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Facebook now lets you transfer posts to Google Docs and Wordpress.com
Facebook's data tool now lets you transfer notes and posts to Google Docs, Blogger and Wordpress.
Google removes accounts tied to Iran-led misinformation campaign
Google shared an update today regarding its efforts to combat state-sponsored phishing attacks and to remove accounts associated with an influence operation linked to Iran. The company said that in recent months, it has detected and blocked state-sponsored groups from targeting political campaigns, journalists, activists and academics with phishing attempts. Along with notifying law enforcement when these sorts of attacks are discovered, Google also notifies affected users, and it issued a series of alerts to Gmail users earlier this week over suspicious emails. It said the emails originated from a wide range of countries. You can read more about that specific round of notifications here.
Russian blogger found guilty of playing 'Pokémon Go' in church
A Russian judge has found a Russian YouTuber guilty of inciting hatred for posting antireligious videos after he filmed himself playing Pokémon Go in a church. Ruslan Sokolovsky, a 22-year-old man from the Ural mountain city of Yekaterinburg (around 1,000 miles east of Moscow), could have faced up to five years in jail for "offending religious sensibilities." Sokolovsky was handed a three and a half year suspended sentence.
Google won't ban adult content on Blogger after all
Well that was fast. Google only declared that it would begin cracking down on adult content posted to Blogger a few days ago, but it's already decided it was a bit hasty in its decision. After coming under fire over the introduction of a retroactive change that would ban sexually explicit images and video and also required owners to delete older content, the search giant has told users that it will crack down harder on the publishing of commercial porn instead.
Daily Roundup: Pebble Time, GTA V delays and more!
In today's Daily Roundup, Pebble turns to Kickstarter to announce its new watch. Meanwhile, Grand Theft Auto V on the PC has been delayed again, Google is working on a new Chromebook Pixel and Apple's latest iOS and OS X betas include more diverse emoji. Catch up on all these stories and more, past the break.
Google's banning sexually explicit content from its blogging platform
Many X-rated Blogger accounts might cease to exist in the near future, as Google will no longer allow anyone to post sexually explicit or nude videos and images starting on March 23rd, 2015. It doesn't end there, though: Mountain View also wants old account owners to delete any content that violates that rule, or else it will forcibly make those blogs private (all posts will only be visible to owners) after the aforementioned date. Blogger's current content policy allows visuals that show nudity and sexual activities (barring illegal ones like bestiality) so long as the blog is marked "adult." Censoring those types of entries, according to the policy, "is contrary to a service that bases itself on freedom of expression." Google has yet to reveal why it had a sudden change of heart.
LFM: Massively seeks a new columnist and freelancers
Yes folks, it's that time again: the time when Massively hops into the hiring channel and says, "Looking for more!" We're looking to hire fresh meat a new staff member and a set of freelancers for the site: a new multipurpose columnist and West Coast freelancers. Here's the skinny on us: Massively is Joystiq's geeky MMO cousin. We're owned by AOL; we're all paid, remote contractors; and we uphold a strict set of ethical standards you won't find among our rivals. We focus on high-quality writing with fair sourcing and a mix of news and features. We employ actual copyediting and editorial oversight, so you won't see trainwreck English in every headline. In short, we are the MMO site the other sites use as an RSS feed. These positions would be an awesome chance to break into paid gaming journalism if you happen to have just the right blend of availability, excellent writing skills, and passion for the MMO genre. If that describes you, then read on and apply!
MMO bloggers band together to encourage new writers
Have you heard of the Newbie Blogger Initiative? It's only the latest and greatest craze to hit the MMO circuit. Basically, several experienced MMO bloggers decided to band together to encourage and support players in trying their hand at starting up a new blog. During the month of October, the NBI will be raging across blogs, on its website, and especially on its forums. Veteran MMO bloggers have gathered to offer advice through posts, mentoring, Q&A sessions, and promoting start-up blogs. Yours truly will be a part of this, as will Storybricks' Brian Green. If you've thought about starting up an MMO blog, then this is the perfect month to do so. Sign in, peruse the forums, get posting, and enjoy the resources that the blogging community is setting up to give you the best possible beginning! The NBI should interest all MMO players, as it's a great central location to find interesting and entertaining blogs both new and old.
Daily Update for August 16, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.
Google Blogger for Android gets tablet support
Blogger clearly benefits from a larger screen, yet Android tablet owners haven't had a native editing space since the Blogger app launched on their platform. Thankfully, Google is rectifying that problem today: the Android release now occupies a tablet's full screen space while users compose and review their posts. The refresh also offers WYSIWYG editing for current entries, regardless of the screen size. However much they'll use the improved workspace, would-be Android auteurs just have to swing by Google Play for the update.
Massively seeks a new Guild Wars 2 columnist
Yes folks, it's that time again: the time when Massively hops into the hiring channel and says, "Looking for more!" We're looking to hire fresh meat a new staff member for the site, a Guild Wars 2 columnist to keep up the quality of our GW2 coverage as produced by past experts Lis Cardy and Rubi Bayer and our interim Flameseeker Chronicles video guru Richie Procopio. Here's the skinny on us: Massively is Joystiq's geeky MMO cousin. We're owned by AOL; we're all paid, remote contractors; and we uphold a strict set of ethical standards you won't find among our rivals. We focus on high-quality writing with fair sourcing and a mix of news and features. We employ actual copyediting and editorial oversight, so you won't see trainwreck English in every headline. In short, we are the MMO site the other sites use as an RSS feed. This position would be an awesome chance to break into paid gaming journalism if you happen to have just the right blend of Guild Wars 2 experience, availability, excellent writing skills, and passion for the MMO genre. If that describes you, then read on and apply!
Google+ extends its reach into Blogger comments
We haven't been hearing a whole lot about Blogger amid all the changes at Google in recent months, but the company hasn't entirely forgotten about the pioneering blogging platform it acquired way back in 2003. It's today introduced Google+ Comments for Blogger, a fairly self-explanatory new feature that will let you bring G+ comments to your Blogger-based site. Blogger users can enable that feature in their dashboard, which will let them see both comments left directly on their blog and those made about their blog on Google+. Notably, it will also let users chose to either comment publicly or privately to only those in their Google+ circles -- and, conversely, choose to only view comments from their circles instead of the teeming masses.
Google Takeout now liberating Blogger and Google+ Pages
Google Takeout's export functions have slowly extended their reach from profiles and personal contacts to heftier material, such as all our videos. However much we've been using that data portability, Google is eliminating what few gaps are left in its coverage: the company's Data Liberation Front has expanded Takeout to preserve both Blogger content as well as Google+ Pages. Web denizens can cherry-pick just the blogs or Pages they want if a whole-enchilada backup is too much. Regardless of how large a safety net we need, the new options are ready and waiting at the source links.
What are your favorite WoW blogs? Let's see them all!
One of the best parts of the WoW experience is the community. Players from the very most pro to the very casual "have fun when I can" crowd get inspired, start blogs, create art, and share their Azerothian experiences with the world wide web. It enriches our skills, creates friendships, and generally makes the world an awesome place. So, let's put a list together. Tell me all of your favorite WoW blogs -- from the roleplaying lists to theorycrafting -- and I'll put them together in a later post. We do projects like this all the time, of course, but this is my first time for the new year. Just leave a comment in this thread and let me know the name of the blog, the URL, and why you love it. Here's hoping we all get the chance to find someone new and get them some attention. Stuff like this takes time and effort, so let's reward that work with a little attention!
Google updates Blogger for iOS with iPhone 5 support
It's been a number of weeks since the iPhone 5 hit pockets, desks, and nightstands around the world, but Google's Blogger app for iOS has been content to live in the past. Until today, that is. As Engadget reports, Blogger for iPhone and iPad has just received its first update for the post-iPhone 5 world, and it brings with it support for the new handset's larger screen, as well as a few other tweaks. Along with support for the new iPhone, the Blogger app now support the iPad natively as well. The refresh also updates the save options to include "Save as Draft" and "Publish" and "Cancel." Oh, and if you're obsessed with seeing how often your posts are being read, the app now includes Google Analytics for all your stat tracking desires.
Google's Blogger for iOS adds iPhone 5 support, more save post options
Regardless of the mobile platform, Google's oftentimes keeping the majority of its apps up to date, and while the iPhone 5's been around for a few months now, it's still nice to see more and more software be optimized for the device. That being said, on-the-go typers will be glad to learn that Blogger for iOS has been on the receiving end of an update today, which, most notably, makes the application friendly with the 4-inch screen found on Apple's flagship handset. Additionally, Blogger now includes native support for the first three generations of the iPad, while other useful features were also added to the blogging app, including handy post options like "Save as Draft," Publish" and "Cancel." The new version is live in the App Store, so go on and tap the source link below if you're looking to improve your powered-by-Google blogging experience.
Daily Update for November 16, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Google's Blogger app updated with iPad support, landscape composition mode, Google+ integration
Google's Blogger app has hit version 2.0, bringing a visual revamp and a handful of new features to its iOS and Android flavors, in addition to iPad support. Now, users can compose posts in landscape mode, share to Google+ and view scheduled post times. In addition to a grab bag of unspecified bug fixes, the update brings the app's total number of supported languages up to 30. Eager to start tapping out posts? Hit the source links below for the appropriate download.
WoW fashion blogger tells why transmogrification's hot for every player
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. I'll let you in on a little secret: Sometimes, the real impetus behind getting featured here among our 15 Minutes of Fame interviews is to get enough people drop me a note telling me what a nice person and great resource a player is. That's the case this week with Kirina of WoW fashion blog Kirina's Closet. Yeah, she runs a pretty mean blog and forum for enthusiasts of unusual and unique WoW outfits -- but I ended up pinging her because I kept getting notes about what a helpful, welcoming resource she and her site are to other players. I can only wish my high school chemistry teacher (yep, that's Kirina's calling during offline hours) had been so sympathetic. With the ability to change the outward appearance of our gear right around the corner for all of us image-conscious players, I knew Kirina would have some pointed comments about the advent of transmogrification. Will transmogging be as significant to the mainstream player base as it is to fashion fans like Kirina? She thinks it will be, and she tells us why after the break.
The Game Archaeologist's excellent EverQuest Online Adventures: The blogger
To tell you all the truth, the comments from last week's initial foray into EverQuest Online Adventures bowled me over -- I truly was not expecting so many players to be so passionate about the game! How cool is that? I hope that some of you send me in your EQOA stories to justin@massively.com so we can include them in next week's column. Today I want to welcome Rick "Stoney" Stonebrook to our neck of the Massively woods. I remember finding Stoney's EQOA blog over a year ago and being so impressed that there was someone out there regularly updating a blog about this low-profile MMO. Stoney agreed to an interview about the game from a player's and blogger's perspective, so here goes! The Game Archaeologist: Please introduce yourself and your blog! Why did you start blogging about EQOA? Stoney: Well, I'm 24 and have lived in a lot of places in the past few years. I adopted the name Stoney when I started the blog, eqoa.wordpress.com, in October 2010. The purpose for the blog was simple: compile as much information about the game as I could find using various search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and YouTube. I hadn't played since 2005 and wasn't familiar with any new content. I had always wanted to return to the game. Thus the blog's goal evolved from a collection of memories to an effort to get people to return.
