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Twitter's 2018 was dominated by protests and K-pop
If you thought Twitter would settle down after the tumult of 2017, you might be in for a surprise. Twitter has posted its 2018 year in review, and there was an ample amount of passion both for superstars and social change. Korean pop dominated the landscape, with megagroup BTS (followed closely by Exo) earning some of the most liked and quoted tweets in addition to being the most-discussed celebrities and musicians. They even helped fuel one of the bigger memes of 2018, with one member taking up the "In My Feelings" challenge and dancing to Drake.
Survey says teens find some benefit from social media
The Pew Research Center has already given us a look into teens' social media and smartphone use, and in a new survey it's sharing some of the more positive effects of social media, as experienced by teens. While these younger social media users noted some negative aspects -- like feeling overwhelmed by drama and the pressure to post content that will generate likes and comments or make them look good -- more teens reported a number of benefits of participating in social networks.
Facebook thought about charging for access to user data
A key cache of internal Facebook documents is continuing to shed light on some of Facebook's past thinking. Thanks to an unredacted court filing, the Wall Street Journal has obtained emails from between 2012 and 2014 revealing that Facebook had contemplated charging companies for access to its user data. When the company was struggling to improve revenue in the wake of its 2012 stock IPO, a staffer floated the idea of closing off data access to companies that didn't spend "at least $250K a year." There were also discussions of requiring increased ad spending, and the possibility of extending Tinder's data access in exchange for using its Moments trademark for a later app.
Facebook's expanded local news strategy includes government alerts
Facebook is expanding its efforts to promote local news, and this now includes potentially vital information. The social network has started testing local alerts from both government bodies and first responders, including both notifications as well as labels in your News Feed and the Today In section. If there's a school closure or an impending natural disaster, you might find out about it before you check local news sites.
UK politician claims Facebook knew of Russian data harvesting in 2014
The UK Parliament's seizure of internal Facebook documents is already leading to trouble for the social network. Digital Culture, Media and Sport committee chairman Damian Collins has alleged that Facebook knew of Russia-linked data harvesting in 2014 after finding email from an engineer suspicious about activity at the time. If so, that would contradict Facebook's claims that it only became aware of similar Russian activity just ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.
Instagram tests simpler, bolder profiles
Twitter isn't the only social network toying with profile changes. Instagram is testing profile page changes intended to make these bio sections "easier and cleaner to use." The particular tweaks will vary, but you could see changes to buttons, icons and navigation tabs. You should see the test run for the "next several weeks," which changes based on feedback.
Tumblr for iOS disappears from the App Store
You won't want to rush to get Tumblr's iOS app at the moment... because you can't. Users have noticed that the social network (part of Engadget's parent company Verizon) has been unavailable on the App Store. It's not certain what prompted the disappearance or who was responsible, but the outfit has talked about addressing an "issue" with the iOS release since November 16th. We've asked the company for comment.
Facebook reportedly pressured Palmer Luckey to support a politician
When Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey left Facebook, neither said exactly why. The implication that it was due to his quiet donation to a group spreading pro-Trump memes. Now, however, we might have a better idea -- and it raises questions about Facebook's behavior as much as it does Luckey's. The Wall Street Journal has obtained emails and sources indicating that Facebook executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, pressured Luckey to publicly support libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson after word of the donation got out. Moreover, Luckey's exit wasn't voluntary. The company placed him on leave and eventually fired him, albeit with an exit package worth "at least" $100 million.
After Math: They're on the move
With the president's made up migrant caravan crisis having mysteriously vanished now that the midterms are over, it's time to take a look at the other movers and shakers from the industry this week. Volkswagen announced the development of a $23k Tesla rival, China has developed security cameras can now ID people by their gait, and Google's built a computer model to guess which restaurants will give you the runs.
Facebook delays identity checks for UK political ads following abuses
Facebook is delaying its identity checks for political ads in the UK. The internet giant told The Guardian in a statement that it was delaying the requirement to December after realizing people could "game the disclaimer system" by entering bogus information. It'll institute the requirement after it adds "enforcement systems" to ensure accuracy, according to a spokesperson. The move came after a series of exposés that showed how easy it was to attach fake identities to disclosures, both in the UK and in the US.
Facebook referred to EU regulator over ad targeting methods
Facebook is about to face more scrutiny over its ad targeting methods. Just days after fining Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office has referred the social network to the Irish Data Protection Commission, the European Union's main body for investigating Facebook under GDPR rules. The ICO has "ongoing concerns" about Facebook's systems for ad targeting, such as how it tracks "browsing habits, interactions and behavior" across the internet.
'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' will offer its own social video hub
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's social element won't be limited to trash-talking your opponents. Nintendo is developing a Smash World service that will give you the chance to post and watch videos (including mobile viewing) on top of "other fun features." If you pull off a devastating win, you could gloat about it in front of the entire world. More details are coming in the future, but the offering will be free and should be available sometime in 2019, well after the game's December 7th debut.
Twitter test makes it easier to see the latest tweets first
Twitter did start to restore some sense to timelines by letting you disable its "best tweets first" option, but it's buried in the settings. What if you just wanted to flick it on and off? You might just get that chance. Twitter is testing a toggle right in the title bar that switches you between the latest tweets and top tweets with a couple of taps. You could quickly view the highlights if you think there's a tweet you missed, and revert to the chronological order to view posts the way they were meant to be seen.
Vimeo makes it easy for companies to post videos to LinkedIn
Get ready to see more video sales pitches on LinkedIn. Vimeo has expanded its social publishing features to let companies post videos directly on their LinkedIn pages. It's the first time any video service has had an "end-to-end integration" with LinkedIn, Vimeo said. Pioneering or not, it's helpful if you want to spice up your creative portfolio or advertise a business to would-be workers.
PayPal bans Gab in wake of Pittsburgh mass shooting
Internet giants are continuing their crackdown on hate speech following the anti-Semitic mass shooting in Pittsburgh. PayPal has banned the social network Gab, a known haven for hate speech, after reports revealed that the shooter was a frequent poster and had signaled his intentions shortly before the attack. While PayPal didn't provide an immediate reason for the ban in its message to Gab, the payment platform told The Verge in a statement that it didn't accept a site that was "explicitly allowing the perpetuation of hate, violence or discriminatory intolerance."
Snapchat helped register 418,000 US voters in two weeks
It's easy to be cynical when you hear about voter registration campaigns from social networks. How many people really sign up because of a digital nudge? Quite a few, apparently. Snap told the New York Times that its Snapchat campaign had helped 418,000 people register in the space of a two-week period, many of them in hotly contested states like Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Texas. The initiative had combined a registration button on users' profiles with snap videos asking them to register.
Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe leaves Facebook
Add another person to the list of high-profile leaders departing Facebook. Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe is leaving both his own team and the social network. He didn't say where he was going next or why he was exiting, but he noted that this would be his "first real break" in the space of 20 years. This is a chance to step away from the grind for a while, in other words. With that said, there are hints that it's about more than some overdue rest and relaxation.
Facebook reportedly aims to buy a 'major' cybersecurity company
Facebook is still reeling from the hack that exposed 29 million users, but it may have a solution: go shopping. Sources talking to The Information claim that Facebook is accelerating plans to buy a "major" cybersecurity company, and has already offered deals to "several" companies. While the tipsters haven't named candidates, Zuckerberg and team are reportedly likely to buy software that could fold into its existing services, such as tools for signalling hacking attempts or securing individual accounts.
Facebook carried ads from mysterious pro-Brexit group for months
While Facebook might be making strides in clamping down on fake news and shady political ads, there appear to have been holes in its strategy. The UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee has published data showing that Facebook carried ads for a "hard Brexit" (that is, a UK exit from the European Union with few if any deals) from a mysterious organization, Mainstream Network, for 10 months. There's no clear indication as to who's behind the group, but it had a wide reach -- the £257,000 it spent (about $336,000) helped it reach up to 11 million people across the country.
Saudi Arabia reportedly asked Twitter employee to spy on dissidents
Saudi Arabia may have done more than use large-scale social media campaigns to stifle political opposition. New York Times sources claim the country was "grooming" a Twitter engineer, Ali Alzabarah, to snoop on the accounts of dissidents and other targets. Western officials reportedly warned Twitter in late 2015 that Alzabarah had not only grown close to Saudi intelligence agents, but had agreed to spy on multiple user accounts. The social network suspended him and conducted an investigation that turned up no evidence of handing data to the Saudis, but they fired him all the same in December the same year.
