Posts Tagged: middle-east

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30
Aug 10

Twitter launches Twitter 101

twitter launches guide to twitter

…a book that discusses how to use Twitter for business. The intro to the guide reads:
Every day, millions of people use Twitter to create, discover and share ideas with others. Now, people are turning to Twitter as an effective way to reach out to businesses, too. From local stores to big brands, and from brick-and-mortar to internet-based or service sector, people are finding great value in the connections they make with businesses on Twitter.
The case studies section include companies such as Dell, JetBlue and Pepsi among others. It will be very interesting to see how this subdomain evolves and what material Twitter adds to this site. As everyone clamors to discover what Twitter’s business model might be, perhaps this site will begin to offer some clues….

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Twitter launches Twitter 101

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22
Aug 10

TWiT’s Leo Laporte loses faith in social media

High-profile tech podcaster Leo Laporte has had it with social media, it seems. In a blog post, the influential broadcaster behind the TWiT network of podcasts says that after four years of social media activity he has become disillusioned with services like Twitter, Google Buzz and FriendFeed.

…High-profile tech podcaster Leo Laporte has had it with social media, it seems.
In a blog post, the influential broadcaster behind the TWiT network of podcasts says that after four years of social media activity he has become disillusioned with services like Twitter, Google Buzz and FriendFeed.
The cause of this change of heart is Google Buzz. Laporte has been one of Buzz’s most high-profile advocates. He has often spoken about his love for Google’s social platform on his podcasts, long after the novelty wore off for others. However, he recently discovered that a glitch with Buzz meant that everything he had posted there since 6 August hadn’t been seen by anyone, and seemingly no-one noticed.
Rather than just quit Buzz, he seems to have a downer on social media as a whole.
It makes me feel like everything…

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TWiT’s Leo Laporte loses faith in social media

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18
Aug 10

The do’s and don’ts of asking someone out online

Don’t e-mail a romantic interest unless he gave you his address directly. Facebook has been blamed for fueling jealousy and even divorces. Twitter is a limited tool: You have only 140 characters to show your, well, character.

…inches high), we do tout around the modern equivalent: a slew of digital identities that potential suitors must circumvent to get to the actual you. While we admit that fixing the above issue wholesale would require a total brain-scrub of the world’s populace, we are prepared to offer a few date-making tips for all you hopeless (emphasis on the hopeless) romantics. Facebook Although the social-networking site has gained quite the bad rep in the romantic realm, being blamed for fueling jealousy and even divorces, it’s still a pretty good venue by which to hook up. (Yeah, it would be better for all of humanity if we refrained from Facebook-stalking those we’re into — but that cause is about as lost as our generation’s innocence). So here are the ground rules. It’s totally OK to ask a person out via Facebook if you don’t have his/her number: e.g., you met a girl at a party, have a few mutual friends, but lost her in the crowd after that dude jumped in the rooftop kiddie pool naked and shook himself about,…

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The do’s and don’ts of asking someone out online

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18
Aug 10

Twitter Takes Teen from Zero to Villain to Hero in 5 Hours

One young Scottish web developer wanting to learn about Twitter development ended up learning some harsh lessons about Twitter users…

…your Twitter account led to speculation from some that the app may be a scam that would at a later date send out spam tweets from your account.
According to the developer, the truth is much more mundane. Reading through his tweets, it appears that 17 year-old James Cunningham had developed the app to learn how oAuth worked. Little did he know that while his back was turned his app would become a controversial viral hit.
On discovering the sudden popularity of Twifficiency, his elation quickly faded and he began explaining himself:…

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Twitter Takes Teen from Zero to Villain to Hero in 5 Hours

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17
Aug 10

ei: Internet users paid to spread Israeli propaganda

The passionate support for Israel expressed on talkback and comment sections of websites, internet chat forums, blogs, Twitter and Facebook may not be all that it seems.

…The passionate support for Israel expressed on talkback and comment sections of websites, internet chat forums, blogs, Twitter and Facebook may not be all that it seems.

Israel’s foreign ministry is reported to be establishing a special undercover team of paid workers whose job it will be to surf the internet 24 hours a day spreading positive news about Israel.

Internet-savvy Israeli youngsters, mainly recent graduates and demobilized soldiers with language skills, are being recruited to pose as ordinary surfers while they provide the government’s line on the Middle East conflict.

“To all intents and purposes the internet is a theater in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we must be active in that theatre, otherwise we will lose,” said Ilan Shturman, who is responsible for the project.

The existence of an “internet warfare team” came to light when it was included in this year’s foreign ministry budget. About $150,000 has been set aside for the first stage of development, with increased funding…

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ei: Internet users paid to spread Israeli propaganda

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13
Aug 10

Twitter Launches New "You Both Follow" Feature, More

Twitter just rolled out a number of new features on Twitter.com. Many users have noticed the changes which seem to have hit within the last few minutes.

…As per comments, we’ve taken down a couple of the features as new, but I know at least on my account that they just showed up today, so perhaps Twitter has rolled them out to everyone now. We’d ask Twitter for comment, but they don’t provide user data . Thanks for the help everyone, hopefully Twitter will put out a blog post and spell out all of the exact features that they released or spread to all user today….

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Twitter Launches New "You Both Follow" Feature, More

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3
Aug 10

5 Things Serious Tech People Need To Stop Tweeting

Twitter was built, populated, and promoted by the tech community. That just makes it even more ironic that so many of us techies have terrible Twitter manners.

…Twitter was built, populated, and promoted by the tech community. That just makes it even more ironic that so many of us techies have terrible Twitter manners. We should know better.
Look technology friends, Twitter is a lovely thing, but when we tweet certain things we make our followers cringe and twitch towards the unfollow button. Do whatever you will, but after reading literally millions of tweets I think that if we cut out the following Tweets we would all be better off.
And of course, I am just as guilty as you are.
Tweeting Every Damn Place You Go
You may think that it is interesting that you are at Whole Foods (because you have the spare coin, right?), but we don’t. The annoying thing is that many ‘must follow’ people in tech are some of the worst Foursquare-on-Twitter abusers.
I may have to follow you, but I hate your Foursquare spam. Tell me when you are at the White House, or the Playboy Mansion, not the carwash.
Vague Victory Tweets
Your Epic win today, really stoked about the next three months…

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5 Things Serious Tech People Need To Stop Tweeting

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29
Jul 10

Want to see twitter in real time? Watch this video.

Want to see twitter in real time? Watch this video.- Cannot even find the retweet to give credit, moved to fast down the TweetDeck Column…

…Although this has been possible for ages using the Twitter Streaming API the User Stream makes things even easier for developers.
As the comments above have highlighted the user experience isn’t really being considered. The real-time experience is being used as a gimmick and clearly TweetDeck and Echofon will get some traction with this.
We’ve been pushing real-time Twitter updates through our Kwwika service for around 5 months now and have built a few applications with exactly the same user experience (or lack of one) just for show and it does have the wow factor.
I’m guessing Twitter are only opening up the user stream to certain companies but if anybody wants this functionality in their website or application now then why not get in touch with us. That said, keep the user experience in mind….

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Want to see twitter in real time? Watch this video.

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23
Jul 10

Are social networks starting to act like nations?

Facebook has far more users than the U.S. has citizens, and Twitter may soon rival Brazil’s population — and now researchers say social networks are in some ways more akin to sovereign nations than to companies.

…says Edward Castronova, a professor at Indiana University. One of them is how much impact virtual economies and currencies will have on real world ones. The Chinese government has repeatedly curbed virtual currencies. Last year it banned their use to buy real-world goods and services, in part because of concerns about the impact on the yuan.

Facebook may also influence how governments supply services, and compete to provide them. For instance, the firm allows members to use their Facebook profiles to log into other sites around the web, creating a sort of passport. A similar facility could help people on the move retain access to government services. And then there is the question of how social networks will change politics. Clearly, they help to stimulate discussion and marshal action, and they let governments trawl for and test proposals. When Messrs Cameron and Zuckerberg conferred, the main topic was how to get new ideas for cutting public spending.
Like many diplomatic relationships, theirs was…

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Are social networks starting to act like nations?

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8
Jul 10

CNN Sacks Mid-East Editor Over Tweet

CNN has sacked a veteran Middle East editor after she wrote on Twitter that she “respected” a late senior Lebanese cleric said to have inspired Hezbollah.

…CNN has sacked a veteran Middle East editor after she wrote on Twitter that she “respected” a late senior Lebanese cleric said to have inspired Hezbollah.
A CNN official said Octavia Nasr was leaving the US TV news network because her credibility had been “compromised”.
Nasr has described her 140-character remarks about Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who died on Sunday, as an “error of judgement”.
She said she had been referring to his “pioneering” views on women’s rights.
‘Immediate, overwhelming reaction’ Ayatollah Fadlallah, Lebanon’s top Shia Muslim cleric, died at the age of 74. He was customarily described as the spiritual leader of the militant movement Hezbollah when it was formed in 1982 - a claim both he and the group denied.
Ms Nasr was CNN’s senior editor of Middle East affairs and had been with the network for two decades, largely in an off-camera role.
After hearing of Ayatollah Fadlallah’s death, she wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter: “Sad to hear of the passing of…

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CNN Sacks Mid-East Editor Over Tweet

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