iPhone Savior

Elon Musk Takes Control of Twitter As 'Chief Twit'

 

Elon Musk has finally completed his $44-billion acquisition of Twitter and taken over as the company's 'Chief Twit', according to Musk's own legendary description in his Twitter profile. 

The first order of business for Musk was to fire Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, news confirmed by sources close to the mothership.

According to Bloomberg News, Musk will assume the role of chief executive officer at Twitter Inc. and begin to reverse lifetime bans on users. Longtime staffer Elam Nikserof, believes that "Elon Musk will be exactly the kind of fresh vision that Twitter needs to help clear out all the armchair zombies who take great pleasure in eating people's brains." 

The first tweet by Musk after his acquisition of Twitter was complete, heralded his vision for returning the social media giant to a bastion of "free speech" with a tweet that simply stated "the bird is freed". 

In a statement by Musk, the reason he bought the platform was to create “a common digital town square where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.” He also said on Thursday he did not buy Twitter to make more money but "to try to help humanity, whom I love."

Make no mistake that the purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk will certainly be debated in a not so healthy manner by the ugly minority who will have to relinquish their canceling powers overnight. What happens next may shock the world, if that's still possible. Buckle up, because Twitter staff layoffs will rush in quickly like a flood.

 

Illustration by Kroese '22

Facebook Says 'Dislike' Button On The Way Soon

After years of languishing, Facebook has announced that an official 'Dislike Button' is finally on the way. CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed during a Q&A session Tuesday, that his company is preparing to launch a Dislike button aimed at expressing empathy — since “Not every moment is a good moment,” according to Zuckerberg.

“I think people have asked about the dislike button for many years. Today is a special day because today is the day I can say we’re working on it and shipping it,” Zuckerberg said. 

“If you share something that's sad like a refugee crisis that touches you or a family member passes away, it may not be comfortable to like that post…I do think it's important to give people more options than liking it. We need to figure out the right way to do it so [the button] ends up being a force for good, not a force for bad.”

Although Mr. Zuckerberg did not announce a public launch date — this special day can be commemorated with a set of "I Like" shot glasses that enable offline users to throw back multiple shots of Fireball then quickly tip the glass over to celebrate the Dislike button becoming part of the Facebook family (very soon).

The company did reveal it will be testing out their new Dislike button with a small number of users 'soon'.

Until then...Bottoms up (thumbs down) ya'll!

Note: Deep feelings of empathy are delivered free with each consecutive shot.

 

[I Like Shots] — Using Dislike Button while intoxicated is strongly discouraged.

Snapchat Plans To Make App More Secure After User Data Leaked

 

After several days of awkward silence surrounding data security concerns, social-sharing service Snapchat has responded to allegations of hacking Thursday on the company's blog — promising an update to make its mobile application more secure by allowing users to opt out of providing phone numbers as a way for others to easily locate user names through the app.

The response entitled "Find Friends Abuse", came after hackers identifying themselves as SnapchatDB leaked some 4.6 million Snapchat usernames and phone numbers online on New Years Eve — a breach made possible by vulnerabilities in the service's security. 

“We will be releasing an updated version of the Snapchat application that will allow Snapchatters to opt out of appearing in Find Friends after they have verified their phone number,” the company said in a blog post. “We’re also improving rate limiting and other restrictions to address future attempts to abuse our service.”

The company took aim at the anonymous group of hackers by referring to these self-appointed watchmen as “attackers” in their statement. 

“We acknowledged in a blog post last Friday that it was possible for an attacker to use the functionality of Find Friends to upload a large number of random phone numbers and match them with Snapchat usernames. On New Years Eve, an attacker released a database of partially redacted phone numbers and usernames.” the company said.

Snapchat also announced a way for security firms to report any future vulnerability concerns by emailing [email protected] directly so the company can respond more quickly while making it clear in their statement that “no other information, including Snaps, was leaked or accessed.” 

“Ensure that your security settings are up to scratch on your social media profiles,” Gibson Security told the AP. “Be careful about what data you give away to sites when you sign up — if you don't think a service requires your phone number, don't give it to them.”

To find out if your username was included in the shared list you can use this website created by developer Robbie Trencheny to confirm if your information has been compromised. The site also offers advice on what to do next if you find your data has been compromised.

 

Related: Snapchat Hacked! — 4.6 Million Usernames and Numbers Leaked Online

Middle Class Problems — A Hilarious Twitter Feed

 

Londoner Benjamin Lee has some real problems with his Twitter feed — and that's the good new. Lee created a fresh social media art form by compiling tweets containing the daily woes of the troubled middle class. 

On his Twitter feed "Middle Class Problems" — Ben re-tweets all sorts of "problems" people whine about in 140 characters or less. Like @jtrulez who complains about one restaurant using "too much orange zest" in his brunch mimosa. 

The brilliance here is Ben's treatment of these tweets which he pairs with perfectly melodramatic photos of miserable humans which instantly transforms the tweets into even more absurd works of modern social media art.

Lee appropriately describes this ludicrous whining as "Real problems but not real actual problems, just middle class ones." 

I can't wait to someday see his work on display at a trendy London gallery selling for a ridiculous price. This might be one of the best ways to monetize Social Media — selling tweets as art.

Benjamin Lee also spends his time working as the Online Editor for the wildly popular website Shortlist.com. (more photos below)

Instagram Rewinds Terms of Service Back To 2010

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom just wants to kiss and make up by rewinding the original Terms of Service for the advertising section of the app back to the way it was in 2010 — a more Lo-Fi era when Instagram was young, hungry and filled with wide-eyed optimism.

While it may be far too late for many of his ultra-loyal users to undo the filters of personal disappointment — Instagram still wants to make nice and just see this entire friggin' mess go away. Here's a small sampling of what Kevin Systrom wants us all to know.

“Because of the feedback we have heard from you, we are reverting this advertising section to the original version that has been in effect since we launched the service in October 2010. You can see the updated terms here.”

“Going forward, rather than obtain permission from you to introduce possible advertising products we have not yet developed, we are going to take the time to complete our plans, and then come back to our users and explain how we would like for our advertising business to work.”

“You also had deep concerns about whether under our new terms, Instagram had any plans to sell your content. I want to be really clear: Instagram has no intention of selling your photos, and we never did. We don't own your photos – you do.”

Now that your trust has been shattered into tiny unrecognisable pieces and the reigning king of all iPhone photos apps has failed you — what will it take for you to ever come back?

Since I never deleted my own Instagram account — I'm wondering what the other half of iPhone humanity is thinking. Will things in insta-land ever be #Instagood again?

“I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy...”

But that's just not going to happen is it? While I believe most people are willing to forgive an honest mistake of epic proportions —  I'm also certain that they will never forget.

For now... #Instagate is finally over.

Miley Cyrus Speaks Out For iPhone Emoji Equality

Queen of Pop Miley Cyrus is calling for Emoji equality as she begins to publicly speak out in the fight against iPhone emoticon injustice — citing that the little expressive icons lack ethnicity. Who's with her!?

When responding to a tweet by retail chain Sephora, who called for more variety in Emoji nail colors (currently limited to pink) — Miss Cyrus responded with a complaint of her own on a Twitter post.

"Umm before they add nail colors they BETTER add black people!!! #wtfemoj Am I right or am I right?" Miley Cyrus tweeted.

Although the recent upgrade to iPhone Emoji by Apple with iOS 6 included gay and lesbian couples — the ethnicity department is still somewhat lacking.

The current emoticons feature a handful of stereotypical images including Chinese, Russians, Indians and old people, but the whole African American category just does not exist.

So who better than America's country sweetheart to lead the important charge for Emoji equality. Somebody has to!

To enable Emoji on your iPhone open Settings > scroll down and select International > select Keyboards >then Add A New Keyboard > scroll down and select Emoji.

You can access the emoticons by selecting The Globe next to the right of your numbers key [123].

It won't be long now until we see an online petition from the NAACP aiming to put pressure on Apple to bring all races into the small world of Emoji.

Good luck with that!

via BetaBeat

Twitter Lets Users Download All Their Epic Tweets

Twitter has opened up the ability for all users to download their Twitter archive so you can browse and even share your epic faves using the hashtag #TwitterArchive. Uhgg!

This new self indulgent fantasy option was rolled out to a select few users earlier in the month before the company decided that it's a must-have feature for every egomaniacal Twitter user on planet earth.

“Today, we’re introducing the ability to download your Twitter archive, so you’ll get all your Tweets (including Retweets) going back to the beginning," the company announced in a blog post. “If you tweet, you may have found yourself wanting to go back in time and explore your past Tweets.”

“Once you have your Twitter archive, you can view your tweets by month, or search your archive to find tweets with certain words, phrases, hashtags or @usernames. You can even engage with your old tweets just as you would with current ones.”

It's almost like climbing into a Twitter time machine just to witness what kinds of useless dribble you were burping up two years ago when you thought you were way cooler than you actually were. Kinda pathetic really.

What would be way cooler is having the ability to go back and actually change your Tweets from the past — then watch the ripple effect of how it effects the present. Ashton Kutcher could actually un-punk himself with those Joe Paterno tweets that landed him in Twitter exile.

Check out the Twitter blog post for detailed instructions on how to grab your glorious tweets of old. Good luck with that.

via Twitter

How To Back Up Your Instagram Photos and Delete Your Account Forever

 

If you are no longer a fan of Instagram and want to make the move to delete your account forever without losing your photos — it's easier than you think.

So is backing up your vast collection of Insagram images.

Before you tap the Delete button you should export your photos onto your hard drive using Instaport — a simple way to get all your photos downloaded in a nifty .zip file. Be patient with the download process because Instaport has posted that they're "expecting high traffic right now".

• Go to Instaport at http://instaport.me/

• Sign in with your Instagram handle

• Choose download and start the export

Once you've opened the .zip file on your computer and confirmed that all your images have been downloaded as planned, you're finally ready to delete Instagram for good.

Access your online photo page at Instagram.com (Instagram.com/Username) type in the forward slash and add your username. You should now see all your photos.

 

Select your Profile located at the Top Right of the page > click Edit Profile > then scroll down until you see I'd like to delete my account located on the bottom right. Click it.

Kiss your Instagram account #Instagoodbye for all eternity. Most of you may already have your Instagood images stored on your iPhone camera roll which means that you can skip the download and back up part of this ugly little breakup.

Good luck with that.

Medical Journal Gets Social With Crowdsourcing Platform

 

Traditional medical journals have been around for centuries — chronicling scientific advancements and medical knowledge since the late 1700's.

Although many of the esteemed peer reviewed publications like the New England Journal of Medicine have become available online, most have remained locked behind pay walls — not allowing the general public to view the content without having to pay hefty fees.

One Palo Alto start-up Curēus (pronounced "curious"), is attempting to radically change all that by re-imagining peer reviewed scientific publications to become more social and user-friendly in our internet age.

The co-operative ownership structure that Curēus employs, enables those who produce, review and contribute medical research into their eco-system to ultimately share in the company’s financial success.

“The average Joe has little to no access to the medical literature today,” Stanford neurosurgeon John Adler, MD told the SF Gate. “It's not right. It should be a human right.”

Instagram Apologizes To Prevent Mass User Exodus Over Privacy Policy Changes

Sometimes the best way to clear up any confusion surrounding extremely lengthy policy change documents and new terms of use — is to post a far more sensible version that's much easier for consumers to actually understand, without requiring a law degree.

That's exactly what Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom attempted to do in a blog post apology on Tuesday after dozens of tech sites began presenting other options to using the Instagarm app. Meanwhile many Instagram faithful immediately turned to Twitter and began urging users to delete their accounts.

A tsunami of angry Instagrammers took serious exception to the idea that starting on January 16, the photo-sharing app, now owned by Facebook, would give advertisers the right to use all new photos in advertisements for a fee that creators of the images would not take part in.

Which means your images could be sold without permission and you don't collect a dime.

“Since making these changes, we've heard loud and clear that many users are confused and upset about what the changes mean,” Systrom wrote in his apology.

The news travelled rapidly that Instagram was essentially asking users to sign away rights to all of their images posted through the app after Jan. 16, 2013. CNET helped spin the story into public outcry.

“Instagram said today that it has the perpetual right to sell users' photographs without payment or notification,” Declan McCullagh wrote for CNET. “Its first big policy shift since Facebook bought the photo-sharing site.”

In his blog post, Systrom was deliberate in addressing three main sticking points causing  plans of a mass-mutiny: ownership rights, advertising and privacy settings.

“It was interpreted by many that we were going to sell your photos to others without any compensation. This is not true and it is our mistake that this language is confusing. To be clear: it is not our intention to sell your photos. We are working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear.” Systrom wrote.

It took less than 24 hours for Instagram to fold like a lawn chair and begin trying to cover over the grand buffoonery of releasing policy change documents that left way too much room for mass confusion. What in the world was Instagram thinking?

Systrom asked users to “Please stay tuned for updates coming soon.” — which is another way of admitting that there may be additional language lingering in their documents that could still leave many users with cause for concern. 

I've been an avid Instagram user for well over a year now — while I'm a huge fan of the service I'm not sure why the company would mortally wound themselves with friendly fire just one week before the holiday season begins. Thanksgiving day brought a record 10 million photos that users posted onto Instagram.

Not everyone will emerge from this #Instagate fiasco quite the same, now that Facebook has helped kill the childlike wonder of so many Instagram faithful.

For those of you with an insta-exit plan in mind — you might want to keep those engines running while we all watch Kevin Systrom try to rewind all the way back to square one. Making every attempt to fix his mistakes at a rapid pace.

Who knows, you may not have to bail out on Instagram after all. That's what this whole aplology move is all about — right?

Twitter Racing To Release Photo Filters In App Before Holiday

 

This week Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom admitted that the company disabled the ability for Twitter to properly display embedded Instagram photos into tweets — and of course the Twitterverse quickly panicked accordingly.

Now Twitter is racing to release their own array of ultra-artsy camera filters in an application update that's intentionally aimed at arriving before the Christmas holiday, according to an AllThingsD report.

“Twitter is making a big push to release a series of photo filters to be used inside the official Twitter app before the end of the year, according to sources familiar with the matter. The new version of the app is currently in testing.”

If you peer into Twitter chairman Jack Dorsey's own feed you'll find several square-formatted, Black & White photos posted there — just like the one above with the caption, “Everyone on this bus is on their phone. Except the awesome dude rocking The Economist.”

Initial news of Twitter developing in-app photo filters came back on November 2 in the New York Times, but with the recent Instagram slap against the social media giant, it appears the filter war time line has escalated.

The big holiday launch push may also be due to the fact that Instagram users posted a record 10 million photos on Thanksgiving day — it appears that Twitter is anxious to grab some of that gargantuan user traffic with their own embedded photo filtering app. One that will allow users to utilize the “Cards” functionality which makes posting photos to Twitter so necessary. But will there be a Lo-Fi filter?

Even though there is a simple Instagram work-around users can employ to easily add photos to Twitter, an embedded Twitter camera filter would create a far superior user experience.

Twitter has offered up no specific details about their camera filters — sadly the New York Times reported that the filters won't be named after birds. Awwww!

Watch this hysterical "Look At This Instagram" video to cheer yourself up.

Photo credit: Jack Dorsey