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Facebook will shut down Moments photo app on February 25th
Did you use Facebook's Moments app to handle and share your social network photos? No? You're not the only one. Facebook has informed CNET that it's shutting down the Moments app on February 25th, partly because there weren't enough people using it. If you have a collection you'd like to keep, you can visit a special website before May 2019 to export your photos and videos either as a private Facebook album or as a download.
Twitter sunsets the ability to create Moments on mobile
Starting on October 23rd, you'll have to go straight to Twitter's website if you want to create a Moment. The platform has killed the ability to create Moments within the iOS and Android apps, because it's apparently not seeing a lot of use. "When features aren't used as often," it explained on Twitter Support, "we'll remove them, so we can focus on building other products you'll love."
Twitter is making it easier to follow your favorite topics and events
Twitter has always been the ideal site for conversations and reactions around live events, be it a sports game, an awards show or serious breaking news. Up until today, you've been able to use the Twitter mobile apps to get notifications from specific accounts you're into, like an NBA team or a media outlet, as well as breaking news. But now, the company wants to take that one step further and make it easier for you to see the latest about events and topics you care about. You'll notice this in the form of push notifications that will be sent to your phone based on your particular interests, including who you follow and what you tweet about.
Facebook secretly launched a mobile app in China
Facebook has largely been shut out of China since 2009, but that isn't stopping it from getting involved in the country... albeit in very roundabout ways. The New York Times has learned that Facebook released a photo sharing app in China, Colorful Balloons, that behaves almost exactly like the company's own Moments without any of the official branding that would lead to a guaranteed rejection. The app seems built to avoid rapid distribution (any shared photos include a broken link to Facebook's Chinese app), but it's otherwise a clear attempt to gauge how Chinese users share content.
Periscope livestreams now play inside Twitter Moments
Twitter Moments are supposed to capture the zeitgeist of cultural events, but that hasn't been entirely true when you haven't had access to as-it-happens live video. Thankfully, that's changing today. You can now play live Periscope streams directly inside Moments, giving you an easy way to follow a still-unfolding event without visiting a broadcaster's tweet or launching Periscope's dedicated app. And if you're more interested in hosting live video than watching it, there a pair of additional updates in store.
Facebook gives you basic access to Moments photos on the web
Facebook's Moments photo sharing service has, for the most part, been a mobile-only affair. You could see individual Moments thanks to links, but you couldn't just go browsing. However, you no longer have to turn to your phone for almost everything. In the wake of tests, Facebook is introducing a basic web version of Moments that lets you browse a collection of private photo albums. You can't add photos, create slideshows or even comment, but it beats having to fire up the Android or iOS app just to revisit a memory.
Make your own Moments with Twitter's mobile apps
Back in September, Twitter opened up Moments and gave anyone the ability to create a narrative with a collection of tweets. Since then, the story-curating feature has only been available on the web. Today, Twitter announced that Moments is rolling out to all users on mobile as well.
Twitter opens its Moments story-telling feature to all
Twitter debuted Moments as a means of slowing down the news feed almost a year ago. Back in August, the social network announced that all users would soon be able to employ the tool and today the company is keeping its promise. Everyone is now able to create their own Moments to highlight an event or story with the narrative feature. Whatever the topic or occasion may be, you can now compile a collection of tweets should the need arise. All you have to do is select "Create a new Moment," add the relevant tweets, select a cover image and publish it for all of your followers to see. The feature is now available on the web and will soon make its way Twitter's mobile apps.
Everyone will be able to create Twitter Moments in a few months
Today Twitter announced that it was was opening Moments creation to more brands, media outlets, partners and individuals like activist DeRay Mckesson. That's great and all, but the real news is that in the "coming months" everyone will be able to create their own Moments on the social network.
Twitter's Olympics coverage includes live Moments and Periscope
Much like Google, Twitter is going all-out to make itself a one-stop shop for summer Olympics coverage... and this year, there's a distinct focus on live action. The social network has revealed that there will be an Olympics-specific Moments section (shown below) that will help you keep track of your home country or individual sports as they happen, one tweet at a time. There will also be an Olympics-oriented Periscope channel -- no, you probably won't see someone broadcasting an event from their phone, but you may just get a feel for Rio de Janeiro from someone who's there.
Twitter is experimenting with adding 'Moments' to your timeline
Twitter is testing adding Moments directly to your timeline. The feature that highlights trends and news items on the social network is appearing in a carousel post that can be swiped horizontally. While only an experiment right now, this early exploration of dropping into user feeds shows just how important the trending-topic element is to the company.
Twitter's Android app gets the Material Design treatment
What was once a test is now official. Twitter is rolling out a new version of its Android app which adheres to Material Design, the paper-like visual language developed by Google. The app is now split into four tabs -- Home, Moments, Notifications and Messages -- which you can move between by tapping the icons at the top of the screen, or using a horizontal swipe. Dragging across from the left-hand edge will reveal a side menu with shortcuts to your profile, lists and Twitter highlights. The drop-down arrow at the top of the menu will let you switch accounts, meanwhile.
Instagram rolls out its Facebook-style algorithmic feed
Back in March, Instagram announced plans to re-order the feed of accounts you follow based on what you're likely to care about most. The idea is similar to with Facebook does with the News Feed: displaying posts that might interest you the most rather than showing content in chronological order. A few days after the announcement, Instagram took to Twitter to let us know the algorithm-driven approach wasn't in place yet, but this week the company announced the feature is now rolling out to all users.
Twitter will serve up Spotify links as 30-second clips
When Twitter first announced Audio Cards that would put songs in your social feed, SoundCloud was the music service of choice at launch. After the feature has been available for well over a year, Spotify tracks will now show up in a similar fashion. Any tweet that contains a link to a song from the streaming service will offer a 30-second preview in your timeline. Spotify clips will also appear in that curated Moments feed, which is how the company broke the news today.
Facebook respects European privacy, skips facial recognition
Last June, Facebook launched an app called Moments that allows you to share event photos with friends. The software uses facial recognition to who's in the pictures for easy tagging and organizing. In the EU, regulators had already taken Facebook to task over its "tag suggest" facial recognition feature that scanned photos for your friends so you could easily tag them on the site. European data authorities haven't changed their stance on the feature, so Moments wasn't available there or in Canada until now.
Twitter is pushing Moments out to more countries
Twitter clearly believes that its Moments feature is going to help win back those users that won't stop jilting it. The company has launched the service in Australia and, according to iPhone in Canada, will bring it to, er, Canada by April. If you've never bothered to click through (and let's be honest, why would you) Moments aggregates breaking news events and memes that start on the site. The system is already available in the US, UK and Brazil, with plenty more locations surely to follow afterward. Which, we're sure, will do plenty to help fix the social network's increasingly toxic atmosphere, right?
Twitter opens topical Moments feed to UK advertisers
Twitter's Moments feature lets users step back from their rapid-fire feeds and see what hot topics are dominating internet chatter. From news to funnies to trending subjects, Moments blend media and commentary into curated, bitesize overviews. But like any self-respecting social network would, Twitter's made sure the new feature doubles as a new revenue stream. Promoted Moments, aka adverts, began appearing in the US weeks after the feature launched, and from today, Brits will start seeing them pop up too.
Twitter brings curated 'Moments' to the UK
For years, Twitter has served us text, photos and videos in chronological format, allowing us to keep up with news and events the very minute they happen. That's great if you follow a wide range of people, but when information isn't centralised, it can be hard to stay up-to-date with developments. The company has dabbled with features like "While you were away" recaps, which have been met with mixed responses, but more recently it launched Moments: a feature that makes keeping up with trending topics and news items a whole lot easier. After being let loose in the US in October, Twitter has finally decided it's ready for testing in the UK.
Facebook is replacing Photo Sync with its Moments app
If you've been storing pictures with Facebook's Photo Sync feature, those will soon be moved to another property from the social network. As spotted by TechCrunch, Facebook has started notifying people that, on January 10th, content from Photo Sync is now going to live in its Moments app. The company didn't mention why it decided to phase it out, but this move is likely to encourage users to try a newer service.Moments was introduced this past June and lets you easily create photo albums, which can be shared privately with friends. At the same time, those are curated using location information and facial recognition of the places you visited and who you were with. The Moments application is available for Android and iOS.
This ad is how Twitter is introducing itself to the world
You read Engadget, so you're probably familiar with Twitter even if you're not a regular user. For most other people -- who apparently aren't joining fast enough to please investors -- it's just something occasionally mentioned on the news or Sportscenter. Those people are the ones who the social network's first TV ad is aimed towards. Predictably, the (baseball-focused, since it premiered a few minutes ago during tonight's World Series game) advertisement is all about the new Moments feature intended to organize and slow the flow of information for new users. I felt more confused than ever about Twitter's purpose after watching the 30-second spot, but maybe the intended audience will have a different reaction -- you can check it out after the break.
