The platform formerly known as Twitter has earned the dubious honor of being the first very large online platform (VLOP) to face a preliminary finding of breaching the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the bloc’s governance and content moderation rulebook. Penalties for confirmed breaches of the regime can reach up to 6% of global […]
Europe confirms first clutch of DSA grievances on Elon Musk’s X Read More »
Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, is continuing to develop a downvoting feature that will be used to improve how replies are ranked. Although the company has not yet officially announced its plans, more recent findings indicate the downvote feature may actually resemble a “dislike” button instead of a Reddit-style downvote icon. Code references found in
X is building a ‘dislike’ button for downvoting replies Read More »
As competition with TikTok and Reels heats up, YouTube on Thursday announced a slate of new features designed to make its short-form video product, YouTube Shorts, more compelling. In a video update for creators, YouTube Chief Product Officer Johanna Voolich introduced six new tools that will help creators craft their Shorts videos, including those that
YouTube tempts creators with a half dozen new features for Shorts Read More »
Elon Musk faces several lawsuits for firing more than 6,000 Twitter employees, including then-CEO Parag Agrawal, following Musk’s 2022 takeover of the social media platform. On Tuesday, Musk defeated one of those lawsuits, as a federal judge ruled X Corp. doesn’t owe the ex-employees any more severance. The lawsuit, filed by Twitter’s former head of
Elon Musk does not owe ex-Twitter staffers $500 million in severance, court rules Read More »
With Spotify’s recent launch of comments on podcasts, the streamer is taking yet another step toward building a social networking experience in an app primarily known for music. With comments, podcasters can now engage with their listeners directly within Spotify, as they can with other interactive features like Polls and Q&As. Combined with the app’s
Spotify is no longer just a streaming app, it’s a social network Read More »
As TikTok continues to test the waters with longer videos, Instagram Head Adam Mosseri has said the Meta-owned social network will continue to focus on short-form content. In an Instagram Reel, Mosseri said that long-form content would move the platform away from its two key focus areas, which are connecting people with their friends and
While TikTok chases YouTube, Instagram vows to focus on short-form content Read More »
Fast-food chain Whataburger’s app has gone viral in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which left around 1.8 million utility customers in Houston, Texas without power. Hundreds of thousands of those people may remain without power for days as Houston anticipates a heat wave, with temperatures climbing into the mid-90s. Amid frustrations with the local utility
Whataburger app becomes unlikely power outage map after Houston hurricane Read More »
Airchat, a social app built around voice messages, is pivoting after it launched in April. Airchat now looks like an asynchronous Clubhouse: You join channels for specific topics, then record voice messages or videos to respond to other people in that channel. If you want to move a thread out from the main conversation, you
Two of my friends died within the last three years. By some coincidence, both of their birthdays fall in the beginning of July. So, twice this week, Facebook has reminded me to write “happy birthday” to two people who will never respond. Facebook’s algorithms can’t comprehend death. All it knows is there was a time
Facebook keeps asking me to say ‘happy birthday’ to dead people Read More »
Newsletter platform and Substack rival Ghost announced earlier this year that it would join the fediverse, the open social network of interconnected servers that includes apps like Mastodon, Pixelfed, PeerTube, Flipboard, and, more recently, Instagram Threads, among others. Now, it has made good on that promise — with its own newsletter as a start. Over the past few days,
Substack rival Ghost federates its first newsletter Read More »
