Social Networks

(Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?  1 —Twitter acquired a newsletter company. This past week, Twitter announced that it acquired the newsletter company Revue. With newsletters skyrocketing in popularity, Twitter is making strides to keep up with social media platforms who currently permit their users to make money based off of their followers. Twitter has been working to acquire more start-ups over the last couple of months in an effort to broaden what they offer and make up the revenue lost from advertising dollars since the start of the pandemic. (Source: NY Times) Why this is important for your business: As a Twitter user, I like this! It would be great to capitalize on my following and send outbound emails with educational information to those that opt-in. Other small businesses and entrepreneurs may also feel the same. If done the right way, this could be a great marketing option…and something I’d pay for. 2 — Plastiq announced the first end-to-end Intuit QuickBooks online integration in the payments industry.    Plastiq announced that Intuit QuickBooks…

Whatever streaming video service you pay for your stuck-at-home entertainment, you can expect to see it present the same thing eventually: a rate hike.The latest came Wednesday from Sling TV: New subscribers will pay $35 monthly for basic service, up from $30, with all subscribers getting 50 hours of digital video recording instead of 10. (A rate freeze protects existing customers through July.)That followed earlier hikes from Netflix (in October, its HD plan inched from $12.99 monthly to $13.99, with 4K ratcheting from $15.99 to $17.99), Google’s YouTube TV (in June, it spiked $15 to hit $64.99), Hulu + Live TV ($10 more in December to $64.99), and AT&T TV (January’s folding of AT&T TV Now into AT&T TV meant the two cheapest plans went from $55 and $80 to $69.99 and $84.99).Social media detox?: For many, 'doomscrolling' on Facebook and Twitter has bummed them out.Samsung Galaxy S21 smartphones: Will upgraded and cheaper Android get iPhone users to switch?Viola Davis starred as real-life Southern singer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey in Netflix's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (now streaming).But these streaming services don’t sock you surcharges like cable and satellite TV. Their rates don’t hide rent for reception hardware (often $10 and up,…

After social media platforms cracked down on the baseless QAnon conspiracy, adherents are scrambling to find other ways to communicate. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Stephanie Keith/Getty Images After social media platforms cracked down on the baseless QAnon conspiracy, adherents are scrambling to find other ways to communicate. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images January brought a one-two punch that should have knocked out the fantastical, false QAnon conspiracy theory. After the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the social media platforms that had long allowed the falsehoods to spread like wildfire — namely Twitter, Facebook and YouTube — got more aggressive in cracking down on accounts promoting QAnon. Just two weeks later, Joe Biden was inaugurated president. That stunned those adherents who believed, among other things, that Donald Trump would stay in office for another term and that he would arrest and execute his political enemies. "There's no one cohesive narrative that's really emerged yet. And I pin that on not really having a leader right now," said Mike Rothschild, a conspiracy-theory researcher who is writing a book about QAnon. The QAnon universe has two stars. There's Q, the mysterious figure whose cryptic, evidence-free posts on anonymous online…

YouTube star Abigail Thorn has come out as a trans woman.The star behind the platform’s successful Philosophy Tube channel made the announcement in a new video she posted for her followers.In the clip, she says she came out “ages ago” in private, but this was the first time she was telling her fans.“It’s so lovely now to finally relax, to sleep well with sweet dreams and be at home in myself,” she said.In a follow-up video, she delivered an impassioned speech, in which she stated: “Being trans is perfectly normal."She continued: “Like all human beings, we are inherently valuable and entitled to self-determination, and if that makes some people uncomfortable, well, it’s only because they’re choosing not to live in reality.”On Twitter, Thorn then posted a statement, which has been widely shared and supported by her followers on social media.Independent Culture NewsletterThe best in film, music TV & radio straight to your inbox every weekIndependent Culture NewsletterThe best in film, music TV & radio straight to your inbox every weekThe Independent would like to keep you informed about offers, events and updates by email, please tick the box if you would like to be contactedRead our full mailing list consent…

Facebook has seen usage boom during the global pandemic, but that could change very soon (Image: UNSPLASH) Sign up for FREE for the biggest new releases, reviews and tech hacks Invalid emailWe will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.Facebook’s business has boomed during the global coronavirus pandemic. As millions of us stay home to work, study, and socialise, it makes sense that more people would be checking our News Feed, using Facebook’s messaging services, including Messenger and WhatsApp, to keep in touch, and make a little extra cash selling some unwanted clothes on Facebook Marketplace.In its most recent quarterly earnings call, the Californian social network reported $28 billion in revenue in the last three months, and saw its users grow to 1.84 billion daily active users and 2.8 billion monthly active users. If you count the “family of apps” owned by Facebook, including the likes of Instagram and WhatsApp, the company reported 3.3 billion monthly active users.Given that there are only 7.8 billion people alive on the planet right now, that’s a good proportion logging into an app owned by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg every…

Facebook is a giant social media company with over 2.7 billion monthly active users. Among these 2.7 users; some have always been complaining that the big social media companies pay less attention to prevent ads from being shown on their platforms which also includes hate speech, fake news, and harmful content. Facebook is no less than any other social media platform and makes its users believe that it is concerned about them and their data. The platform not only makes sure that the users stay aware; but also ensures that they are safe from any kind of offensive and hurtful content. A lot of efforts are done by Facebook while investing in system transparency. An example of this is when Facebook launched the content oversight board in 2018, upon the suggestion of Mark Zuckerberg. This is an organization that keeps a check on the data that is posted on the platform. Facebook then confirmed that since it has created the oversight board, it has received 20,000 reports. The company is still committed to providing content to its users that is free of hateful content or that which can hurt someone’s self-worth. The Inc of Facebook confirmed on Friday that the…

WhatsApp Privacy Policy FILE New Delhi: Facing backlash over its upcoming privacy policy, WhatsApp that has been using its Status feature to allay fears in India for some time now, has now expanded its “commitment to your privacy” message to the users in the US and UK as well. The in-app messages started appearing for users in the US and UK on Saturday in Status which is WhatsApp’s version of Snapchat Stories or Twitter Fleets. The messages read “One thing that isn’t new is our commitment to your privacy,” along with a reminder that “WhatsApp can’t read or listen to your personal conversations as they’re end-to-end encrypted,” reports The Verge. A WhatsApp spokesperson said: “Going forward, we’re going to provide updates to people in the Status tab so people hear from WhatsApp directly”. “Our first update reaffirms that WhatsApp cannot see your personal messages, and neither can Facebook, because they are protected by end-to-end encryption”. Earlier this month, the Facebook-owned app moved back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms, from February 8 to May 15. “We’ll then go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business…

Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for AMC Jeffrey Dean Morgan posted a photo on his Instagram page that has left his fans feeling bittersweet. The photo showed his Walking Dead script binder that his son made for him for an extraordinary Christmas gift this year.The reason it is so bittersweet? The cover has a drawing of a walker’s face with the words “The Last Season.”  We all know that season eleven is the finale season for the series, but to see it in words on JDM’s social media just cuts right to the heart.Negan will be featured in at least two of the six bonus episodes. “Home Sweet Home” is the first episode that is Maggie focused, but Negan is also featured. The hope is that we get to see something in the way of closure between the two characters.The final episode, “Here’s Negan,” will obviously focus on Negan. This looks to be some backstory as his wife Lucille, played by his real-life wife Hilarie Burton Morgan, is in the episode. And, we all know his wife died early on after the outbreak of cancer. It will be an interesting episode that takes a look at the man Negan was…

As new users are hopping on to messaging services to try the variations in the technology services, the freeware cloud-based instant messaging software and application service Telegram has launched a new feature that can import user's chat history from WhatsApp. WhatsApp Chat History Telegram

She may be a queen on the social media scene but model Elyse Knowles won’t be encouraging her children to take the same path to success. Despite a 873,000-strong following on Instagram, soon-to-be mum Knowles and partner Josh Barker will be keeping screens at bay.“I don’t want technology in their faces all the time,” she told Stellar. “That’s how we’re going to bring up our kids, I know it. We want them to be outside because that’s how we were brought up.”Instead the 28-year-old said their relaxed life and community in Byron Bay would keep their family grounded.RELATED:NRL STAR GOES VIRAL WITH HUGE INSTAGRAM BLOOPERELYSE KNOWLES ROASTED OVER SPELLING MISTAKE“I’m inspired to see older women with wrinkles on their faces and who have huge smile lines,” she said. “They have four kids and are so happy and natural.” The former Block star was roasted for a spelling mistake after she posted a selfie perched on a bed in black underwear and a white shirt and captioned her pic “wallah” back in August. The screenshot from her Instagram story was first shared by Celeb Spellcheck on Instagram at the time but went viral after it resurfaced in December. Celeb Spellcheck is a page…