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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.

PSA: Here’s how to secure your Twitter account against hijacks like today’s Nazi one

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Thousands of Twitter users have this morning had their accounts hijacked and used to tweet a swastika and Nazi hashtags. The attack appears to be in support of Turkey’s President, urging support for a referendum which could allow President Erdoğan to remain in power until 2029.

The Verge reports that many verified and high-profile Twitter accounts were compromised, and that the hijack appears to have been carried out via a third-party app.

Accounts operated by Amnesty International, Duke University, Reuters Japan, and BBC North America were among those hijacked. Several users have noted that all hijacked tweets appear to have been linked to Twitter Counter, a Netherlands-based analytics application. Twitter Counter was previously targeted in a November 2016 attack that caused some high-profile accounts to spread spam. 

Twitter confirmed that a third-party app was behind the hack, so checking which apps have permission to access your Twitter account is one important step to take. Here’s a quick checklist to check the security of Twitter and other services …


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Twitter app adding new features to tackle trolls, including ability to mute keywords and ‘egg’ accounts

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As part of an ongoing effort to tackle abuse and offensive users, Twitter is adding some new muting features to its apps.

Similar to what has been offered by third-party Twitter clients for sometime, users will be able to hide tweets from specific users or tweets that contain certain keywords from ever appearing in their timeline …


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Twitterrific developers launch Project Phoenix Kickstarter campaign to fund Mac Twitter client development

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Much of Twitter’s brand identity dates back to Twitterrific which was the first client built for the service, but Twitter infamously made it difficult for developers to make a business out of Twitter apps a few years ago with a tokenization system and API limitations.

The result has been almost zero competition in the Mac Twitter client space and a lackluster official app. Development for Twitterrific for Mac has been financially unsustainable so the desktop client has become outdated with every change Twitter makes to the service.

Now Iconfactory which developers Twitterrific is launching a new Kickstarter campaign called Project Phoenix that aims to fund development of a modern Twitterrific for Mac.


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PSA: Now is your last chance to download your Vine videos, or turn them into GIFs

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The Vine video service officially closes today, so if you have any Vine videos online that aren’t safely stored in your camera roll, you only have a few hours to save them.

The Vine app allows you to download your stored videos (Profile page → Save Videos), which you can do either directly to your phone or get a download link which also preserves the Like and Re-vine data. Alternatively, Giphy has a free service that automatically converts each of your Vine videos into animated GIFs …


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Twitter’s Jack Dorsey says support for tweet editing is needed, but implementation questions remain

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A variety of changes have come to Twitter during 2016, but one capability that the company has yet to add despite requests from users is an edit button. Twitter is one of few social networks that doesn’t allow users to edit their content once it’s been shared, but now the company’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, says that an edit functionality is definitely needed…


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Twitter testing breaking news alerts in iOS app with Berlin Christmas market attack

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Twitter has used the Berlin Christmas market attack to test push notifications of breaking news alerts in its iOS app. Buzzfeed notes that the company appears to be aiming to reinvent itself as a news app as it recently switched category in the App Store from Social Media to News.

After a truck crashed into the Berlin Christmas market […] Twitter pushed a breaking news alert to some of its users that linked to Twitter’s Moments tab, which summarizes the news in tweets. The company did a similar thing when Fidel Castro died last month …


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Report: Twitter excluded from Trump’s tech summit because it refused to create #CrookedHillary emoji (Not The Onion)

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President-elect Donald Trump today held a meeting with a variety of tech leaders at Trump Tower in New York City, including Tim Cook, Larry Page, Elon Musk, and others. Notably excluded from the invite list, however, was Twitter. According to Politico, Twitter was “bounced” from the meeting because it refused to create an emoji version of the “#CrookedHillary” hashtag during the campaign season.


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Missed Apple’s AirPods 20 minute window? Here are some great wireless alternatives shipping in time for holidays

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Here at 9to5Mac readers have a few different ways to stay up to date on our latest news. We strive to push out breaking news as fast as possible to make sure our readers are informed on the latest changes in the Apple environment, but there are some additional steps you can take to get that extra edge in the moments that matter. You may have missed your chance to get the Apple AirPods earlier, but read on to see how you can make sure you won’t miss out on any other future events…


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Report: Salesforce, last remaining company in acquisition talks, pulls out of bid for Twitter

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After reports that Google, Apple, and the Walt Disney Company have pulled out of the running bid to acquire Twitter, the company’s plans to conclude negotiations before their Q3 earnings have been looking a lot less likely to happen. Today that dream looks even more abysmal  as Salesforce’s CEO Marc Benioff told The Financial Times that they walked away from the bid citing that it “wasn’t the right fit for us”. Salesforce was the last company out of the originally reported bidders.


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Report: Twitter to make acquisition decision this month, Disney, Salesforce & Alphabet in the running

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Update: Recode reports that Google and Apple are now out of the running to acquire Twitter.

Twitter has been rumored to be searching for potential buyers since last month, but a new report out of Reuters today suggests that its negotiations could soon come to a close. According to the report, which cites “people familiar with the matter,” Twitter hopes to conclude negotiations with a buyer by the time it releases its Q3 earnings on Ocobter 27th.


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Review: Leaf, a creative & fresh take on the Twitter experience for iOS

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Eight years since the App Store’s initial release, we’ve seen quite the influx of Twitter apps on the market. Over time, the situation settled down and the best competitors stood on top. I’ve come to find my one or two main Twitter clients, but that still hasn’t stopped me from looking for any new contenders. While there are the few Twitter apps that everyone knows, it’s refreshing to see a new take on the familiar experience.

Enter Leaf, a new Twitter client available in the App Store today that takes a few creative approaches to the experiences we have come to know and love.


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Tweetbot updated for macOS Sierra and iOS 10, adds extended Tweet support

Yesterday Twitter introduced the ability to send extended tweets that include images and videos without counting against the character limit. This change was introduced months ago, but third-party Twitter clients didn’t have a heads up on how to support the new feature until it launched.

For the last 24 hours of so, Tweetbot and other third-party apps have included URLs to full tweets on the web for extended tweets, and now Tapbots has quickly shipped an update to the Mac that supports the longer tweet format (and iOS support likely isn’t far behind).


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Twitter launches new Apple TV app for streaming live video including NFL Thursday Night Football

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Just in time for NFL Thursday Night Football (and tvOS 10), Twitter is launching a new Apple TV app for streaming live video to the big screen. It was first reported a month ago that the new app was in the works. The new app will let viewers watch premium video content like the 10 NFL games that Twitter bought the rights to broadcast, and Twitter content like Top Tweets and Vines will also be accessible.


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