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Twitch is purging 7.5 million bots that inflated view and follower counts
Twitch has discovered over 7.5 million bot accounts that have been inflating streamer stats.
Netflix says 26.4 million accounts watched ‘The Irishman’ in its first week
Netflix had a lot riding on The Irishman -- the Martin Scorsese crime saga starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. The film has been in the works for almost a decade, and Netflix, which reportedly invested as much as $200 million, has been involved for years. So, the company is understandably braggadocious that, in The Irishman's first seven days on the platform, it was watched by 26.4 million accounts globally -- 26,404,081 to be precise.
Instagram expands hidden likes test worldwide
Instagram started hiding the total number of likes on posts for some people in the US this week as part of a broader test. It made like and video view counters private in other countries over the last few months, and now it's ready to expand the test elsewhere.
Blackpink's 'Kill This Love' is breaking YouTube records
In its first 24 hours, the music video for "Kill This Love" -- the latest single by K-pop quartet Blackpink -- reached 56.7 million YouTube views. It then went on to earn 100 million views in less than three days. That's the fastest any music video has reached either milestone, and it makes "Kill This Love" the biggest music video debut in YouTube history -- unseating Ariana Grande's "Thank You, Next," which had 55.4 million views in its first 24 hours.
'Baby Shark' has gone so viral it's now a Billboard Top 40 song
Unless you spent the latter half of 2018 on the moon with your hands over your ears, it's highly likely you're at least aware of Baby Shark, the infectious kids' song and scourge of parents everywhere. So popular is this viral sensation that it's now entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart, meaning it's not going away any time soon. Sorry.
Drake is the king of memes
Drake has done it again. And no, we're not talking about him repeatedly smashing Apple Music and Spotify streaming records. We're talking about one of his tracks being turned into meme gold. This time it's the track "In My Feelings" from his new record, Scorpion. The internet has taken the lyrics and turned them into a dance that's about to conquer social media. What seems to resonate with his fans the most is the chorus, in which Drake asks, "Kiki, do you love me? Are you riding? Say you'll never ever leave from beside me. 'Cause I want ya and I need ya." Anyone who listens to Drake regularly knows he's always been an unapologetic emotional dude, and people love to turn his brooding and confessionals into viral fodder.
Taylor Swift’s new music video sets first-day record on YouTube
Taylor Swift returned from her self-imposed social media exile with a single that's already breaking records. Her music video for 'Look What You Made Me Do' raked in over 31 million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours, surpassing Adele's previous high-water mark of 27.7 million views of 'Hello' for most-watched video on the platform in a single day.
'Coloring Book' is the first streaming-only album up for a Grammy
Meghan Trainor announced the nominees for this year's Grammy Awards on Monday night. Beyonce, deservedly, is leading the field with 9 nominations followed closely by Drake, Rhianna and Kanye West who all have 8 apiece. But more surprising is the category for Best New Rap Album for which Chance the Rapper's Coloring Book is nominated. This is the first time that an album available only through streaming services has earned a Grammy nod.
Drake has the first album with a billion Apple Music streams
Apple's strategy of cherry-picking exclusives for Apple Music seems to be paying off. Drake's Views, which debuted on April 29th, has already attracted 1 billion plays -- a first for the company's plays streaming service. The album was technically a timed exclusive -- Spotify and others snapped it up five days later -- but still, that tiny window could have been important. Apple is trying to build a reputation, much like Tidal was, of being the best place to listen to new music. Any special deals it can negotiate will further that cause, and potentially bring in new subscribers.
Instagram wants you to know how many people watch your videos
Until now, judging the merits of your Instagram videos was based solely on likes. Soon, you'll know exactly how many folks have watched your footage. The photo-driven social network is replacing likes with view counts at the bottom of a video. If someone watches at least 3 seconds for your video, it counts as a view. Don't worry, you can still see your likes, too. You just have to tap on the view count in order to do so. There's no definitive arrival date for when the counts will hit in your timeline, but you should be seeing the change "over the next few weeks."
Google Maps wants to include more of your photos
Remember Views, Google's repository for geotagged Photo Spheres and panoramas? Honestly, many of us around the Engadget compound had forgotten about it too. Mountain View has decided that rather than hide away these features on some separate site that nobody ever visits, it'll be folding the service directly into Google Maps. This means you'll see your new Maps profile in the pop out menu on the left, along with all your contributions. Eventually Google will reveal the total number of images you've uploaded, the number of times they've been viewed and expand your options for sharing content on Maps.
YouTube is getting rid of '301+ Views'
When a video posted to YouTube starts to really rack up hits, the view counter has always frozen at "301+" for a while as the system checked for any robotic view count inflating shenanigans. It's become something of an institution at the site, acting as a flag for videos that were on the verge of going viral. But that's no longer the case. YouTube announced today that it is forgoing the 301+ freeze for a system that only counts views that they're "confident only come from real people." The new system is expected to provide more accurate and up-to-date numbers.
Google now lets you comment on Photo Spheres
Google's Photo Spheres can sometimes be a marvel to behold, but it's not always easy to let the photographer know about it; if you stumble across a picture in the Views portal, for instance, you may be stuck. Or rather, you were stuck. Google has just added commenting and +1s to Views, making it easy to praise someone's immersive landscape shot or offer some constructive criticism. The addition probably won't turn the image hub into a hotbed of activity. However, it might get you to revisit some of these 360-degree panoramas well after the novelty has worn off -- including your own. [Image credit: Colby Brown]
Make your own Google Street View scene, giant camera not required
Google's Street View has let us virtually explore the heights of the Eiffel Tower, the depths of the Large Hadron Collider and the world's train stations, but there are places on the globe that remain hidden from Mountain View's all-seeing camera. That's where you can come in, if you so choose, thanks to a new feature that lets you create your very own Street View experience, no Trekker needed. You'll need to capture several Photo Spheres of your trail using either an Android phone or DSLR and then upload them to Views, a special Google Maps section designed for images of such scale. From there, simply connect them on a map, as seen in the graphic above. Now visitors to Google Maps can select your virtual tour and see the place through your eyes. Aside from just capturing places that Google's Street View camera can't go, this also lets folks document varying weather conditions or cultural events at a specific location, which is something that Google currently can't do. So if you feel like contributing a little piece of your point-of-view to Google Maps, go ahead and click on the source to get started.
Piranha Games on why MechWarrior Online is getting a third-person mode
Sometimes you find yourself railing against something at one point only to support it later on. That's the process that Piranha Games president Russ Bullock went through regarding a third-person viewing mode in MechWarrior Online. Bullock addresses player concerns about the inclusion by detailing his own experience with the project and how he went from vehemently opposing a third-person view to arguing that its inclusion is necessary for the long-term health of the game. One of the key elements to understand about movement in MechWarrior Online is that your machine moves more like a bipedal tank with an independently rotating torso. Bullock states that he's watched new players trying the game in first-person and third-person modes, and being able to see how 'Mechs move on the screen instantly translates to better play. He also remains adamant that the inclusion of this new view mode is not meant to unbalance the game by allowing players to see things outside of their normal fields of vision. [Thanks to Dire Phoenix for the tip!]
Google launches Views hub to showcase Photo Spheres and panoramas in Google Maps
As slick as Android's Photo Spheres can be, they're typically hard to find unless someone posts them for you. Google is making that discovery almost trivial by launching Views, its new Google Maps section for Photo Spheres and panoramas. The page both streamlines importing photos from Google+ and simplifies tracking them down by their author, location or popularity. Google also includes its Street View galleries, giving explorers fast access to professional tours alongside the usual amateur photography. Not many of us can contribute to Views when Photo Sphere only works with a few of the latest Android devices, but everyone can at least see what they're missing at the source link.
Epic Rap Battles of History gets an iOS app
You've probably seen the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History before -- they're the wild guys behind the (slightly not safe for work) Steve Jobs and Bill Gates rap battle, where the two creators, Peter Shukoff and Lloyd Ahlquist, face off as the two titans of the computer industry in a catchy rap song. Shukoff and Ahlquist have been working hard on the video series, which is now in season 2, and have portrayed fights such as Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney, Adam vs. Eve and Hitler vs. Darth Vader to the tune of more than a billion YouTube views so far. And all of that success has turned into an iPhone app, available for free from the App Store. The app lets you watch all of the various videos from the series, including behind-the-scenes footage, and you can get other news and insight about the series.
OnLive coming to browsers, smart TVs with more viewing capabilities
OnLive has announced that its popular game streaming service is headed out to even more platforms, including LG Smart TVs with Google TV, and a Internet browser near you thanks to a new In-Browser Gaming feature. Starting today, players will be able to go to OnLive's website, and load up the streaming service without a standalone app. OnLive says the browser service is also very customizable by any publishers or content providers, allowing for free streaming trials of any games on the service, with options to send customers off to buy or preorder the games once they're done playing. The service is very similar to competitor Gaikai, and should lower the barrier of entry for customers unwilling to download a separate app: OnLive says it will even work in popular mobile browsers, on smartphones and tablets.OnLive has also introduced a new feature called MultiView, which allows players to watch multiple views of other players' gameplay while playing their own games, as seen above. Because OnLive's streaming technology just sends video and audio, players can watch up to three other screens while their own game is running, without any more speed hits on the local CPU. MultiView is currently in beta, and should see a full release later on this summer.
YouTube blows out seven candles, cuts birthday party short to log 72 hours of video per minute
Ah, YouTube. It wasn't long ago that it was pumping out around 60 hours of content every 60 seconds, but nothing can stop the video juggernaut. Celebrating its seven years of existence with a video charting its rise, rise and rise, YouTube's official blog has also announced that it's now dealing with an eye-bleeding 72 hours of video every minute. We're still finding all this content as pervasive as ever though, with over 3 billion hours now watched every month. Catch the site blowing its own trumpet in the tribute vid right after the break -- which is all well and good, but where's the free game?
YouTube hits 4 billion views per day, deals with 60 hours of uploaded content every minute (Update: Count it in nyans)
It looks like that redesign was worth it. The Google-owned video site has recently revealed that it's now streaming 4 billion videos every day, up 25 percent on daily views from eight months earlier. According to Reuter's report, the site now has to deal with around 60 hours of uploaded video every minute. As long as those education videos are kept separate and the cat content keeps coming, we'll be happy. Update: Check out the official stats on Google's YouTube blog post, in the video embedded after the break, or a site chock-full of relevant visualizations the company has put together at OneHourPerSecond.com
