Spectacles of yesteryear. SNAP stock is up by roughly 20% in the last week. This of course continues the success of the last year. In the last 52 weeks, shares are up more than 400%. Another tech stocks winner today is Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). The company is doing well even in the face of chip shortages, as Apple faces component delays for its MacBooks and iPads. Plus, there is another thorn in the…

Facebook was running ads featuring voter fraud conspiracies up until Wednesday. The ads were paid for by Restoration Action, a conservative super PAC. The ads echo election fraud conspiracies that former President Trump has pushed. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. As recently as this Wednesday, Facebook was running ads featuring voter fraud conspiracy language like, "Every illegal vote cancels a legitimate vote." The ads were from the conservative super PAC Restoration Action, a group that paid Facebook over $380,000 to run ads "about social issues, elections or politics" between April 7 and May 7. The vast majority of those ads focused on Democrat-led election reform legislation that intends to expand voter registration, voting by mail, and early voting, as well as strengthen election security systems. The legislation has already successfully passed through the House, and must now pass through the Senate. Republican leaders have repeatedly attacked the legislation, and former President Donald Trump referred to it as "a monster" during a speech in March.  » Read More