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TikTok's new profile tools are just for musicians
TikTok has introduced the Artist Account, which offers up-and-coming musicians new ways to curate their profiles in ways that boost discoverability.
Trending topics feature may be coming to the Threads app
Meta’s Threads app may get a trending topics section. The potential new feature was showcased in reposted screenshots originally shared by a Meta employee.
Amazon Fire TV interface makes it easier to find free content
Amazon is rolling out a new “Free” tab, full of ad-supported streaming content, to customers in the US.
YouTube wants more YouTubers in its 'Trending' feed
YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki has answered mounting concerns about how it handles content, including who gets the most coveted promotions. She acknowledged feedback that the "Trending" section tended to rehash content "again and again," and vowed that the site would have "at least half" of its trending videos come from YouTubers, with the rest belonging to music and conventional outlets. The company was already near that goal, Wojcicki said, but it would "expand on" that target.
Google's iOS app now shows trending searches
Earlier this year, Google added a "trending" widget in its iOS search app that shows off what people are looking for at any given moment. Now, Google's adding that info right into the main part of the app. After installing an update that's live in the App Store, you'll see trending searches when you tap on the search bar in the Google app. They show up below your recent searches, which are immediately visible when you tap the bar; they're also symbolized with a blue rising arrow icon.
Facebook redesigns Trending topics in its war on filter bubbles
The fight against filter bubbles is on. Facebook's latest redesign focuses on its Trending news section, and it's a direct attempt to combat the "filter bubble" effect that happens in many users' timelines. The update changes the results page when you click on a Trending topic -- instead of a single news source, you'll see a carousel of publications writing about that item.
Facebook no longer personalizes trending news topics
Facebook vowed to alter how it handles its Trending topics feature as part of its bid to curb fake news and accusations of bias, and you're seeing two major changes on that front today. To start, it's adding headlines and sources next to those topics. You'll now have context as to why a subject is blowing up without having to click a thing. However, the bigger shift is in how Facebook decides what you see -- it's no longer personalizing stories to match your interests.
EE TV now highlights what shows are trending on Twitter
Ever feel like your colleagues are speaking an entirely different language when you're eavesdropping around the water cooler? Who is this Greg guy with the insatiable appetite they keep bringing up? Well, if you happen to have an EE set-top box sitting under your TV at home, then prepare to up your small talk game. As part of the platform's first major update since the ability to download recordings to phones and tablets was added, EE has today brought various "Watch with Twitter" features to its TV service after partnering with the social network.
Facebook vows to fight fake news but won't say how
Facebook has a news problem. The algorithm powering its Newsfeed can't always distinguish an accurate story from a complete fabrication, which means misleading and false stories regularly circulate throughout the site. Following Donald Trump's win in the US presidential election this week, commentators are arguing that fake stories shared on Facebook's Newsfeed propelled his campaign, and executives at the site need to take responsibility for distributing accurate, vetted news.
Facebook highlights false news story in its trending topics
The usefulness of Facebook's "trending topics" feature has always been a bit questionable, but it's been under fire this year as the company battled accusations its human editors were filtering out "conservative" news stories. Today, Facebook is getting a bit more egg on its face: its trending topics area promoted a story about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly being fired for supporting Hillary Clinton. As of this writing, that has not happened -- but the false story was still trending for hours on Facebook before finally getting pulled.
YouTube's 2015 Rewind brings you cage dancing and gamers
YouTube may not be the first internet giant to serve up a year-end retrospective this week, but it's making up for that in style. The video service has posted the 2015 edition of its annual Rewind video recapping the year's trends, and this one pays an ode to more than just the usual internet celebrities and viral clips. On top of mainstays like iJustine and Rhett & Link, the look-back also includes gaming stars like Markiplier (on the left) -- a plug for YouTube Gaming, to be sure, but also a tribute to the rise of Let's Play videos. You'll get your fair share of dancing, too, whether it's in a cage or in retro clothing.
Twitter revamps trends to explain why a topic is popular
Peeking at what's trending on Twitter ensures you don't miss anything, but sometimes a hashtag's meaning isn't obvious. For those strange-looking acronyms, subjects and unfamiliar names, the 140-character social network tweaked the way its Android and iOS apps handle trends. On the top chart, there are descriptions for each item that not only decodes a hashtag, but explains why the subject is a hot topic. The company nixed the Discover and Activity tabs too, and all the details on what's popular now reside in Search. Unfortunately, the new workflow is only available on mobile in the US for now, but it'll arrive in more locales, and on the desktop, "in the future." Revamped trends follows the recent change to quote retweets so that they don't eat up that valuable character allotment -- both of which make Twitter's own software more attractive.
Facebook helps you follow hot trends on your phone
When there's a big event happening while you're away from home, what apps do you use to keep track on your phone? Probably not Facebook -- it's often the last service to show you up-to-the-minute info. That might change after today. Facebook has started rolling out its Trending feature on mobile, along with a few upgrades that make it easier to see what others are saying about a hot topic. You can follow a Twitter-like live feed if you want to see reactions as they trickle in, but you can also limit your reading to people nearby, those who were directly involved, news articles or your friends.
Keep track of new and favorite video games with iGames
iGames is a free app for iOS that keeps you updated on all the new and trending video games. The app has a large library - over 20,000 - of video games for dozens of different platforms. Plus each title is paired with information about that game plus ratings, trailers and other features for saving and sharing your favorites. iGames requires iOS 7.0 or later. The clear goal of iGames is to simplify the lives of video game junkies by providing all the essentials for their favorite titles, ranging from classics played time and time again to brand new releases that have yet to hit store shelves. The home screen showcases a variety of games broken down into useful categories: Trending Games on iGames, Games Coming Soon, New Game Releases, Top Rated Games and Game Updates. At the top, there's a search bar to navigate through the extensive collection of games in iGames as well as two icons to the right. The video game controller pulls up a list of platforms and there are plenty here. By default, they all have check marks next to them. Deselect a platform so iGames won't show you games exclusive to that one. The icon farthest to the right resembling the app's icon itself is for the Watch List, which stores all the games you save. Oddly, everything I mentioned above from game categories to platform customization to the Watch List is all in the sidebar menu as well. If you prefer to browse the app using the menu, it's available, but nothing that's in the menu isn't accessible from the Home view itself. Tap any game to get into its specifics. The game page includes details like platform, release date, genres, players, ESRB rating, publisher and developer. It also includes screenshots and YouTube trailers for select games. iGames also has its own rating system, rather than pulling ratings from another source. It's respectable, but it means ratings on less popular games are sparse or nonexistent. The new stuff typically had enough ratings for you to get a feel for a general consensus. Otherwise, rate the game yourself if you've played it by tapping "Rate." My two favorite features of the app are just above the rating. The first is that familiar Watch List icon again, but here is where you tap to add a game to your collection. It's a great way to keep track of only the games that interest you. Even better is the icon right next to it which, mainly for games coming soon, adds the release date of the game to your iPhone's calendar as an event. Very clever thinking on the developer's part. Video game lovers need not to look further than iGames for a great source of game information, ratings and more. Plus with features like Watch List, platform customization and the ability to add a title's release date to your calendar, it's incredibly easy to keep track of the games that matter the most to you. iGames is completely free (with pleasantly inconspicuous ads) in the App Store.
Facebook adds Trending topics so you always know what's hot in your corner of the social universe
After several months of testing, Facebook is officially rolling out a new Trending feature that, just like on Twitter, lets users see what hot topics are dominating conversation on the social platform. The new Trending column, which will appear to the right of users' News Feeds, groups the most popular topics in a list and also displays a convenient headline summary alongside so you know why it's important. Facebook isn't just culling data from across its massive global reach and giving you a pulse on what the world-at-large is talking about, it's customizing this Trending feed based on your interests and friends. So clicking on any of these topics will take you a relevant post from a friend or a sponsored Page. Don't tweak, though, if you don't see Trending when you log on to Facebook for the day, as the feature's being introduced in phases globally. It's also only for the desktop as of now, though Facebook is currently testing it for mobile.
Twitter experiments with trending TV box on some users' timelines
Twitter has already signaled its love of TV by negotiating deals for branded video, but it's not satisfied yet: the company has started limited testing of a timeline box for trending TV shows. The feature provides both the details of a given show as well as a list of associated Twitter accounts. Thankfully, the box isn't a permanent fixture; while it will appear on its own, users can close and scroll past the box to return to their personal feeds. The company isn't commenting on the test or the likelihood of a wider rollout, but the popularity of Twitter as a live TV companion suggests that the trending TV box could be here to stay.
SwiftKey Cloud syncs your keyboard profile, includes trending phrases (video)
Here's something we've all been wanting for some time. SwiftKey Cloud is launching today with a bunch of new functionality including -- you guessed it -- cloud backup and synchronization across multiple devices. By keeping your keyboard profile and settings online, you no longer have to re-teach Swiftkey your typing habits if you upgrade to a new tablet or lose your phone. Trending phrases is another new feature which analyzes relevant and localized phrases that are trending on social networks and other media and adds them daily to the keyboard's vocabulary. It supports US / UK English and eleven other languages at launch, with more coming in the future. Finally, SwiftKey Cloud makes its easier than before to personalize your keyboard by connecting it with your GMail, Facebook, Twitter and now Yahoo! mail accounts. We've been using the beta for about a day now and everything's working as advertised. Check out the gallery below, then hit the break for the promo video and PR. %Gallery-194389%
Google now offers Top Charts and visualization tool for trending topics
Instead of waiting until the end of the year for Google's annual Zeitgeist, you can now find out what's trending in any given month with a new Top Charts feature from Google Trends. Updated monthly and going back to 2004, Top Charts is built on the Knowledge Graph, so it's smart enough to house related keywords under one term for more accurate rankings. For example, searches for "giants baseball" and "sf giants" would go toward pushing "San Francisco Giants" up the ranks in a sports-related chart. Right now there are more than 40 top ten lists with more than 140 time periods available for your perusal. In addition to the charts, the Trends team has also rolled out a new visualization tool for "hot searches" that displays trending topics in a large colorful layout -- as seen below, you can customize it to display up to 25 searches at a time that endlessly shift and refresh, thus consuming our attention for the entire day.
DCM Dealer software platform mines social media for stock sentiment, Wall Street licks its chops
In this episode of "What could possibly go wrong?!", allow us to introduce you to DCM Dealer. Billed as an "online trading platform," this here project was whipped up by the same London-based investment outfit (DCM Capital) that went belly-up after losing some $40 million in assets in just one month during the summer of 2011. Granted, that was a pretty tough time in the market, and it did manage to squeeze out a 1.9 percent gain in the period it was open, but it's still worth keeping in mind. Now, the firm is hoping to catch a second wind with a tool that mines Twitter, Facebook, and the whole of social media in order to pick up clues about the public's view on a stock. Reportedly, it'll spit out real-time ratings from 0 (negative) to 100 (positive), giving investors yet another "leading indicator" on what to invest in flip for a quick buck. Founder Paul Hawtin confesses: "This is not some kind of holy grail of buy-sell signals that's guaranteed to make you money. This is an additional layer of market information...markets are driven by greed and fear, so if you can understand fear and quantify it in real-time, you could use that to protect yourself." We'll leave it to the 99 percent to comment on the idea below.
Twitter announces 'Trends' for 100 more cities, spreads the trending topics love
Even though there's an ongoing kerfuffle between social giants Instagram and Twitter, the microblogging service is putting that aside and focusing its own efforts on improving the experience for some of its (many) users. With that in mind, Twitter announced earlier today that it has expanded its trending topics feature, also known as Trends, to an additional 100 cities around the world, including big-name places like Frankfurt in Germany and Guadalajara down in Mexico. Of course, this means more people can now easily glance at some of the most talked about things around the Blue Bird social network -- still, don't expect Justin Bieber's name to pop up every single day on the list, as Twitter was pretty clear on how it feels about that.
