MEDIA POST - Jan 18 - Medium Corp., the self-publishing platform started by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, acquired Paris-based ebook startup Glose SA. Glose has ~1M readers in 200 countries; it carries ebooks and audiobooks from book publishers such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster. Glose's platform also resembles a social network - it lets people join reading groups and share highlights and annotations of the books they read. The platform offers a library of free classics that aren't copyrighted any longer and have more current titles for sale in its digital bookstore. Medium reaches 170M readers and charges $5 a month or $50 a year for unlimited access to its network of self-published authors. Writers can earn money on the platform based on how much time readers spend reading their works. by Rob Williams See full article at Media Post Continue reading

FORTUNE - Jan 18 - Padmasree Warrior who has spent most of her career in prominent C-suite offices, running large hard-technology operations at Cisco, Motorola, and Tesla competitor Nio has now swapped enterprise software and electric vehicles for online book clubs. Her new startup, Fable, is the result of 18 months spent trying to create a more thoughtful - and less toxic - social media app for book lovers and some of the companies that employ them. Fable has been quietly gearing up for months, but on Jan 14 it officially unveiled its new app for both the Apple and Google Android stores. It has also raised $7.25M in seed funding from investors, led by Redpoint Ventures, for an undisclosed valuation. Customers have to buy ebooks through Those who pay an annual membership fee of $69.99 get access to thousands of free titles in the public domain, plus recommendations of works selected by prominent writers and other guest experts. by Maria Aspan See full article at Fortune Continue reading

TORRENTFREAK - Jan 18 - TikTok is using the DMCA to prevent the spread of source code related to the Android variant of its software. The coder who placed the source online (known as 'augustgl') says that he reverse-engineered the APK to show that the company's social media platform is a data collection engine and "legitimate spyware". Many people do not trust TikTok, something which led 'augustgl' reverse-engineering the company's Android app and publishing the resulting source code on the developer platform Github. TikTok asked Github to help clean up all the repositories that had forked the code. In total, 19 other repositories operated by other coders were handed DMCA takedown notices, with Github complying by taking each one down. by Andy Maxwell See full article at TorrentFreak See the top news on TikTok Continue reading

BUSINESS 2 COMMUNITY - Jan 15 - Parler, which calls itself "The Unbiased Social Media Site", and which has received media attention due to its use by political extremists, has moved their Parler.com domain from the registrar, Dreamhost.com to another registrar, Epik.com. Parler has been having difficulty maintaining continued crucial services, based on decisions by service providers that they do not want to be associated with the conduct of Parler's users. Parler.com does not resolve to a working website which further confirms Amazon Web Services (AWS) has decided to no longer offer their services to them. by Jeffrey Gabriel See full article at Business 2 Community See the top news on Parler Continue reading

NEWSWIRE CA - Jan 15 - Q India, the company's Hindi language youth-oriented channel available in and on ~650M homes and devices in India, has reported surging mobile viewership growth from a partnership formed with the new fast-growing app Chingari. The Chingari app was initially launched in 2018, with @theqofficial channel going live in Q4 2020. Chingari saw its user base explode exponentially when TikTok became banned in India in June 2020. The Chingari app is now available to ~45M users in India. The Q India launched on the Chingari app offering clips and short-form versions of programming from the channel. The app has established a remarkable daily average viewer engagement time of 59 mins and has ~100M videos viewed on the platform daily. See full article at Newswire CA See the top news on Chingari Continue reading

THE AMERICAN REPORTER - Jan 15 - Clarity is the new social network that's about to elevate the love lives of millions of people globally. Clarity is the place to vent and connect with others who may have been or are also going through the same problems. With its supportive and discreet community where users can choose to be anonymous or their real self. Clarity is partnering with ~50 of the world's top experts in dating and psychology to provide people with all the resources they need to successfully navigate every aspect of their love life. by Jennifer Ross See full article at The American Reporter Continue reading

VSN - Jan 15 - LTR stands for Love, Technology, Relationships and is the online social community industries online version of TED. This is where we meet, learn, and share. LTR4 is on Thursday 21st January starting 11:30am EST. We have three world-class speakers. An inspirational speaker on collaboration, a speaker covering neuromarketing, and a niche industry upstart to help you think different. Plus two ~half hour networking sessions. See the invite and online conference overview page If you hold a full time leadership role at an online social community then you are welcome in OSCA.gp, and are very welcome to join this event for free. Email mark@courtlandbrooks.com to RSVP and get your unique entry code. There are 75 places only. Continue reading

MASHABLE - Jan 15 - TikTok introduced a new set of privacy rules for users under the age of 18. From now on, all registered users ages 13-15 will have their accounts set to private by default. Furthermore, users in this age group are losing the "Everyone" comment setting, and will now have to choose between "Friends" or "No One" for their comments. The setting "Suggest your account to others" will be switched to Off by default for users 13-15. Duet and Stitch options will now be available only for users age 16 and over, and for users 16-17, the default setting will be set to Friends. And finally, users will only be able to download videos created by users 16 and over, and for users ages 16-17, the default setting on whether they want to allow downloading of their videos will be set to Off. by Stan Schroeder See full article at Mashable See the top news on TikTok Continue reading

MASHABLE - Jan 15 - Telegram is experiencing a surge of new users as many WhatsApp users reconsider their loyalty to the Facebook-owned chat platform. On Tuesday, Telegram sent users a message saying the service has surpassed 500M active users, with 25M new users joining in the past 72 hrs alone. The boost in users may have something to do with a change in WhatsApp's terms of service, which now states that the app will share certain categories of information with Facebook. by Stan Schroeder See full article at Mashable See the top news on Telegram Continue reading

THE NEXT WEB - Jan 15 - After Amazon Web Services booted Parler off its cloud infrastructure, and Apple and Google removed the app from the App Store, Trump supporters are looking for a new home. Donald Trump Jr. has called for the world's richest man, Elon Musk, to create a new social network. In an Instagram video, he said, "If Elon musk can privately send people into space, I'm sure he can design a social network that isn't biased." However, Musk has not expressed any intention of building a social network just yet. by Ivan Mehta See full article at The Newxt Web Continue reading

COINDESK - Jan 13 - Digital avatar and social networking platform IMVU announced the launch of its VCOIN digital token after getting the green light from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) late last year. VCOIN is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that can be exchanged both on and off IMVU's platform. Users will be able to buy goods and services with the digital tokens on IMVU's platform, while earners will be able to convert tokens into cash if desired.The token will be sold initially at a rate of 250 VCOIN for $1, or $0.004 per token. by Tanzeel Akhtar See full article at Coindesk See the top news on IMVU Continue reading

MASHABLE - Jan 13 - Every posted content on the right-wing social media platform Parler has now been saved, archived, and made public to the internet forever. That includes deleted posts on Parler. Over the past few days, archivists have been pulling content from Parler in order to store them for legal and historical purposes. Archivists began to save the data because they were concerned that users would remove their posts, deleting possible evidence of crime at the Capitol. The campaign to back up Parler was kicked off by Twitter user @donk_enby. Parler wasn't broken into and private information was not accessed. Only content that Parler made publicly available was accessed. @donk_enby's archiving campaign was carried out utilizing public APIs, with a huge assist from Parler's poorly coded platform. by Matt Binder See full article at Mashable See the top news on Parler Continue reading

MEDIAPOST - Jan 13 - 53% of Americans get their news from social media at least some of the time, but an increasing percentage of them feel it is making them more confused about current events. That's the finding of a new report from the Pew Research Center, which has been tracking Americans' use of social media for news for several years. The report suggests that social media is becoming a less reliable source of news for many Americans. Not surprisingly, Facebook is the primary social media source of news, with 36% of Americans citing it the social network as a "regular source" for news, followed by YouTube (23%), Twitter (15%), Instagram (11%), Reddit (6%), Snapchat (4%), LinkedIn (4%), TikTok (3%), WhatsApp (3%), Twitch (1%) and Tumblr (1%). by Joe Mandese See full article at Mediapost Continue reading

TECH CRUNCH - Jan 12 - Parler has sued Amazon after the beleaguered conservative social media site was expelled from AWS, filing a fanciful complaint alleging the internet giant took it out for political reasons - and in an antitrust conspiracy to benefit Twitter. In the lawsuit, Parler complains that AWS's decision to effectively terminate Parler's account is apparently motivated by political animus. The lawsuit also accuses Amazon of leaking the email communicating Parler's imminent suspension to reporters before it was sent to administrators at the site. Lastly Parler says Amazon is in breach of contract, having not given the 30 days warning stipulated in the terms of service. by Devin Coldewey See full article at Tech Crunch See the top news on Parler Continue reading

TECH CRUNCH - Jan 12 - Alternative social media apps including MeWe, CloutHub and other privacy-focused rivals to big tech, are topping the app stores following Trump's ban from mainstream social platforms like Facebook and Twitter and the more recent removal of conservative social app Parler from both the App Store and Google Play. In the days since the Parler ban, "free speech"-favoring social networks are seeing notable numbers of new downloads at a quick pace, data shows. Next-generation social network MeWe has been downloaded nearly 200k times worldwide and ranked No. 7 in the U.S. App Store's Top Overall free charts. CloutHub which claims to be a social network for "social, civic, and political networking" with a free speech angle, has seen just 31k installs since Wednesday and now ranks No. 11 on the US App Store. Two other apps that have moved into the top charts are cases of mistaken identity. An app called "Parlor" is being mistaken for the now-banned "Parler" app. From Wednesday through Sunday, "Parlor" became the No. 4 Top App Overall on iOS in the US. Meanwhile, an app called "Gab News" is also gaining ground because it's mistaken for the long since banned... Continue reading

RESEARCH SNIPERS - Jan 12 - The federal government announced that it has planned to develop Pakistan's first world-class social networking application for the citizens. The newly introduced application will comprise numerous features like; voice calls, video calls, and messages. Syed Amin-ul-Haque, Federal Minister for IT and Telecom, stated that the IT ministry will develop the social networking application for the people before the end of 2021. The networking app will be introduced in all major cities at the initial stage. The public will have to provide their CNICs and phone numbers to get registered with the application. by Asfa Munir See full article at Research Snipers Continue reading

REUTERS - Jan 11 - Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc have suspended Parler from their respective App Store and web hosting service, saying the social networking service popular with many right-leaning social media users has not taken adequate measures to prevent the spread of posts inciting violence. The action follows a similar move by Google on Friday. Parler is favored by many supporters of Donald Trump, who was permanently suspended from Twitter and it is seen as a haven for people expelled from Twitter. Amazon's move effectively takes the site offline unless it can find a new company to host its services. Amazon suspended Parler from its Amazon Web Services (AWS) unit, for violating AWS's terms of services by failing to effectively deal with a steady increase in violent content. by Bhargav Acharya See full article at Reuters See the top news on Parler Continue reading

BUSINESS INSIDER - Jan 11 - Gab.com (founded in 2016), a social networking site popular among the far-right, has reported massive growth over the past few days as tech companies like the Twitter crackdown on accounts and posts inciting violence. Gab tweeted that it was receiving ~10k new users every hour. Gab.com has reported massive growth following the Capitol insurrection, the removal of high-profile conservatives from Twitter, including President Donald Trump, and the suspension of the Parler app on the Google store. by Libertina Brandt See full article at Business Insider See the top news on Gab Continue reading

DAILY SABAH - Jan 11 - TikTok announced that it will set up a legal entity in Turkey to serve as a local representative, a move that followed a series of other social media platforms, including YouTube. "Along with our peers in the market, we've thoroughly analyzed Turkey's amended Internet Law No. 5651, which outlines several requirements for social media platforms, including the appointment of a local representative and guidelines for the management of content removal requests such as response turnaround times," TikTok said in a statement. The new rule covers social media companies that have daily access to ~1M from Turkey. The companies had already been notified of the five stages of penalties for social network providers who fail to appoint a representative in Turkey. See full article at Daily Sabah See the top news on TikTok Continue reading

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BUSINESS INSIDER - Jan 8 - Conservative-leaning social media sites Parler and Gab erupted with talk of a revolution as mobs stormed the Capitol. As a mob smashed its way into the US Capitol, calls for an armed revolution echoed through Parler and Gab, conservative-leaning social media apps. Many chimed in with posts tagged #revolution, #fightback, #firingsquad, and #civilwar. Others spread rumors that Antifa was behind the mob. Parler sprung to life in 2018 as a no-holds-barred free speech app, an alternative social network for those too radical for Twitter or Facebook, funded in part by Rebekah Mercer. The network describes itself as "unbiased social media" and has become popular in pro-Trump circles. The app is also being used among the rioters to organize, with people posting streets to avoid and listing tools to bring for prying open doors. by Margaux MacColl & Kevin Shalvey See full article at Business Insider See the top news on Parler See the top news on Gab Continue reading

TECH CRUNCH - Jan 7 - TikTok confirmed it has launched its first-ever lidar-powered effect to help its users ring in the new year. The effect features an AR ball, similar to the one that drops in Times Square on New Year's Eve. After a countdown, the ball drops and explodes to fill the room with confetti, as well as a floating "2021" in the air. Support for lidar, or light detection and ranging, was introduced on the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, in the fall. The technology helps the iPhone better understand the world around, by measuring how long it takes for light to reach an object in the space and reflect back. by Sarah Perez See full article at Tech Crunch See the top news on TikTok Continue reading

STOCKS APPS - Jan 7 - TikTok has continued its rise since an important merger in 2018 that took the platform globally, permeating the mainstream. The platform is especially popular among the younger generation with a majority of teens using TikTok in the US. ~32% of TikTok users are in their teens which is the biggest among all age groups. More data indicates that 7 in 10 American teens use TikTok at least once a month. by Rex Pascual See full article at Stocks Apps See the top news on TikTok Continue reading

TECH CRUNCH - Jan 6 - Twitter has acquired the social broadcasting app Breaker (founded in 2016). The deal will see Breaker's team joining Twitter to help "improve the health of the public conversation" on the service, as well as work on Twitter's new audio-based networking project, Twitter Spaces. The Breaker app, however, will shut down on January 15, 2021. According to Leah Culver's tweet as the CEO of Breaker, she'll be joining Twitter with a focus on Twitter Spaces, Twitter’s audio-based social networking product, and Clubhouse rival. Spaces lets Twitter users chat in real-time using voice instead of text. by Sarah Perez & Alex Wilhelm See full article at Tech Crunch See the top news on Twitter Continue reading

MOBILEWORLDLIVE - Jan 6 - Sensor Tower preliminary data showed a record-high global user spending in apps in 2020, with video streaming and online dating services emerging as the most profitable categories in the past 12 months. The app analytics company placed TikTok, YouTube and Tinder as the highest earning non-gaming services in the period, with Tencent Video and Disney+ completing the top five. Estimates showed global app revenue hit $111B in the period, up by 30% YOY from $85B in 2019. See full article at MobileWorldLive See the top news on TikTok See the top news on YouTube This post also appears on OnlinePersonalsWatch Continue reading