Twitter to test a new filter for spam and abuse in the Direct Message inbox

August 22, 2019 Internet, Social media, Twitter No comments

Twitter is testing a new way to filter unwanted messages from your Direct Message inbox. Today, Twitter allows users to set their Direct Message inbox as being open to receiving messages from anyone, but this can invite a lot of unwanted messages, including abuse. While one solution is to adjust your settings so only those you follow can send you private messages, that doesn’t work for everyone. Some people — like reporters, for example — want to have an open inbox in order to have private conversations and receive tips.

This new experiment will test a filter that will move unwanted messages, including those with offensive content or spam, to a separate tab.

Instead of lumping all your messages into a single view, the Message Requests section will include the messages from people you don’t follow, and below that, you’ll find a way to access these newly filtered messages.

Users would have to click on the “Show” button to even read these, which protects them from having to face the stream of unwanted content that can pour in at times when the inbox is left open.

And even upon viewing this list of filtered messages, all the content itself isn’t immediately visible.

In the case that Twitter identifies content that’s potentially offensive, the message preview will say the message is hidden because it may contain offensive content. That way, users can decide if they want to open the message itself or just click the delete button to trash it.

The change could allow Direct Messages to become a more useful tool for those who prefer an open inbox, as well as an additional means of clamping down on online abuse.

It’s also similar to how Facebook Messenger handles requests — those from people you aren’t friends with are relocated to a separate Message Requests area. And those that are spammy or more questionable are in a hard-to-find Filtered section below that.

It’s not clear why a feature like this really requires a “test,” however — arguably, most people would want junk and abuse filtered out. And those who for some reason did not, could just toggle a setting to turn off the filter.

Instead, this feels like another example of Twitter’s slow pace when it comes to making changes to clamp down on abuse. Facebook Messenger has been filtering messages in this way since late 2017. Twitter should just launch a change like this, instead of “testing” it.

The idea of hiding — instead of entirely deleting — unwanted content is something Twitter has been testing in other areas, too. Last month, for example, it began piloting a new “Hide Replies” feature in Canada, which allows users to hide unwanted replies to their tweets so they’re not visible to everyone. The tweets aren’t deleted, but rather placed behind an extra click — similar to this Direct Message change.

Twitter is updating is Direct Message system in other ways, too.

At a press conference this week, Twitter announced several changes coming to its platform, including a way to follow topics, plus a search tool for the Direct Message inbox, as well as support for iOS Live Photos as GIFs, the ability to reorder photos and more.

Houses are the new Instagram influencers — so it’s a shame most millennials in the US will likely be renters for years

August 19, 2019 Influencers, Instagram, Internet No comments

Instagram influencers can forget the #OOTD (outfit of the day) — fashion is no longer the only way to build a cash-inducing Insta following.

Enter the home-décor influencer, who has found a way to turn their home into a “money-making social media star,” as Ronda Kaysen reported for The New York Times.

By creating a feed that functions as a photo tour of their house, these influencers have attracted thousands of followers, Kaysen wrote, citing @mytexashouse’s 449,000 followers and @erin_sunnysideup’s 241,000 followers as examples.

“Some have gained traction chronicling the restoration of an old home or the construction of a new one,” Kaysen said. “A few dabble in areas like fashion, parenting, cooking and makeup, but they primarily peddle the infinite marketability of a home’s interior, with all its trappings.”

The concept is nothing new. Reality TV shows, from the 1980s’ “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” to today’s HGTV line-up, have long catered to society’s obsession with seeing inside people’s homes, Kaysen said — Instagram is just making the concept more accessible.

It’s a balancing act between presenting a curated, though revealing, version of your home life, from family photos to spotless and organized living spaces, and not oversharing.

Read more: Scrunchies, $80 Fjallraven backpacks, and Birkenstocks: There’s a new type of ‘it’ girl online, and of course the internet is already hating on her

Those who have found a way to build a following and engagement generate money through affiliate commissions, sponsored ads, and merchandise promotions, according to Kaysen. Earnings are unknown, but an influencer with 100,000 followers can earn $1,000 per post, she said, citing Instagram platform Later.

The irony here is that many of the average home-décor influencer’s generational peers are likely to be renters for years.

Thanks to an increasingly expensive housing market, millennials are renting longer and buying later. First-time homebuyers today are likely to pay 39% more than first-time homebuyers did nearly 40 years ago, according to Student Loan Hero. A report by SmartAsset found that in some cities, the median home outweighed the median income by so much that it could take nearly a decade to save for a 20% down payment.

So, while some millennials are churning a profit off their big houses, others don’t even have enough money for a starter home.

Handling fake news

August 17, 2019 Instagram, Social media No comments

Instagram is evaluating another approach to handle fake news. The online networking platform is adding a possibility for users to report posts that they think don’t look very right or which contain false data.

When Instagrammers utilize the new ‘false data’ apparatus to report content, the organization says it will utilize these reports to prepare computerized reasoning to search out dodgy substance later on.

For what reason are Instagram doing this? All things considered, there’s loads of false data on the web at the present time.

Facebook, which own Instagram, needs to improve the manner in which it manages this falsehood and it needs users to get included.

Stephanie Otway from Facebook stated: “This is an initial step as we work towards a more comprehensive approach to tackling misinformation.”

Is this a good idea? Do you think you would use it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

What is DSLR?

March 28, 2018 Photography, Technology No comments

A digital single-lens reflex camera (also called a digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor, as opposed to photographic film. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between a DSLR and other digital cameras. In the reflex design, light travels through the lens, then to a mirror that alternates to send the image to either the viewfinder or the image sensor. The traditional alternative would be to have a viewfinder with its own lens, hence the term “single lens” for this design. By using only one lens, the viewfinder of a DSLR presents an image that will not differ substantially from what is captured by the camera’s sensor. A DSLR differs from non-reflex single-lens digital cameras in that the viewfinder presents a direct optical view through the lens, rather than being captured by the camera’s image sensor and displayed by a digital screen.

DSLRs largely replaced film-based SLRs during the 2000s, and despite the rising popularity of mirrorless system cameras in the early 2010s, DSLRs remain the most common type of interchangeable lens camera in use as of 2017.

What is Bitcoin?

January 20, 2018 Bitcoin, Business, E-commerce, Internet No comments

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system. It is the first decentralized digital currency, as the system works without a central bank or single administrator. The network is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary. These transactions are verified by network nodes through the use of cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or group of people under the name Satoshi Nakamoto and released as open-source software in 2009.

Bitcoins are created as a reward for a process known as mining. They can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services. As of February 2015, over 100,000 merchants and vendors accepted bitcoin as payment. Research produced by the University of Cambridge estimates that in 2017, there are 2.9 to 5.8 million unique users using a cryptocurrency wallet, most of them using bitcoin.

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