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04/26/2024

https://lifehacker.com/tech/how-to-turn-off-meta-ai-on-facebook-instagram-messenger-whatsapp

Here's how to disable (or at least ignore) Meta AI on the Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp apps.

01/19/2024

How social media algorithms 'flatten' our culture by making decisions for us

Filterworld author Kyle Chayka examines the algorithms that dictate what we watch, read and listen to. He argues that machine-guided curation makes us docile consumers.

01/04/2024

Is social media harming kids? New study offers guidance to parents

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine looked at 15 years of studies on the relationship between adolescence and social media. NBC’s Jacob Ward breaks down its findings and shares guidance for parents.

10/09/2023

X tests three paid subscription tiers amid ongoing financial woes

X, formerly Twitter, is reportedly testing a trio of paid subscription tiers, breaking down into basic, standard and plus. Each tier will likely impact how many ads are shown on the platform.

07/26/2023

If you dislike birds and love short URLs we’ve got good news: Twitter is now X.com.

Elon Musk explained the reasoning in a Tweet X Monday night, saying the name Twitter “made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting,” but longer posts and soon-to-come “comprehensive communication and the ability to conduct your entire financial world” don’t fit with the bird. Musk has previously said he wants to turn Twitter into “the everything app.”

TikTok also joined in the change-up fun, announcing its own version of text-only posts. The posts, which look similar to Instagram Stories and are expected to compete with Twitter/X, allow users to add backgrounds, sounds, stickers, and up to 1,000 characters of text.

07/24/2023

Threads may already be fraying. Since its peak on July 7, traffic has dropped by 70% to just 13M active users, while Twitter has remained steady at 200M users. Additionally, the average iOS user now spends 4 minutes on the Threads app, compared with 19 minutes at its height. Zuck isn't worried, noting that Meta's other products took time to grow too.

06/02/2023

Twitter's head of trust and safety says she has resigned

Twitter's head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, told Reuters on Thursday that she has resigned from the social media company.

04/12/2023

"Silicon Valley and tech companies have recruited 248 employees from the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Homeland Security, DOJ, and FBI"

Tech companies such as Google, Meta, TikTok, and Twitter hired nearly 250 employees from federal law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice, and the CIA, according to an investigation by the Daily Caller.Silicon Valley and tech companies have recr...

04/07/2023

Twitter restricts posts featuring Substack after it rolls out rival service

Twitter is limiting any tweets that include links to Substack in an apparent response to the blogging platform's launch of a competitor.

04/04/2023

When Congress gives you lemons… make Lemon8. ByteDance has been busy, and not just defending its social superstar, TikTok, from US lawmakers, who are considering a ban. The Chinese tech titan has another social app, dubbed Lemon8, which hit US App Store top charts this week. Described as a cross between Meta's Instagram and Pinterest (picture: style pics, shopping recs), Lemon8 is said to use the same recommendation algo powering TikTok's addictive feed.

03/27/2023

TikTok on the (congressional) clock… Last week, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew spent five hours being grilled by Congress to defend the app. President Biden has supported a bill that would give him the power to ban (or force a sale of) TikTok in the US, and urged Congress to pass it over national-security concerns. TikTok, the world’s fastest-growing app, has 150M+ US users. China said it would “firmly oppose” a forced sale of the app. A Tik ban would be a dream come true for Meta, Snap, and Google’s YouTube.

03/26/2023

Bye bye blue check marks

The social media app will begin to wind down its legacy verified program on April 1.

03/22/2023

If ChatGPT is “at capacity” every time you try to use it… you can now try Google Bard, which opened to the public yesterday. In the surprise announcement, CEO Sundar Pichai thanked the 80,000 Googlers who tested the AI Chatbot but promised this was just the beginning of a “long AI journey.” The company’s stock rose 4%.

03/22/2023

“Alexa, clear out my desk.” Amazon announced that it’s cutting another 9,000 jobs – this time in its cloud computing, advertising, human resources, and Twitch divisions – bringing the total number of announced layoffs since November to over 27,000. The company said it’s looking to streamline its operations amid an uncertain economic future.

03/19/2023

Senators seek answers from Pinterest after NBC News investigation

Pinterest says it has "taken aggressive action" after NBC News revealed how easily men on the site can create sex-themed image boards of little girls.

03/19/2023

Snachat chatbot offers inappropriate advice for a minor

Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler joins CNBC's Brian Sullivan and 'Last Call' to discuss a conversation he had with a Snapchat bot that offered inappropriate advice for minors.

03/19/2023

Meta Launches New Meta Verified Program in the US

Now, US users will be able to buy their own blue checkmark on Facebook and Instagram.

03/13/2023

Meta (META) is planning to cut thousands of jobs this week as the company works to become more efficient throughout the year, according to Bloomberg. The fresh cuts come after the company laid off around 11,000 employees in the month of November.

03/06/2023

Social Media Director Explains Why Government Ban on TikTok Could Widely Impact Content Creators.

Due to security concerns, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to give President Biden the power to ban TikTok, if necessary.

02/28/2023

The new iPhone update added a “feature” —Clean Energy Charging
When it’s on, iOS will only recharge the iPhone's battery when the electrical grid uses cleaner energy sources like solar or wind. If you want your phone to charge quickly when you need it, go to Settings > Battery

02/20/2023

10 things to know about how social media affects teens' brains

Eye-opening testimony from a top scientist offers a useful primer on the role social media may play in the teen mental health crisis.

01/29/2023

Reports Show that Facebook Usage is Up, as Meta Continues to Develop its AI Targeting Models

Facebook remains a key connector, and its improving AI is helping to keep users engaged.

01/20/2023

'Zuck Bucks 2.0': Report warns of dark money groups influencing local election offices

EXCLUSIVE — A report from the Honest Elections Project is warning of a new $80 million initiative designed to influence election administration in local election offices and push for “progressive” voting policies.

01/19/2023

Instagram Gets a New 'Quiet Mode' To Cut Down on Social Media Overload

The new mode was created on feedback from teens, who say the social media service can distract them from their studies.

01/09/2023

Rumble CEO tells Tucker Carlson his company is 'winning' the free speech game amid social media censorship

Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski joined Fox Nation's 'Tucker Carlson Today' to discuss the rise of Rumble amid social media censorship.

01/04/2023

What are your thoughts? What age is appropriate for getting on and using social media?

‘Children who grow up checking social media are becoming hypersensitive to feedback from peers’

01/03/2023

What Can We Expect For Social Media In 2023? Big Changes Say The Pundits

What is almost certain is that the platforms will continue to be used by younger people.

12/31/2022

‘Mind Dominance’: The CCP’s Disinformation War on US Social Media

News Analysis Clusters of new social media profiles emerge and interact with long-dormant accounts, seemingly exchanging viewpoints from ...

12/31/2022

The Twitter Files Raised A Lot Of Questions About Twitter And The FBI. The Bureau Hasn’t Answered Any Of Them

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has left important questions unanswered in the wake of the "Twitter Files" documents.