Topic: Twitter

Google and Twitter Aren't Impressed with Facebook's Disclosure Dump

AP

Facebook became the first tech company implicated in the PRISM scandal to release a complete view of data requests received from U.S. authorities — secret PRISM requests and all — but Google and Twitter were quick to voice their displeasure with Facebook's apparent privacy triumph. 

By Rebecca Greenfield

Feb 28, 2013

This Is Where the Twitter Vortex of 'Wow' Ends

There's a new little Twitter game happening that we will call the Vortex of Wow in which someone tweets "Wow." and then a link to another person tweeting "Wow." with a link to another person tweeting "Wow." and then, well, you get the picture.

Comments | 3,104 Views

By Philip Bump

Feb 27, 2013

DHS Bureaucrat's Planned Resignation Inspires an Hour of Political Fury

When Gary Mead sent notice of his planned resignation to colleagues, it's likely he didn't expect that the move would almost instantly become a furious topic in the boiling debate over the sequester.

Comments | 1,890 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Feb 27, 2013

The Known, Unknown, and Unknowable of Twitter's $10 Billion Valuation

In all this Twitter $10 billion valuation talk a lot of theoretical numbers and estimates get thrown out there as fact.

Comments | 489 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 26, 2013

Pro-Assad Hackers Take Over AFP's Twitter with Syrian Propaganda Photos

After a couple of high-profile corporate hacks last week, a much nastier Twitter sabotage took place today on behalf of supporters of Bashar Al-Assad.

Comments | 2,586 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Feb 21, 2013

Trumpdate! Donald Trump Is Either Hacking Victim or Closet Lil' Wayne Fan

Donald Trump's Twitter account might have been hacked Thursday, or he might have been sincerely quoting Lil' Wayne when he tweeted, "These hoes think they classy, well that's the class I'm skippen." It's so hard to tell with The Donald.

Comments | 2,586 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 20, 2013

Stealing Is Stealing, Even on Twitter

How long until something as ephemeral as Twitter is respected as a protected medium for creation? This may all sound overly dramatic — we're talking about where a fake Guy Fieri menu came from — but the boundaries of ownership do matter.

Comments | 10,510 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Feb 19, 2013

MTV Fake-Hacks Its Own Twitter Handle, Proving That MTV Is Still Terrible

Just as the week of the big-brand Twitter hack was getting as old as it was useful to the "victims," the feeds of BET and MTV were "hacked." Except they were stunt-hacked in a pre-planned, inter-office joke that turned into a viral marketing ploy gone bad.

Comments | 2,529 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 19, 2013

Jeep's Twitter Account Just Got the Burger King Treatment

One day after @BurgerKing got their Twitter account hijacked, @Jeep has become the newest corporate victim of social media espionage.

Comments | 975 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Feb 19, 2013

How China's Top Digital Spies Got Outed by Facebook and Twitter

If it weren't for the strictness of the Chinese government's Internet firewall, security firm Mandiant may never have discovered the identities of the Chinese army's instantly notorious "Comment Crew."

Comments | 1,763 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 18, 2013

Burger King's Twitter Account Got Seriously Hacked

It seems that the officially verified Twitter account of the Burger King has become the victim of a prank, since the account announced they were sold to McDonald's and all their employees are on drugs.

Comments | 5,850 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Feb 15, 2013

Is the Facebook Hack Part of a Bigger Spy Threat?

Facebook announced in a blog post on Friday afternoon that its "systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack" and that "Facebook was not alone," which immediately raised the cyber-espionage question of the moment: Was China behind this one, too?

Comments | 5,014 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Feb 15, 2013

The @RussiaMeteor War Against Twitter Parody Accounts Is Futile

With an oversaturation of obvious jokes coming from get-followers-quick users who jump on major news events, one comedian's bold move to squat on a newsy handle is, indeed, an heroic gesture. But it's also futile.

Comments | 2,652 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Feb 14, 2013

Congressman's Alleged Twitter Mistress Is Actually His Long Lost Daughter

Rep. Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat, attracted unwanted attention after the State of the Union address, when press reported on flirtatious tweets sent to a very pretty 24-year-old blonde.

Comments | 6,291 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Feb 11, 2013

Raise Your Hand if You Think Buying Stuff with Hashtags Is a Good Idea

Twitter and American Express announced a curious new partnership on Monday: a program that lets you buy things like jewelry and electronics by tweeting out a specific hashtag.

Comments | 862 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Feb 8, 2013

Lazy Cory Booker Will Be Taking It Easy This Weekend

Has Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and the Superman myth his frequently-updated Twitter feed generates, finally jumped the shark?

Comments | 993 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 8, 2013

How to Be an Online Blizzard Scientist

Calling all lazy nerds getting snowed in by "Nemo." Helping researchers collect snowstorm data has become so insanely easy, anyone with a smartphone and 30 seconds can be a citizen scientist during the blizzard.

Comments | 517 Views

By Connor Simpson

Feb 2, 2013

China May (or May Not) Be Behind the Twitter Hack

You may not have heard, but roughly 250,000 Twitter accounts may have been compromised by hackers. And there's a small theory that -- if you read between the lines -- Twitter is implying the Chinese are to blame for compromising their security. 

Comments | 2,776 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Feb 1, 2013

How Twitter Earned Its Mega-Valuation

Twitter might not quite deserve its (very) big new $10 billion valuation, but it's spent the last year working (very) hard to grow up — and just in time for the inevitable and (very) good-looking public offering in 2013.

Comments | 957 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 31, 2013

Update: Amazon.com Is Working Again

It may be time to declare today the Day of the Internet Not Working Properly: First Twitter sputtered, and this afternoon Amazon is experiencing technical difficulties.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 31, 2013

Why Was Twitter Down Today?

Yes, Twitter isn't working right now, and, yes, Twitter is working to fix it. While Twitter hasn't yet offered a specific reason for the disruption, it very well may be a server-capacity issue.

Comments | 4,828 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 30, 2013

You Can't Hate Twitter if You Don't Get Twitter

In one of the most talked-about columns on social media today, The Week columnist Matt Lewis tries to explain how he got trapped in the "prison" of Twitter's apparent decline — even though he's really just trapped himself, by way of a really bad Twitter feed.

Comments | 2,412 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 30, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

Doyle McManus on immigration reform's moment, Ezra Klein on how immigration policy affects the economy, Matt K. Lewis on Twitter's overcrowding, Chris Murphy on the new NRA, and Sanjay Kumar on India's cultural emergency.

Comments | 2,242 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 28, 2013

The Government Is Still Trying to Spy on a Lot of Your Twitter and Google Data

On the occasion of Data Privacy Day, Twitter says it's giving away user information requested by the U.S. government... without a warrant. It's the continuation of a frightening trend that's as frightening as it is growing.

Comments | 5,124 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 27, 2013

Vine Has a Porn Problem Because Of Course It Does

It's actually pretty surprising that it took everyone three days to figure out that Twitter's new cell phone camera-powered video sharing app, Vine, is perfect for porn.

Comments | 19,166 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jan 26, 2013

You Will Not Stop Watching Vinepeek

You might not be sold on Twitter's new short video app Vine, but we challenge you to try and stop watching Vinepeek. You won't. You'll be stuck for 20 minutes before mustering the will power to look away. 

Comments | 13,716 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 25, 2013

How Facebook Passive-Aggressively Dismissed Twitter's New Vine App

Facebook has now clarified why it blocked Twitter's new video-sharing app Vine, suggesting on its developer blog Friday afternoon that Facebook didn't think much of Vine's integration — or lack thereof — with the social network

Comments | 517 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Jan 25, 2013

Trimming the Times

A Punk Prince, Women in the Military, a New Tennis Controversy

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 24, 2013

Facebook Is Already Trying to Break Twitter's New Toy

Twitter launched a new product called Vine on Thursday, one that's as confusing as it is intriguing -- just like Twitter itself was when it started. Unsurprisingly, Facebook wants nothing to do with it.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 24, 2013

Six Seconds Is the New 140 Characters: Measuring Up Twitter's New Vine App

With its new video sharing app, Twitter has once again dictated the length of our online expression, allotting a maximum six seconds for its new embeddable clips. Is that such a good thing?

Comments | 1,990 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Jan 17, 2013

Why Michelle Obama's Twitter Account Will Be Less Political Than the First One

The First Lady's new Twitter handle (which, so far, has issued a single tweet) highlights one of the curiosities of political campaigning on social media.

Comments | 321 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 17, 2013

Te'oing Isn't the New Tebowing, It's the New Eastwooding

Yes, there's a tumblr and a hashtag for the invisible-girlfriend photo, and, yes, it's an early candidate for meme of the year. But just because it sounds like "Tebowing" doesn't mean it is. 

Comments | 3,558 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 8, 2013

What Happens to a Twitter Account That Becomes a Suicide Note?

The final tweets of Freddy E., a Seattle rapper who posted chilling updates before committing suicide on Saturday, are still can still be seen by family, friends, and digital voyeurs. It is sadly not the first time that Twitter has served as a platform for a suicide note.

Comments | 6,913 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Jan 7, 2013

Stat of the Day

181,354 People on Twitter Think They're Experts at Twitter

Do you tweet? Do you post things on Facebook? Do you #hashtag #complete #sentences #like #this? Well: you've got company!

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jan 3, 2013

Can the Government Really Ban Twitter Parody Accounts?

Arizona is entertaining a law that will make it a felony to use another person's real name to make an Internet profile intended to "harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten," which to some sounds like a law against parody Twitter accounts.

Comments | 345 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Dec 27, 2012

'Today' Show Anchors Admit They Just Don't Get That Darn Social Media

Following a segment about the Randi Zuckerberg-Facebook privacy fiasco, Savannah Guthrie, Natalie Morales, and Willie Geist revealed they approach Facebook (and, to a lesser extent, Twitter) the same way your parents do.

Comments | 5,351 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Dec 26, 2012

Obama Talks About the Hug Tweeted 'Round the World

You've all seen the photo, which the Obama campaign tweeted on election night and quickly became the most-retweeted in Twitter history. Now Barbara Walters gets the president to induce a collective national moment of "aww."

Comments | 2,242 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 20, 2012

Spatwatch

MySpace Tom Fake-Trolls the Twitter Trolls: Which Troll Won?

Tom Anderson gets nasty on Twitter... to prove a point about nastiness on Twitter. A blow-by-blow scorecard.

Comments | 3,276 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Dec 20, 2012

Cory Booker Is Exploring a Senate Run, Announces Cory Booker on Social Media

Speculation had been brewing for weeks, and a report surfaced earlier in the morning that Booker would tweet his intentions, and then came the tweet to the popular (if controversial) mayor's 1.3 million followers late in the morning.

Comments | 960 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 19, 2012

Twitter Suspends Anonymous Account Over Post-Newtown Hack of Westboro

The tweet in question included a photo that Twitter has since taken down of or about the spokesperson for Westboro Baptist Church, whose account Anonymous hacked in response to Westboro protesting funerals for the victims in Newtown.

Comments | 3,422 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Dec 19, 2012

Year in Review

The 2012 (Fictional) Persons of the Year

Time can have its real person of the year, but not-real people can influence us, too, and in 2012, fake characters mattered. From Katniss to Bane and Zero Dark Thirty's Maya, here's our alternative list.

Comments | 5,344 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 19, 2012

You Can Download Your Entire Twitter History Now

Users spotted this last weekend, but Twitter has made it official in a blog post today: you can download all your tweets, from forever.

Comments | 1,006 Views

By Connor Simpson

Dec 16, 2012

Be Careful When Downloading Your Twitter Archive

Twitter is rolling out the long-awaited feature of downloading your entire tweet history, it seems, but be careful. You might not like what you find in there. Sometimes we remember our tweets with rose-colored lenses.

Comments | 1,834 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Dec 12, 2012

Here's the Pope's First Tweet

The long wait is over and we've finally got the first words of Twitter wisdom from Pope Benedict XVI. 

Comments | 6,238 Views

By Connor Simpson

Dec 11, 2012

One Man Is Now Tweeting Every U.S. Drone Strike Known to Man

Josh Begley's little — or not so little — social media experiment is a chilling reminder of the vastness that has been this past decade in morally questionable killing.

Comments | 5,014 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Dec 11, 2012

The Chinese Want to Know Why Their News Is on Twitter and They Aren't

Chinese internet users are a little miffed today after the learning that the Communist Party's official news service has its own Twitter account, even though Twitter is supposed to be banned in China.

Comments | 9,861 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 10, 2012

The Twitter-Instagram Filter Wars Have Arrived

On the the same afternoon that Instagram updated its mobile apps with a new filter called Willow, Twitter debuted long rumored photo filters of its own — all of which explains the whole dust-up over Instagram photos disappearing from Twitter last week.

Comments | 5,216 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Dec 10, 2012

Behind the New Modern Seinfeld Twitter Account, Which Is Not About Nothing

@SeinfeldToday, which popped up Sunday evening, ventures to propose of-the-moment plots for a modern Seinfeld. The man behind the handle explains where it came from.

Comments | 13,432 Views

By Connor Simpson

Dec 8, 2012

Twitter to Start War on Instagram In Time for Christmas

Holidays seem to be Instagram's bread and butter, so it makes sense that Twitter would fire their first shot in the war on Instagram when the app is at its most vulnerable. 

Comments | 2,716 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 7, 2012

The Era of Twitter Without Instagram Has Now Begun

We know everyone is a little bummed about all those filtered photos disappearing from your Twitter streams this weekend, but let's not get all worked up about it: They are disappearing, and there is no scandal.

Comments | 1,610 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Dec 5, 2012

How to Get Over the Twitter-Instagram War on Photos

Instagram made sharing its photos a lot more annoying for Twitter users Wednesday in what's being called a "brewing war." We're here to help with a handy three-step program to getting over this terrible ordeal.

Comments | 2,540 Views

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