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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.

Banned Twitter accounts: 62K restored, only one CSAM monitor left, COVID-19 misinformation welcome

Banned Twitter accounts | Confused-looking monkey

After Musk announced that most banned Twitter accounts would be reinstated, a report says that around 62,000 accounts with more than 10K followers each have so far been restored.

Other Twitter news includes a claim that the layoffs and resignations have left the company with just one person responsible for removing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) …

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Twitter encrypted DMs will adopt open-source Signal protocol, suggests iOS code

Twitter encrypted DMs | Code spotted in iOS app

Elon Musk recently hinted that Twitter encrypted DMs were on the way, using full end-to-end encryption – and code spotted in the iOS app suggests that it will use the same E2E encryption standard as Signal.

Plans for E2E encryption of Twitter direct messages date back to at least 2018, and it appears that the company has resuscitated code written back then …

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Massive Twitter data breach was far worse than reported, reveal security researchers

Massive Twitter data breach | Conceptual image of man with laptop in data center

A massive Twitter data breach last year, exposing more than five million phone numbers and email addresses, was worse than initially reported. We’ve been shown evidence that the same security vulnerability was exploited by multiple bad actors, and the hacked data has been offered for sale on the dark web by several sources.

It had previously been thought that only one hacker gained access to the data, and Twitter’s belated admission reinforced this impression …

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Twitter's Brussels office closed | Schuman roundabout, Brussels, Belgium

Twitter’s Brussels office closed, sparking legal concerns; new Musk poll on banned accounts

A new report today says Twitter’s Brussels office closed after all of its staff either resigned or were fired. The development has sparked concerns about whether the company intends to ignore a new law on content moderation.

The prospect seems even more likely after Musk again decided to leave it to his Twitter followers to decide whether virtually all banned accounts should be reinstated …

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Ex-Waze CEO trying to replicate early Twitter and social media vibes with ‘Post’

Mastodon has emerged as the most recognizable Twitter alternative as of late, but there’s more than enough time for others to emerge. Former Waze CEO Noam Bardin is now trying with Post to create a “civil place to debate ideas; learn from experts, journalists, individual creators, and each other; converse freely; and have some fun.”

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Elon Musk's Twitter | Fast and Furious movie poster

Elon Musk’s Twitter latest: First system breaks; emergency service concerns; Trump back(ish)

Elon Musk’s Twitter is continuing to generate concern and entertainment in roughly equal measure.

With the majority of the site’s engineers having resigned or been fired, former employees had warned that it was only a matter of time before systems started to break, and we’ve now seen the first major example of this …

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Former Twitter head of trust and safety argues that Apple and Google have the most sway on policy

Twitter Spaces iOS

Yoel Roth briefly worked alongside Elon Musk as Twitter’s head of trust and safety. Roth resigned for reasons he explains in the New York Times today. In the piece, Roth argues that Apple and Google app stores ultimately govern what Twitter allows on its site. That poses a challenge for Musk and his goal of turning Twitter into a hardcore free speech platform void of moderation.

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Twitter latest: $15B prank; FTC violation; Musk fact-checked by former staff; code lockdown; more

Twitter latest | Twitter app with 'Handle with care' box

The Twitter latest is shaping up to be a daily post, as the world continues trying to keep up with the soap-opera-like developments at the tech giant.

Let’s kick things off with a prank which cost a pharmaceutical company $15B in market cap, leading owner Elon Musk to promise some unspecified third version of a verification scheme …

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Thinking about leaving Twitter? Here are the best alternatives

Amidst the layoffs, verification changes, notable executive departures, a fleeting ads business, and the undeniable dumpster fire that is Twitter right now, many users are seeking alternative platforms, and rightfully so. If you’re looking to do the same, you’re probably wondering: Can anything really replace Twitter?

While Twitter has numerous advantages, some of its best aspects can also be found elsewhere. I did some digging and found several compelling alternatives to the social network. Here were some of the best.

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Twitter Blue subscription no longer available; checkmarks gone from some paid accounts

Twitter Blue subscription | Crying Twitter bird

The Twitter Blue subscription – which turned the social media platform into a theme park for trolls, pranksters, and scammers – is no longer available in the iOS app. (It was never available in the Android one.) Additionally, some of those who paid for the subscription report that their blue checkmark is gone.

It’s unclear at present whether this is as a result of the company’s latest policy U-turn, or a system that has fallen over after half the company’s staff were laid off …

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Twitter chaos continues: Epic trolling, and new blue checkmarks for iPhone owners only

Twitter chaos | Birds flying chaotically

There’s no let-up in the Twitter chaos, as new owner Elon Musk continues to make things up as he goes along.

Musk has today stated that the rollout of “new verified Blue” is currently limited to iPhone owners only, and that new accounts are banned from applying for a Twitter Blue subscription after some epic trolling …

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Elon Musk kills Twitter’s ‘Official’ badge and gray checkmark just hours after launch

twitter gray checkmark

November 9, 2022 Update #2: Just a few hours later, Elon Musk says he has “killed” the idea of an “Official” badge with a gray checkmark. Instead, he says “blue check will be the great leveler” and that “Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months.” The company will “keep what works and change what doesn’t.”

Original story below. Sigh.

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Twitter roundup: Elon Musk ‘alone’ as he considers paywalling the whole platform; more

Twitter roundup | Man walking alone into the woods

Another day, another Twitter roundup – ranging from an early investor describing Elon Musk as “alone and winging it” to the billionaire owner considering putting the entire Twitter platform behind a paywall.

A former senior Twitter engineer has also told the story of how the company wanted him to comply with a carrier request to track individual user locations from leaving home in the morning to everywhere they went during the day …

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