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Tag: tweets

  • Twitter Makes Odd Privacy Change, Catches Flak, Promptly Backtracks

    In the span of just one day, Twitter made a pretty significant change to a major element of privacy on the site, took a bunch of heat from users, and quickly reverted all changes.

    Early Thursday, Twitter made a tweak to how blocking works on the site. In short, what Twitter did was to make blocking a user work more like muting a user. With the change, blocked users could still follow, retweet, and @mention the users who block them – but the blocker simply wouldn’t see all of this. It was kind of the Twitter equivalent of “you’re dead to me.” But a blocked user could still follow you – and they wouldn’t even be notified if they had been blocked.

    Of course, this is wildly different from Twitter’s normal rules for blocked users which basically disallows them from having any interactions with the blocker.

    Well, there was some backlash – a lot of it. I mean, for example….

    Yeah. So late last night Twitter backtracked:

    “Earlier today, we made a change to the way the ‘block’ function of Twitter works. We have decided to revert the change after receiving feedback from many users – we never want to introduce features at the cost of users feeling less safe. Any blocks you had previously instituted are still in effect,” said Twitter VP of Product Michael Sippey in a blog post.

    “In reverting this change to the block function, users will once again be able to tell that they’ve been blocked. We believe this is not ideal, largely due to the retaliation against blocking users by blocked users (and sometimes their friends) that often occurs. Some users worry just as much about post-blocking retaliation as they do about pre-blocking abuse. Moving forward, we will continue to explore features designed to protect users from abuse and prevent retaliation.”

    In the end, despite the ill-advised push to change a major privacy setting, I guess Twitter can be commended for listening to the angry masses.

  • Myopic Nelson Mandela Tweet Spawns Hilarious #FinkeObits Hashtag

    Shortly after the news of the passing of freedom icon Nelson Mandela hit the internet, Twitter began to fill up with tweets of remembrance, deference, and general praise of the anti-apartheid revolutionary. There were tweets of poetic sadness, wonderful tweets that reflected upon to the life of a man who was an inspiration to so many.

    And then there was this…

    That’s Deadline founder Nikki Finke with one of the year’s most misjudged tweets. Oof. Luckily, the focus has been directed from her incredibly odd statement to a new, hilarious hashtag: #FinkeObits.

    Enjoy:

    God I love Twitter.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Celebrities Reading Mean Tweets Continues to Be Hilarious

    Here’s the latest dispatch from never-not-funny land. Jimmy Kimmel is back with more celebrities reading terribly mean tweets.

    People are brutal. I guess most people don’t think that celebrities actually take the time to read the horrible things they say about them on Twitter, and maybe they don’t. I’m glad we have Jimmy Kimmel to make sure these celebs know exactly how the peanut gallery feels about them.

    I guess this is why George Clooney can’t understand why in the hell any famous person would want to be on Twitter.

    For more of this, which I’m sure you’re interested in, check here. And here, and here.

    Image via Jimmy Kimmel Live, YouTube

  • ‘2 Drunk 2 Care’: Girl Tweets Ominous Update Hours Before Causing Fatal Car Crash

    At approximately 1:45 am this past Sunday, 20-year-old Kayla Mendoza drove onto the Sawgrass Expressway in Broward County, Florida – driving the wrong way. Soon after, she slammed head-on into another car, killing both people inside.

    This incredibly sad story has an interesting social media twist, as a tweet from Mendoza just hours before the fatal crash strongly suggests that she was drunk at the time of the accident. At 11:03 pm Saturday, Mendoza tweeted that she was “2 drunk 2 care.” In less than three hours, she would take the life of two women and land herself in critical condition.

    According to the Miami New Times, Mendoza hit a Toyota Camry carrying two women – one of which was pronounced dead at the scene and another who died of her injuries at the hospital. Mendoza herself is still fighting for her life.

    It’s clear that Mendoza had a history of publicly broadcasting her exploits via Twitter, and if she does survive, it’s likely that her ominous tweet will be a major factor in any charges she might face.

    This story should sound familiar, which is pretty depressing. Last year, a California man died in a brutal wreck moments after tweeting “Drunk af going 120 drifting corners #FuckIt YOLO.”

    Image via Twitter

  • Home Depot Latest Subject of ‘When Corporate Tweeting Goes Really Really Bad’

    The Home Depot has been forced to issue a public apology after an unbelievably stupid tweet was sent out from their official account.

    Home Depot has since deleted the tweet, but it will live on forever thanks to quick Twitter users and their screenshot function:

    Yikes. Sure, it could have been an honest mistake – but dude. Seriously. Dude.

    Someone got fired…

    Get it together, Home Depot. I mean, is this the kind of thing you came up with to do battle with rival Lowe’s, who is absolutely killing it on the social media front lately?

    As you can see, whoever is running the account now has spent their whole day individually apologizing to pissed off Twitter users.


    And thus concludes another episode of When Corporate Tweeting Goes Really Really Bad.

    Image via Imfromraleigh, Twitter

  • World Series: Here’s What Twitter Is Saying In Real Time

    Currently the Boston Red Sox are leading the St. Louis Cardinals in the series 3 games to 2. Follow what people are saying about the game in real time.

    Here’s the #WorldSeries conversation:


    There have been reports that large crowds are beginning to gather around various points of Boston in hopes of a Boston win:

  • Lady Gaga Cited by Instagram over Safety

    Well it’s good to know that Instagram cares about the safety of its users and takes their reports seriously. I’ve heard of people reporting others for social offenses such as spam of extreme vulgarity, but does anyone personally know someone who was reported because followers feared for the life of that individual?

    Lady Gaga was smacked with a courtesy alert from Instagram citing the concerns of its members regarding the content she has been posting. Arguably, posting lyric pages with burnt cigarette marks could be alarming. She does seem to reference being “high” frequently but we ca never be sure if she’s referring to a sense of euphoria, the effect of smoking marijuana, or some other cryptic meaning.

    It wouldn’t be right to assume she’s having some severe struggles in life based on her frequent use of the word “high”. Let’s face it, from a writer/songwriter’s standpoint, it’s a great word when it comes to rhyming and whatnot. We also have to be fair. Granted Instagram wasn’t around when this particular song debuted, but still, no one made a fuss when James Blunt premiered his single “High” to the world. In fact, it was a complete hit.

    Maybe it was the line “each day I cry” that worried some of her over 2 million Instagram followers. With over 40 million followers on Twitter, it’s not unexpected that someone is going to have something to say, and more often than not, something negative.

    Sure Gaga’s posted selfies looking tired, but that could be expected by a performer of her caliber. So what she isn’t smothered in makeup looking blissfully disconnected.Gaga has never been one of those “artist” who’s been afraid to strip it all off, makeup, clothing, you name it. Take a look at Gaga’s new album cover for ARTPOP.

    Her fans love her because she isn’t afraid to slum it with the rest of us; granted, her slumming it is a bit more glamorous.

    With her new album premiering next month, we can assume that Gaga is too excited to be on suicide watch. She loves her fans dearly and I expect she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon; well at least not by her own cause.

    Image credit: Twitter.com.

  • Musicians Read Mean Tweets About Themselves [VIDEO]

    Last night, Jimmy Kimmel had Kanye West on the show to clear the air following their recent Twitter battle. It proved to be one of the most compelling half-hours of late night television in recent memory. Seriously, check it out.

    In honor of the rapper’s appearance, Kimmel decided to alter one of his best bits and turn it into an all-music edition. Please enjoy these famous musicians reading mean tweets about themselves.

    Image via YouTube

  • Popular Government Shutdown Tweet Gets a House Floor Reading

    Sometimes, it takes a Twitter user to perfectly sum up exactly what’s going on in Washington right now. And sometimes, that internet voice makes its way to the House floor.

    This tweet from Think Progress Editor-in-Chief Judd Legum is one of the most popular tweets about the current government shutdown, with nearly 20,000 retweets and over 8,000 favorites.

    It not only resonated with thousands of Twitter users, but apparently Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA) as well. He decided to give a decidedly dramatic reading of the tweet on the House floor, and it garnered a few snickers.

    Congress, you so silly.

    Image via YouTube

    [Congressman Doyle, YouTube, via Gawker]

  • Government Shutdown, As Told by Twitter’s Funniest

    So, it happened. The government shut down. Although many government-run sites are now down for the count, it’s a good thing we still have the non-government-owned Twitter to help us all cope.

    Sometimes, a situation is so goddamn ludicrous, that all you can do it make jokes. And jokes, oh jokes there are a plenty. Check out what Twitter’s saying about the shutdown:

    Image via reddit

  • Martha Stewart Broke Her iPad, and Apparently Apple Is Pissed That She’s Tweeting About It

    It looks like Martha Stewart dropped and shattered her iPad – the iPad that Steve Jobs personally gave her. And it also looks like Apple PR is upset with her about all the tweets she’s been posting concerning how to get it fixed.

    Of course, you have to take your broken iDevices into an Apple Store to begin the repair process. This confusion led to Stewart having an interesting business idea:

    I guess this prompted a call from Apple, who according to Stewart were non too pleased about her tweets. She is a high-profile Twitter user, with nearly 3 million followers. Maybe that had something to do with Apple’s frustration.

    She does seem to have changed her tone a bit…

    Don’t mess with Martha Stewart, Apple PR. She will cut you.

    Image via Martha Stewart, Twitter

  • Comedian Punches Reporter in the Face After Some Twitter Criticism

    To be a standup comedian, one would think that you would have to have a pretty thick skin. Between hecklers, critics, and the occasional drunk audience member, you’re going to take some abuse.

    Apparently, comedian Dan Nainan doesn’t care too much for criticism.

    According to Daily Beast reporter Josh Rogin, Nainan punched him in the face – twice – following a performance at the DC Improv Comedy Club. The anger seems stem from a couple of tweets Rogin made during the show about some particularly uninspiring comedy that he was witnessing:

    I guess that’s all it took to set Nainan off. Rogin pretty much live-tweeted being punched in the face and its aftermath:

    Here’s how Rogin described the incident shortly after it happened, via Washington Whispers:

    “Dan Nainan comes over to me and says, ‘Are you Josh Rogin,’ and I said yes and then he punched me in the jaw, then he pushed me, then he walked away and about 10 seconds later he came over and punched me again. At that point I yelled, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ other people noticed and they courted him off and the bouncers escorted him from the show room and we called the police and he’s in the process of being arrested.”

    For his part, Nainan has been mum on the incident, simply tweeting that he had a good time at the event:

    Image via Dan Nainan, Twitter

  • Jeff Daniels, Jim Carrey Tweet ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ Set Photos

    Jeff Daniels, Jim Carrey Tweet ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ Set Photos

    After suffering through an up-in-the-air status for some time, we finally got confirmation that Dumb and Dumber To, the highly-anticipated sequel to the oft-quoted Dumb and Dumber, was a go. Jim Carrey tweeted out a photo of that famous chipped front tooth, and everything became real. Harry and Lloyd are back, bitches.

    Now, the two stars are tweeting out the first photos from the set – and they’re glorious.

    See? Amazing.

    The film also stars Laurie Holden, Kathleen Turner, Cam Neely, and Steve Tom. Jeff Daniels recently said that we can expect the sequel to push the limits of good taste – even more so than the original.

    “The scariest thing? There are some things that’s we’re going to do in ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ that make the toilet scene seem lame. Pales in comparison and I can’t divulge what, but just that they’ve topped it. The best thing about it? I get to work with a comedic genius,” he recently said.

    Daniels just won his first Emmy award for his decidedly more high-brow portrayal of nightly news anchor Will McAvoy in HBO’s The Newsroom – but it’ll be nice to see him in the much-loved role of Harry Dunne, likely making plenty of fart jokes with Jim Carrey.

    Image via Jeff Daniels, Twitter

  • Kenneth Cole Was Just “Provoking Dialogue” with Syria Tweet

    While the internet chastised designer Kenneth Cole yesterday for “mocking war to sell shoes,” the man himself says that he was only provoking discussion using his platform.

    Things are screwed up in Syria, and that’s the understatement of the year. Not only have thousands of people died (including children), but the U.S. is currently weighing military action – action that is pretty unpopular among the American people. With the U.S. on the brink of possible international involvement, Cole posted this tweet and ruffled some feathers:

    As you might imagine, there were plenty of “what the hell, man”s and “seriously, dude?”s – especially considering this wasn’t Kenneth Cole’s first rodeo in terms of controversial tweets. Back in 2011, Cole tweeted “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online.”

    Anyway, he later posted a response to the backlash over the tweet:

    “I’ve always used my platform to provoke dialogue about important issues including HIV/AIDS, war, and homelessness. I am well aware of the risks that come with this approach, and if this encourages further awareness and discussion about critical issues then all the better,” says Cole in a Instagram video.

    Except there’s one problem with that. Kenneth Cole’s Syria intervention tweet didn’t stir up discussion about the Syrian conflict – it mostly stirred up discussion about the fact that Kenneth Cole made a dumb Syria tweet.

    Either way, he did get people talking, that’s for sure. And the responses from some on Twitter have been a bit over the top. I’m not sure Kenneth Cole is a “sociopath,” as one user claims. He’s not “stupid as fuck,” either. He used the platform to provoke dialogue – just like he said.

    But he just wound up kind of looking like a dick in the process. Oh well, social media attention favors the bold.

    Image via Kenneth Cole, Instagram

  • Twitter’s Protected Tweets and What They Mean

    So Twitter released this statement on August 29:

    Now if you’re confused by this, you can always check Twitter’s page on protected tweets and see what all the hubbub is, bub.

    If you’re someone who shrieks at the sheer sight of a sentence containing unfamiliar terminology, then you’ll rely on someone else to lay down the idea of protected tweets in simple terms:

    1) When you are signed into Twitter, your tweets are public domain; anyone and their mama can see and read your updates, even the NSA.

    2) You have the option to protect your tweets. Want to write about that embarrassing time you spilled ice cream on yourself and don’t want your boss to find out? Just complicatedly navigate yourself to your Twitter settings (click the gear icon), go under Tweet privacy and check the box.

    Voila, now your protected tweets are only visible by your approved Twitter followers. They cannot be re-tweeted or shared either; they’re for you and your follower’s eyes only.

    “Approved” Twitter followers, you say? Yes. Normally, anyone can just go and follow you like an angry motherless Batman, but the thing is – when you enable protected Tweets, you also enable an approval system in which anyone who wants to follow you has to get your permission first. Think of it like a Facebook friend request.

    It looks like this:

     
    So now, the door you left open in which you let anyone come in and watch everything you do is now closed. People have to knock first, and you choose whether to let them in or not. On top of that, they cannot tell anyone else what’s happening. What happens in your house (Twitter) stays in your house. Even you can’t tell others what’s going on unless you let them in; replies you send to other people that aren’t following you don’t get to see them (because they’re still your protected tweets.)

    However, if you have a change of heart and want to expose yourself to the world again, you always have that option to keep your door open.

    So what’s all the fuss about Twitter releasing that statement? Nothing really, it just got some people flabbergasted on what it meant. The fact that Twitter’s support had to tweet that your approved followers are able to search through the Twitter database to see your tweets is so simple it’s almost cryptic, because you’d think it’s self-evident and didn’t need to be announced. All it means is that your tweets are searchable by your approved followers, it’s not in the public’s eye or Google’s search engine, so don’t worry. All is well with the world.

  • ‘Orange Is The New Black’ Star Jason Biggs’ Unborn Baby Just Tweeted A Selfie

    Jason Biggs, one of the stars of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black (you probably also know him from Drexell’s Class), and wife, actress Jenny Mollen, are expecting a baby. In fact the baby is already alive and tweeting. It just hasn’t been born yet.

    Yes, the still unnamed baby has its own Twitter account, and takes after its father when it comes to humorous tweeting sensibility. Right now, tweeting from Jenny’s uterus, and already in therapy (according to its bio), the baby is going by Baby Biggs or @babyandteets, and has already attracted nearly 8,000 followers.

    NSFW language follows, if you’re worried about that.

    The couple are apparently still weighing names. Biggs has been sharing a few ideas:

    Image: Baby Biggs (Twitter)

  • Pretty Little Liars Finale Shatters Twitter Records

    When you think back over the years, I bet you can think of some pretty explosive television episodes. Recent episodes of Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones come to mind. Just mention the words “Red Wedding” or “Tread Lightly” and I bet you can recall the crazed fan reaction on Twitter. If I remember correctly, there were a few “HOLY SH*T”s involved.

    But when it comes to the most tweeted-about episodes in the history of scripted television, one show stands alone. And it might be one that you wouldn’t expect.

    The most buzzed about episode in the history of scripted television belongs to ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars.

    I know, right? Tuesday’s finale garnered 1,973,418 tweets. That’s a new record. Those tweets came from 637,000 different users averaging 10,000 tweets per minute.

    The previous record belonged to…yep, Pretty Little Liars. Last year’s season finale amassed 1,701,125 total tweets, and this year’s finale broke that record.

    It didn’t do too bad in terms of ratings either. With 3.3 million viewers, the finale was the most watched in the series to date.

    Image via Twitter

  • Twitter Users Complain About Twitter Making Changes To Twitter

    Twitter began rolling out a new look for the way it displays conversations on Wednesday. The change has come (or is still coming) to the web interface, the Android app and the iOS app.

    Here’s a look:

    According to Business insider, “People are absolutely freaking out about it.”

    I’m not quite getting that impression. The report points to a handful of reporters and industry types complaining, and there are certainly others, but I’m not seeing a huge outburst from the Twitter community. In fact, I’m seeing people say they like the new look too.

    Don’t get me wrong, it’s not hard to find complaints, and there are quite a few, but not at the level one would expect from a major redesign. It’s not like the infamous Netflix redesign from a couple years ago, for example. I don’t think it’s at the level of the recent Yahoo Mail redesign.

    Nevertheless, here are a few of the “freak outs”:

    Every time a major product gets a redesign, there is going to be some level of backlash. Some people just hate change, and sometimes people just have opinions (shocking, right?).

    Perhaps the outburst will be escalated as Twitter continues to roll the new look out, because the roll-out is not complete. I’m personally not even getting it yet. So, maybe there will be a major freak-out after all. My guess is that people will get over it in about a day or so either way.

    Image: Twitter (YouTube)

  • Twitter Now Shows You Articles Where Popular Tweets Have Been Embedded

    After testing it last month, Twitter is announcing the wide rollout of a new feature called “related headlines.”

    Basically, what Twitter is doing is displaying all of the articles that embed certain tweets under the actual tweet itself, on its permalink page. Twitter says that it will “make it easier to discover stories that provide more context.

    For example, this tweet from NBA player Jason Collins regarding his decision to come out was embedded in articles on ESPN, FOX Sports, Mashable, and other sites. With the new related headlines feature, Twitter now shows you that on the tweet’s permalink page.

    For Twitter, it’s a way to give users more context to every tweet. For users, it’s a new way to discover news and find out exactly why certain tweets are newsworthy. For news organizations, it’s a way to encourage the embedding of tweets in articles. Twitter is telling sites that the could be rewarded for embedding lots of tweets, because Twitter is basically giving a link to sites that do so.

    The new related headlines feature should be rolling out to all users today.

  • Tweets Lead to Speeder’s Manslaughter Charge Being Upped to Murder

    An 18-year-old Pleasanton, California man who has been charged with vehicular homicide will see that change upped to murder based on a series of tweets.

    Cody Hall was charged earlier this week in the death of 58-year-old Diana Hersevoort. According to police, Hall struck Hersevoort and her husband with his car while they were cycling. Apparently, Hall was going over 80 mph in a 40 mph zone. Diana was killed, and her husband broke his arm.

    He appeared in court on Wednesday to face new charges of murder – a charge that will be bolstered by his tweet history. You see, it seems that Hall has a history of driving fast and recklessly, and then posting about it on Twitter.

    Hall’s Twitter account is protected, but Pleasanton Patch reports that in the past, Hall had tweeted about driving 140 mph and had retweeted such tweets as “drive fast, live young.” He also tweeted a suggestion that “someone come on a death ride with me.”

    Not only that, but he reportedly used Twitter to post photos of his speedometer registering high speeds, referring to his car as a “death trap.”

    According to the AP, the tweets will be entered in as part of a “pre-offense statement,” which is used to aid prosecutors in proving malice. Of course, increasing a charge from vehicular manslaughter to murder usually involves evidence that alcohol or drugs were involved, or that the incident happened in concurrence with another crime. The use of tweets to prove a pattern of speeding and/or reckless driving has to be a new one, however.

    Generally, tweeting about any sort of illegal behavior is just a bad idea. I mean, speeding all the time and endangering the lives of others is also a terrible idea – but tweeting about it takes it to a whole other level.

  • Drunk Man Tweets About Single Punch That Killed Royal Marine, Gets 4 Years

    A 20-year-old Rochdale, U.K. man has been convicted of manslaughter and given four years in prison after he killed a 19-year-old royal marine in a fight outside of a bar. Shortly following the altercation, Reece Kay tweeted that his hand hurt from delivering the blow to Commando Wes Clutterbuck.

    According to court documents, Clutterbuck had been attempting to break up a fight, when Kay came up behind him and delivered a single punch – one that dropped the marine. He wound up smashing his head on a curb during the fall, and later died of brain injuries.

    After the fight, Kay tweeted “fucking hand is killing me!”

    Kay didn’t know that he had killed Clutterbuck until the next morning, when he turned himself into police. Kay was admittedly intoxicated during the incident.

    The tweet is still up on Kay’s account. Before boasting about the punch the killed Clutterback, Kay publicly wondered if he should even go out that night:

    Kay’s lawyer said that his client was a “thoroughly decent man.”

    “His remorse is apparent and repeated again and again. He has never sought to blame or cast any sign of the conduct on the late Wesley Clutterbuck. It is a stark lesson to young people who get drunk and aggressive how one blow can lead to a tragic loss of life. He would do anything to take that one punch back. He is a thoroughly decent young man,” said Attorney Guy Mathieson.

    The judge agreed in sentencing, saying that he felt Kay had genuine remorse for what he had done and that alcohol definitely played a big part in it. The sentence of 4 years in jail is seen as lenient – especially to Commando Clutterbuck’s mother.

    “This sentence is not long enough at all…[young people] have just seen that it is all an absolute sham and this sentence says it is ok to go out and punch and kill someone. I hope that this man cannot close his eyes at night for what he has done to our son. I will never ever forgive him,” she said.

    [via The Telegraph]