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Twitter is a social networking site that was created in 2006. Users send "tweets" to let people know what they are doing. It was created by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams.

Twitter accused of hypocrisy over Trump tweets

Twitter is a social networking site that was created in 2006. Users send “tweets” to let people know what they are doing. It was created by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams. Prior to building the service, they were working on a podcast directory called Odeo.

Odeo was a directory and search destination website for RSS-syndicated audio and video. It employed tools that enabled users to create, record, and share podcasts with a simple Adobe Flash-based interface.

When iTunes 4.9 was released, it ultimately made Odeo irrelevant. The people behind the company went on to create a service called Twttr. Twttr would eventually be called Twitter. iTunes 4.9, believe it or not, ultimately led to the creation of one of the most popular social networks in the world.

The major turning point for service’s popularity was the 2007 South by Southwest Interactive conference. Over the next few years, Twitter began to see rapid growth. For mobile devices, it originally relied upon third-party apps. In 2010, Twitter acquired application developer Atebits. Atebits had built the Twitter app known as Tweetie for the Mac and iPhone. It was renamed as Twitter and released for free.

Over the years, the apps have seen various revisions. There are currently versions available for iOS while desktop users must either use the web interface or a third party app like Tweetbot or Twitterrific.

Twitter testing compromise way to hide abusive direct messages

A new way to hide abusive direct messages on Twitter is being tested

Twitter is testing a new way to hide abusive direct messages that should be particularly useful for those whose account is set to accept messages from anyone, not just those you follow.

The social network already offers one way to do this, but it’s a bit of a blunt instrument. There’s a “Quality filter” toggle in Message Settings that completely hides what it believes to be abusive messages from those you don’t follow. The new approach is more refined…


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Twitter’s new desktop web design and dark mode options rolling out to all users, no option to revert

Twitter web design dark mode

After testing out its new desktop web interface for the first half of the year, Twitter is now rolling out the new version to all users. The refreshed design includes a simpler aesthetic with an overhauled left sidebar, a more traditional look for Direct Messages, improved account switching, two dark themes, and more.


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Comment: My kids aren’t getting social media accounts and yours probably shouldn’t either

A few weeks ago, I got asked by a local church to talk to their parents about strategies to help monitor their kids’ social media use. This topic is one I get asked about a lot, and I know that a lot of parents are struggling with it. When they brought me up there, they were looking for a silver bullet of an app, service, or method to use to help make sure their kids don’t get into trouble on social media. I started the talk with a simple statement: your kids don’t need social media accounts and you don’t either.


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Twitter offers new details on its upcoming Mac app using Project Catalyst

Twitter for Mac

At WWDC last week, Apple announced its new Project Catalyst technology to make it easier for developers to bring iPad applications to the Mac. Apple teased that Twitter was an early partner and would be using Project Catalyst to bring Twitter back to the Mac. Now, Twitter has offered up some more details on that process in a blog post.


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Poll: Is the permanent social Internet dying? Should it?

Is the permanent social Internet dying?

New York Times staff writer Mike Isaac has written a blog post in which he argues that ‘the permanent social internet is dying.’ That we are increasingly abandoning platforms and formats that create a permanent record of our posts.

As facebook matured, we discovered the unintended consequences of living a life online. An errant, ignorant tweet from our teenage years can get us fired—or worse, canceled. Our parents could have created an entire instagram dedicated to our poopy-diaped years without our knowledge or express consent. Forget running for office if you’ve ever tweeted about, like, anything …


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How to mute keywords on Twitter to avoid spoilers for #AvengersEndgame (and other movies)

Twitter Q1 revenue beats both guidance and Wall Street expectations

Are you super pumped about the three hour long super hero movie coming out on Thursday and actively avoiding movie spoilers at all cost? You’ve managed to not click the alleged leaked scene videos, you won’t even read fan theories about what could happen, and oh look, general tech sites are spoiling the movie’s mysteries with their (so-called spoiler-free) reviews days before the movie hits theaters for fans.

You don’t have to go back to the stone age to avoid movie spoilers and avoid other trending topics on Twitter (which is great news if your job partly relies on tracking breaking news with Twitter!). The Twitter mute feature puts you in control of what tweets you want to avoid no matter which Twitter app you use. Here’s how to starting muting:


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What’s the best Twitter app for the Mac?

best Twitter app for the Mac?

A few weeks ago, I took a look at the best Twitter apps for iPhone. It was interesting to read the replies I got on Twitter from people who felt strongly one way or another about third-party apps or using the official Twitter one. People who like third-party apps often prefer them for reasons that do make sense. People who are fine with the official Twitter app (based on how they use Twitter) should stick with it. The great thing about the ecosystem (it’s hanging on by a thread) is that both third-party and first-party options work for people. It’s really one of those “what’s best for you” situations. This week, I want to look at the best Twitter app for Mac. Because Twitter killed its official app for Mac last March, third-party apps are all you can use (except for TweetDeck). Twitter would prefer desktop users use Twitter.com. While the Twitter website is fine for casual tweeting, people who use Twitter on desktop with any regularity will want a dedicated app. This week, I am going to pick the best Twitter app for the Mac.
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