microblogging
Latest
Twitter warns of a concerted hacking attempt, says 250,000 might be affected
Now would be a good time to refresh your Twitter password. The social network has revealed that there was at least one attack on its servers this week that may have collected email addresses, passwords (thankfully encrypted) and session tokens for about 250,000 users. The real risk to users is unknown, but Twitter raises our eyebrows when it suggests that this was more than just a casual scripting hack: it claims the intrusion attempt was "extremely sophisticated," and that other firms might have been subject to a similar breach. You'll know that you were immediately affected only if you see Twitter send a notice of a forced password reset, like what you see pictured above. We'd be cautious, all the same -- when such attempts seemingly increase in frequency by the day, it's not a bad idea to stay on guard.
Microsoft switches on Sina Weibo integration for Chinese users of Windows, WP and SkyDrive
Sino Weibo is like Twitter, it's often said, but there are some key differences: the service is mainly used within China, it's heavily censored, and it's never been particularly well integrated into the major mobile ecosystems. That final issue is starting to change, however, as Liveside is reporting that Microsoft accounts now permit Sina Weibo connectivity. This allows crosstalk between a Chinese user's microblogging world and their Windows Phone, Windows 8 device and SkyDrive storage -- for example, allowing them to see Weibo contacts in WP's People hub or share direct links to cloud-stored files. It's not known exactly how many of the service's estimated 400 million users have adopted Windows Phone, but this update potentially gives them one more reason to hop aboard.
Twitter notches more than 200 million active monthly users
Sure, Facebook may have scored one billion active monthly users earlier this fall, but Twitter has some celebrating to do as well -- albeit for a significantly smaller figure. Rather than commemorating the announcement with an awkward commercial comparing itself to furniture, Twitter sent out a solitary tweet stating that it now has more than 200 million monthly active users. We last checked in on the microblogging service's traction when it had 175 million registered users in 2010, and as of last summer it's said to be sitting pretty with more than 500 million in total. Costolo and Co. may not have numbers as enormous as Facebook, but these stats aren't exactly something to scoff at. [Image credit: Coletivo Mambembe, Flickr]
Sina Weibo exceeds 400 million users, sees increasing mobile traffic
Microblogging site Sina Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, reported a pretty dazzling statistic in its third quarter results: it now boasts over 400 million registered users. We can't be sure how many are active, of course, but it's still a vast number considering appeal is localized to the People's Republic. It also means Sina is winning the popularity contest with social media competitor Tencent, although it humbly acknowledges their services are somewhat different. The company's platform is still evolving, and it's only recently seen mobile usage exceed computers, so is shifting product focus accordingly. Sina's obviously doing something right, and that suits us just fine -- keep those news bites and juicy leaks coming.
Twitter brings content preview cards to Android and iPhone, lets us email tweets from the web
Twitter has been on a mission to bring more of its expanded tweet content to the mobile world, and most recently lavished attention on the iPad. It's carrying that campaign to a much wider mix of screens: an update to the Android and iPhone apps gives them article summary and photo preview cards whenever they either search for tweets or browse through the Discover tab, all without having to tap the post first. Photos in the reworked search have likewise moved to the top by default to help track down that elusive concert photo. Web users aren't being left out of Twitter's latest update frenzy, either. The social network is tucking an option into the "more" section of each tweet that lets us email a pristine-looking copy to anyone who isn't part of Twitter's flock. All of the features are available to try immediately in the relevant official clients, which should make life grand for those of us who want more than just a wall of text in our search results.
TweetBot for Mac reaches the Mac App Store, keeps the 3rd-party Twitter client flame alive
When Twitter put out its strict new API guidelines, there was some doubt as to whether or not third-party clients like Tapbots' Tweetbot for Mac would even make the cut -- the user caps and other curbs on unofficial apps potentially made it tough to develop competition around a different (and possibly better) experience. That makes today's official appearance of Tweetbot in the Mac App Store as much symbolic as it is practical. While there won't be many significant shocks for those who've been participating in Tweetbot's alpha and beta stages, the finished version gives everyone running OS X Mountain Lion a major and sometimes more advanced alternative to official choices, such as TweetDeck, as well as existing third-party options like Twitterrific. A $20 price doesn't make Tweetbot the cheapest way to buck convention by any means, but it might be worth the investment if you're already committed to Tapbots' iOS apps or want to make a statement on the value of third parties in an ecosystem.
App.net edges closer to 20,000 users, drops subscription prices to $36 to fuel the social fire
When App.net kicked off its Twitter rivalry, the $50 yearly subscription fee was based on the assumption that the ad-free social service would maintain 10,000 customers. Founder Dalton Caldwell may have underestimated year-one adoption by just a tad: he now has nearly 20,000 customers on his hands in less than two months, which throws the previous economies of scale out the window. The pain for Caldwell's business model is a pleasure for fans, however. App.net's price of entry has dropped to $36 per year, with existing memberships' durations extended to match the new yearly rate. Anyone on the fence also has a chance to try the service for a short stint through a $5 monthly plan. While it's hard to know if the price drop will sustain the early runaway pace, it reflects a determination to play for keeps in the social media game -- an important trait when the chief opponent isn't sitting still.
TweetDeck for the web slips in expanded tweets and header photos
TweetDeck is Twitter's professional desktop client, though you might not always know it given that the app is sometimes out of step with its more pedestrian siblings. Today, Twitter is presenting a unified front in a more timely fashion. The web versions of TweetDeck now show the expanded tweets and header photos that reached the iPad and mobile apps a week ago. No major surprises are waiting in the wings save for the absence of a matching update to the native Mac and Windows apps -- hopefully, that's a gap that closes soon.
Twitter revamps its iPad app for expanded content, adds header photos and image streams
Twitter's iPad app is sometimes the neglected stepchild of its mobile app family: newer features usually come to the Android and iPhone versions first and are handed down to the iPad later, if they come at all. The company is making amends for that in style with a major update to the iPad version as of today. Whether you like them or not, expanded tweets are now baked in and will optionally show some photos, videos and web links within the timeline rather than disrupting the entire experience. The Connect, Discover and Me sections we've seen elsewhere also come to the tablet-tuned app, albeit at the expense of more quickly finding direct messages and lists. You'll soon notice a much more visual spin on people's profiles, regardless of whether or not Apple's slate factors into the daily routine. Both the Twitter site as well as the official Android and iOS apps now show a header photo behind the bio to provide a little more color than avatars and background pictures can manage. If you're on one of the mobile platforms, you'll also see a photo stream in the profile that will help relive memories without hunting down individual tweets. The phone and tablet makeovers require an update to shine, so hit the relevant source link if you're ready for a prettier (if not always more functional) social experience.
App.net causes a HooHa with its first Android app
It's a good time for confusingly-named App.net, hot on the heels of smashing its funding goal and cooking up its first terms of service, the paid-Twitter startup now has an Android mobile client. HooHa chief Deniz Veli told The Next Web that he cooked up the software after seeing a "thriving developer community" surrounding the new service -- with many presumably encouraged by Twitter's recent API changes. Like the service itself, the app is only an Alpha release, but you can download it for free at the Play Store, no need to causes a hoo-hah (geddit?).
Liquidware team crafts laser tripwire that tweets intruder alerts, keeps fake sharks at bay (video)
Laser tripwire security systems can be expensive propositions that don't always work as planned -- just ask Raytheon, which saw its $100 million Perimeter Intrusion Detection System for JFK International Airport undermined by one wayward jet skier. Taking that as a form of dare, Justin Huynh and teammates at Liquidware have devised a much cheaper (if also much smaller) tripwire of their own. Any interruption of a laser pointer's beam is caught by an Arduino light sensor that promptly sends the alert to an Android-running BeagleBoard xM; if a toy like Bruce the shark dares cross the line, the BeagleBoard sends a Twitter message to let the authorities, or at least Huynh, clamp down on the trespasser. The invention won't replace Raytheon's handiwork anytime soon, although Huynh notes that additional or more powerful sensors could theoretically catch real, muscle-bound sharks and not just their plastic counterparts. The supply checklist and source code are waiting on the company's project page below, so those who'd like to ward off miniature invasions can get started today.
Twitter founders create Branch and Medium to keep the conversations, collections flowing (updated)
If you've ever been so embroiled in a chat or sharing splurge that you've been told to "take it off of Twitter," you now can -- sort of. Twitter co-creators Biz Stone and Ev Williams have launched Branch and Medium, two companion services that (naturally) use a Twitter sign-in but narrow the focus to just a few subjects. As the name suggests, Branch lets especially vocal Twitter users invite others into conversations that don't clutter everyone's feeds or cut replies off at the 140-character limit. Medium? Think of it as Pinterest turned publishing platform: members can publish either a static collection of favorite articles and media, for reading and rating, or leave it open for more collaborative efforts. There's no rush to open the floodgates to the invitation-only portals, though. Stone and Williams see the quietness of their new services as an antidote to the madness of regular social streams, and we can't help but sympathize. Update: The services don't quite work in the way The Guardian originally suggested. Branch lets you invite others into conversations through email, not just Twitter. Medium is really a self-publishing system, not a Pinterest-style sharing service. Also, the Twitter founders were just the most prominent investors in Branch and Medium; they weren't responsible for creating the companies.
Adidas Social Media Barricade shoe concept moves tweets to the track (video)
Adidas is known for making connected shoes -- but never quite as linked-up as a Nash Money concept making its appearance late into the London Olympics. The Social Media Barricade weaves the guts of a phone and a basic two-line LCD into a running shoe, letting the footwear take Twitter updates very literally on the run through a public account. Even the signature Adidas stripes change their hue through remote control. Before anyone gets visions of athletes checking congratulatory tweets after the 100-meter sprint, just remember that it's an idea rather than a production blueprint: although Adidas is quick to call the Social Media Barricade the "future of athlete connectivity," the only athletes putting eyes on a pair right now are those swinging by the Olympics' media lounge for interviews. Knowing this, we can still imagine some future shoes padding runners' egos at the finish line during the 2016 Rio games.
Tweetbot for Mac's latest alpha adds experimental 'snap-together' column layout
Tweetbot's been offering a rough-around-the-edges alpha version on its upcoming refresh for a few weeks now, but it's the latest update that's caught our attention -- again. There's several substantial changes that could tempt you away from other desktop Twitter clients. These include a new multiple account view, with separate columns that can either be docked to your main feed or left in their own window. You can spin out mentions and search results into their own space, and even adjust each column's height and width -- if you're looking to squeeze even more Twitter content into a single screen. A new menu bar icon offers access to your multiple accounts, new tweets, direct messages and mentions, while the latest build also improves support for media upload and Mountain Lion's notification bar. Tweetbot's alpha is still free to try for now, but once the kinks are eventually worked out, expect to pay for the finished article.
NYT claims Apple has dallied with investing 'hundreds of millions' in Twitter
Apple has been on a social networking kick lately, what with Twitter's footings in iOS 5 and OS X Mountain Lion as well as Facebook's upcoming presence in iOS 6. From what the New York Times hears, that fascination could become more of a fixation. The company has reportedly chatted with Twitter in past months about the possibility of investing money on the scale you'd normally expect from a later-stage venture capitalist: the newspaper is talking "hundreds of millions" of dollars based on Twitter being valued at more than $10 billion. Any such deal would be less about funding (Twitter purportedly has $600 million-plus in the bank) and more about getting cozy in a social world where Apple still has some learning to do. Apple might equally want to dissuade competitors from getting any ideas, we'd add. Neither side will comment, and the negotiations aren't even supposed to be active at present. Regardless, that Apple might have even toyed with a social networking investment could represent a major change in tack for a company that's not always known for playing well with others.
Twitter rumored to be pitching in-feed video shows to studios
Twitter has been making a giant push for expanded tweets from content providers. It's only a short logical leap from that to Twitter providing the content itself, and that's exactly what AdWeek claims may well happen. Its unconfirmed tipsters have the microblog taking a page from YouTube by pitching Hollywood movie and TV studios on "several" original shows that would live in followers' feeds, including the seemingly inescapable reality show. While Twitter wouldn't have someone in the director's chair, it might still play a role by letting viewers affect the show as it's happening -- and of course, running ads. Silence is the only official response to the rumor from Twitter so far; don't plan your viewing schedule just yet, but do brace yourself in case Twitter breaks out a Horse ebooks cameo to boost ratings in mid-season.
Twitter confirms site issues, working to resolve things (update: Twitter apologizes and explains)
It's a rough day for internet communication. First Google Talk, now Twitter. The microblogging service confirmed that it's currently having some issues -- a fact independently verified by our frustrated staff -- adding that "Our engineers are currently working to resolve the issue." We'll let you know when you can safely return to your regularly scheduled tweeting. Update: Everything seems to be back to normal. You know what to do. Update 2: Twitter just posted an apology and explanation for the outage on its blog. Turns out, tweets weren't making their way to the web because both a primary and back-up system in Twitter's data centers failed simultaneously, leaving us bereft of 140-character nuggets of wisdom for about two hours. Rest assured, VP of Engineering Mazen Rawashdeh and his team have apologized for the inconvenience and are working to prevent the problem in the future.
Twitter @ reply's original creator uncovered, did it before it was cool
The @ reply has long been cited as an example of Twitter's organic growth, having birthed from its users rather than a San Francisco office -- but who really started it? After some in-depth sleuthing, early adopter Garrett Murray now credits the ad hoc invention to Robert Andersen, who gave kudos to an especially dedicated (and injured) compatriot on November 2, 2006. The origin day most accept as part of the common legend, November 23rd that same year, was more of a happy accident where Murray and others decided to use the now famous shift-2 keypress to clear up their conversation paths. When you see the @ reply front and center in modern Twitter apps, then, raise a glass to Andersen's unintentionally avant garde microblogging.
Tweetbot for Mac arrives as free alpha, we give a quick hands-on
Seemingly anyone who's used an iPhone (and often the iPad) knows Tweetbot -- it's often the go-to Twitter app for those who prefer not to go the official route. It's to those users' delight, then, that Tapbots just posted a free alpha version of Tweetbot for Mac. As you'd anticipate, it's an attempt to bring much of the app's power user mojo to the desktop world: you can check just retweets of your content, mute overly chatty people or hashtags, and otherwise get more control than just watching your stream drift by. It's even (mostly) Retina-ready for that new MacBook Pro. Alpha does mean that there will be a fair amount of things missing; it won't tap into iCloud or Mountain Lion's Notification Center until it's official, for example. But if you're willing to deal with that and a few potential bugs, it may be time to brush other apps aside -- just note that you'll need Mountain Lion or newer when the app is ready to face the Mac App Store, even though it works with Lion today. We've had a quick spin with the app, and it largely does what it says on the tin: it's Tweetbot, on the Mac. The primary differences are changes that make sense when a mouse pointer and a larger screen area are available. You can reply, retweet, or view whole conversations from buttons that appear as you hover, rather than using the myriad taps and swipes of the iOS apps. It's a wonderfully minimalist app, if that's your thing, and you can open multiple windows (currently through a keyboard shortcut) to get some of that TweetDeck-style power user layout. Our main gripe? Tweetbot on the Mac always updates in a live stream, and there's no option for intervals; if you follow a lot of people, there's a chance you might miss something. Still, for an alpha, it's a decidedly polished and useful effort that doesn't leave us wanting like a few clients, including Twitter's own.
Twitter for Android, iOS expands those Kickstarter tweets, becomes sensitive to our notification needs
That was fast. Just days after Twitter 4.3 had its details prematurely spilled all over the Internet, it's now raring to go for both Android (as version 3.3) and iOS users. Like we'd seen in early release notes, its focus is on expanding tweets to provide a glimpse at content when linking beyond just photos. Along with showing snippets from news outlets such as C-SPAN, Twitter's app now teases content from Etsy, Kickstarter and Vimeo, among others -- just in case you'd like to know whether that upcoming game console is worth funding at a glance. Notifications are getting their own promised boost and can send an alert whenever certain Twitter accounts post any kind of update. The improved search autocomplete shows its face as well, and iOS users get a more advanced layout for tracking hashtags during live events. Users with other smartphone platforms will have to wait for the 4.3 feature set to filter through to their devices, but if you're of an Apple or Google bent, one of Twitter's bigger updates of recent memory is already headed your way.
