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HBO hacking woes continue: this time on social media
HBO just can't catch a break. The cable network got hacked again, though this time, the perpetrators targeted its social media accounts. A hacker group called OurMine took over the company's Facebook and Twitter accounts not to ask for millions or to steal more GoT episodes, but to "test [their] security." OurMine is known for targeting high-profile social accounts and even got Netflix's and Mark Zuckerberg's Twitter accounts in the past.
LinkedIn can’t block scrapers from monitoring user activity
Your LinkedIn activity could soon be used to keep tabs on you at work. On Monday, a US federal judge ruled that the Microsoft-owned social network cannot block a startup from accessing public data. The company in question, hiQ Labs, scrapes LinkedIn info to create algorithms that can predict whether employees are likely to quit their jobs. The case could also have a wider impact on the control social media sites wield over your info.
A break from Twitter showed me how broken it is
In J.G. Ballard's novel High Rise, the residents of an opulent apartment block abandon the outside world. The building offers every possible amenity, from a supermarket to a bank; work aside, there's little reason to leave. A series of incidents turns the block's occupants into savages who spend their days raping and murdering each other. And yet, although the front door is right there, nobody wants to walk through it and escape to civilization.
The weird and wonderful world of soccer transfers on Twitter
Football. Soccer. Calcio. Futbol. Fußball. Whatever you call it, the world's favourite game continues to grow in terms of players, viewership and, of course, money. Just last week, Brazilian forward Neymar sealed a whopping €222 million ($263 million) move to France after Paris St Germain triggered the former Barcelona player's release clause. With so much cash at their disposal, teams are coming up with more and more elaborate ways to broadcast the news of their new signing. Take Premier League strugglers Watford, who decided to use the popular Football Manager video game to announce their new record signing.
Snapchat video of alleged sexual assault leads to quick arrest
A man in Ohio is being held on a $1 million bond today after being charged with an alleged rape that was recorded and uploaded onto Snapchat by his victim. There aren't a lot of details about the situation as of now, but reports say that police were called to a residence for a welfare check early Tuesday morning. Everything seemed to be alright at the time. However, later in the morning, people as far away as Texas who had viewed the victim's Snapchat video began notifying the police that a sexual assault may have occurred at the residence, and the video was forwarded to the authorities. Based on the video content, which a detective involved with the arrest said were very "clear," the man, 77-year-old James D. Allen, was arrested.
Facebook shutters its teen-focused social app Lifestage
Last year, Facebook released a new social media app called Lifestage. It was aimed at high schoolers (you couldn't even access the app's features if you were older than 21) and allowed users to connect with other students in their school or schools nearby. But as is often the case in the tough-to-enter social media world, Lifestage never gained much traction and Facebook has officially pulled it from the App Store, Business Insider reports.
Facebook and Twitter hold anti-extremism alliance summit
The quartet of web giants that make up the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) are holding their inaugural meeting today. Formed in June by Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft and Google, the initiative aims to leverage technology -- such as the shared industry hash database and machine vision-based detection -- to stamp out extremist imagery online. In attendance will be UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd and the US Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, along with EU and UN representatives.
Amazon's new show only exists to sell you more stuff
Amazon is blending commerce and entertainment again with a new show called Overhaul in which YouTube stars makeover their homes with products you can easily purchase on Amazon. The show will be on a special Amazon hub that will give viewers quick access to items featured on the show as well as inexpensive alternatives. "Amazon Home is constantly looking to innovate and find ways to bring our customers inspiration when searching for products," Amazon's director of home innovation, Kristiana Helmick, told Business Insider. "The Overhaul series is a great opportunity to provide our customers with some curation and guidance when searching through our large selection of products and we continue to look for new and different ways to do that."
Court says politicians can't block people on social media
A federal court in Virginia just handed down a verdict that could affect a lawsuit against the president for blocking users on Twitter. US District Judge James Cacheris has ruled that Phyllis Randall, chairwoman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, violated the right to free speech of a constituent she blocked on Facebook. Brian Davison said he was blocked after accusing the Loudoun School Board of corruption in his reply to the chairwoman's post on her Facebook page asking local citizens for their thoughts and feedback.
Facebook Pages can now build their own communities
Today, Facebook is rolling out a new feature called "Groups for Pages," which will let artists, brands, businesses and newspapers create their own fan clubs. The company says the idea stems from two reporters at The Washington Post who started a Facebook group called PostThis, where they interact with some of "the most avid fans" of the paper on a daily basis. Facebook says right now there are more than 70 million Pages on its platform, so this going to be great for many users who want to let their loyal supporters feel more connected to them.
UK teens say Instagram is the worst app for cyberbullying
New research claims Instagram is home to more cyberbullies than any other social media platform. The findings form part of UK anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label's annual survey, which consulted over 10,000 young people aged 12 to 20.
Amazon Spark curates an Instagram-like shopping feed
If you've ever found yourself wishing that Amazon would just advertise its products in a social media-like format that looks and functions a lot like Instagram with maybe a touch of Pinterest, then oh boy are you in luck. Amazon just launched a new feature called Spark and it's exactly that.
Rob Kardashian’s revenge porn is social media’s latest headache
Members of the Kardashian-Jenner family, like Kanye West's wife, Kim, and model Kendall, didn't become famous by being afraid of the spotlight. Heck, their reality TV show, Keeping up with the Kardashians, centers around every move they make in their personal and business lives. But that celebrity status arguably requires some degree of responsibility. And that's something Rob Kardashian failed to exercise when he posted explicit photos and videos of his ex-girlfriend Blac Chyna on social media last week.
Facebook and WSJ owners are working on a 'subscription' deal
The publisher of Wall Street Journal is in advanced talks to bring articles to Facebook through a subscription model. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said that he'd been talking with Mark Zuckerberg about how "the value of content should be recognised". Thomson said in an interview at a media industry conference on this week in Italy, that News Corp was "in the middle of negotiations with Facebook on a subscription mechanic."
German police raided 36 homes over social media hate speech
Late last year, Germany proposed a bill that would fine social media providers, such as Facebook and Twitter, for failure to remove hate speech within 24 hours on their respective platforms. Now, Germany has raided the homes of 36 people accused of posting hate speech or other illegal content.
Instagram gives social media influencers the benefit of the doubt
The chaos surrounding the cancelled Fyre Festival is a perfect example of how social media influencers can misguide consumers. Instagram users were led to believe they would be rubbing shoulders with supermodels like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid in the Bahamas, after both of them heavily promoted the event on their accounts without ever disclosing they were paid to do so. People who spent thousands of dollars to attend eventually realized this was far from reality. Instead, the promised "cultural experience of the decade" left some stranded at airports. This led to a long list of legal problems organizers have had to deal with since the Fyre Festival was shut down on its opening day in May. Celebrities have been getting away with this type of stealth shilling on social networks for years now, but that may be coming to an end soon -- at least on Instagram.
Pinterest Lens makes fab outfits from clothes you already own
Putting outfits together is fun, but it could also be irritating to do every single day. Something like Cher's virtual wardrobe in Clueless could help -- or Pinterest Lens, which the social network has just upgraded to be a much better stylist. The company says it made major improvements to give its image recognition tool the capability to make outfits based on specific pieces of clothing or accessories you already own. If you have a denim jacket that you don't know what to do with, for instance, you can upload a picture and look at the sample OOTDs Lens shows you. The tool can also recommend new clothes to buy based on what you usually wear.
'The Daily Show' celebrates the tweets of Donald Trump in new exhibit
The president tweets a lot. It's quickly becoming part of his legacy, offering an unprecedented level of access to the commander in chief and leaving others in government scrambling to deal with the after-effects of each post. Usually, reflections on presidential legacies tend to come at the end of the individual's term in office, with an official presidential library foremost on the list. However, given the current pace of the Trump administration, The Daily Show decided to act a little sooner. This weekend it opened its own presidential Twitter library in midtown Manhattan to illustrate how our interactions with the president may have changed forever.
Instagram is making it harder for users to be shills on the sly
Some of Instagram's biggest stars are notorious for quietly shilling products, but that's about to change. The company confirmed in a blog post this morning that it's working on a new post format that clearly spells out when an image or Instagram Story is being published as part of a business arrangement. The giveaway: you'll see the words "Paid partnership with [whatever]" at the top of the post. It's subtle -- maybe even a little too subtle -- but it's a step in the right direction.
China cracks down on celebrity gossip social media accounts
The fans of 60 gossip bloggers on China's social media platforms, including ones owned by Tencent and Baidu, will have to get their daily fix elsewhere. Chinese websites and tech titans have shuttered 60 accounts focusing on celebrity gossip after authorities told them in a meeting that they must take steps to keep those kinds of pages in check. According to Reuters, a post on the Beijing Cyberspace Administration's social media account revealed the meeting and said that it expects websites in the country to "adopt effective measures to keep in check the problems of the embellishment of private sex scandals of celebrities, the hyping of ostentatious celebrity spending and entertainment and catering to the poor taste of the public."