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Instagram celebrates 300 million users, which is more than Twitter
There's apparently over 300 million people on Instagram - and they're really sharing those photos: to the tune of 70 million stills and videos every day. The user count puts it above Twitter, although it's still far behind the number using Facebook -- which, well, owns Instagram. In the last year, it's added a People tab to coerce users into following more people showcase notable accounts, while Instagram's spin-off video app, the addictive Hyperlapse, also launched in August -- giving a better reason to post videos. While it might have reached a new user milestone, Instagram's now attempting to hack away at that number: you might have noticed a little notification inside the app saying that the team was purging spam accounts - warning, your follower count may drop. Meanwhile, celebrities, brands and other well-monied types are being granted with verified badges starting today. Apparently, Mat Smith The Brand still needs some work.
Twitter makes it easier for VIPs to reach each other above the noise
There's a chance that you signed up for Twitter to catch what your favorite celebrities are saying. However, a lot of famous people either do little more than self-promotion, or are reluctant to sign up in the first place -- are you really going to come back if these luminaries aren't as interesting as you'd hoped? Twitter is worried you won't, so it just gave its verified users a pair of new features to help get them talking. The site now gives these privileged folk an alert in the Android and iOS apps when another verified person follows them. They'll also get to see a list of their verified followers if they're using iOS. If all goes according to plan, it should be easier for superstars (and, yes, the media) to strike up conversations, giving you more to read when you're not chatting with your friends.
Engadget Daily: HTC Desire 816 review, the perks of being verified and more!
Today, we investigate the perks of being verified on social media, review the HTC Desire 816, look at Distiller's new social network for whiskey lovers and learn about the NFL's next-gen stat technology. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
The perks of being 'somebody' online
The web was supposed to be the great equalizer. But, it turns out, the haves and have-nots exist online too. And they're separated by a mark of distinction: verification. A month ago, William Shatner got into an unfortunate public spat on Twitter with John Colucci, our social media manager, over why he was verified on Twitter. Shatner argued that recognition should only be given to public figures who are in danger of being impersonated. In Shatner's words, "nobodies should not be verified because it shows a huge flaw in the Twitter system." This spiraled into a big kerfuffle involving several other Twitter users. When our Editor-in-Chief Michael Gorman stepped in to defend Colucci by saying he was verified because he's good at his job, Shatner interpreted that as an abuse of the verification system. Things died down eventually, but Shatner held tight to his belief that verification is a privilege for a select few.
Researchers are working on a lie detector to sniff out false tweets
Sure, some less-than-true statements on Twitter are innocuous, but the social media network's vast audience means it has huge potential to spread inaccurate, even dangerous, information. Citing examples like the 2011 London riots and accusations of vote-rigging during Kenyan elections, researchers at the University of Sheffield have introduced the concept of a lie detector to analyze information shared on Twitter and other sites. The EU-funded project, dubbed Pheme, will sort online rumors into four categories: speculation, controversy, misinformation and disinformation. Additionally, Pheme will evaluate sources to determine their authority; tweets from the BBC would hold more weight than an unverified user's, for example. The system will also search for sources to confirm or deny information in a tweet, following social media conversations about a given topic to eventually determine what's true and what's false. Hypothetically, users would be able to view info about a rumor's accuracy via a virtual dashboard. To test out of the project, scientists will be running trials with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London. Clearly, Pheme's goal is to verify news on a national and even international scale -- so your Twitter fibs about amazing weekend plans are safe, for now.
Sending links inside Twitter direct messages doesn't work if you're unverified (update: a 'technical issue with URLs')
Some Twitter users can no longer send links through the social network's direct message service. According to our early tests, unverified users are the ones seeing the issue, with unverified-to-verified and unverified-to-unverified DMs both affected. Meanwhile, those that are more fair than the others are free to send links privately to whoever they want. We've replicated the issue with several editors, and we've had no trouble sending page links (and, importantly, gifs) on DM to other (verified and unverified) Twitter users. This was across the web browser client, TweetDeck and the iOS app. According to ReadWrite, it was only able to send links to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, with all other links bouncing back with an error message. The site reckons it could be a protective measure against spam, which could make sense, following the new ability to receive DMs from people you don't follow -- if you opt-in for it -- which launched this week. Then again, it could just be a bug -- we're receiving mixed reports from readers. Update: We've also got in touch with Twitter, whose spokesperson told us that there is a "technical issue with URLs in direct messages" and well, not much else. It sounds like it's something that's being worked on rather than a new optional measure, although the social network didn't offer a timeframe for when the ability will stabilize. Update 2: For more updates about where Twitter is with this issue, you can check out its direct message support page here. Right now it states: "We're restructuring back-end elements of our direct message system. As a result, users may be unable to send some URLs in direct messages. We apologize for the inconvenience."
Twitter gives verified users a mentions filter / velvet rope
Twitter is making it easier for the truly famous to chat with each other in public, now that it's added a couple of new filters for users with Verified accounts. While the general public continue to have their mentions open to one and all, verified users can see their @ stream either "Filtered" to take out likely spam or "Verified" to pick out tweets from other blue checkmarked accounts. While this should make it easier for the famous to spot messages from each other (we'll keep reading every tweet mentioning @Engadget -- we're for the people) among those begging for RTs, or just trolling, we hope that at least the filtered option pops up for everyone soon. We have enough offers for weight loss secrets to last us a lifetime as-is, now it's time to see if Facebook and Google+ change how they cater to the high-profile.
Facebook introduces verified Pages and Profiles
Taking a page out of the book of other social networks, Facebook is now making it possible to verify celebs and other high-profile people and companies. The feature, which consists of a small blue checkmark sitting next to their name, extends to Pages and Profiles of popular individuals and businesses, as a way to limit the confusion a reader may experience when trying to filter between real and fake accounts. It appears that Facebook is taking upon itself the duty of deciding who to verify, but it's still a good way to ensure that your favorite Engadget Facebook Page is manned by -- you know -- actual Engadget editors (nudge nudge, Mark!).
