Elon Musk has officially bought Twitter. 

  Elon Musk officially acquired Twitter today for $44 billion then promptly fired several executives as soon as he stepped in the door. In one of his first decisions at the helm of the social media giant, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, fired three top executives including CEO Parag Agrawal, multiple United States-based media outlets reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Twitter first accepted Elon  Musk’s original offer to buy Twitter back in April, but the Tesla CEO threatened to back out of the deal just…

Twitter expands access to its experimental Status feature but not to its paid subscribers

  Twitter expands access to its experimental Status feature but not to its paid subscriber Twitter’s throwback feature,  is today expanding its list of potential status updates to choose from, in a continuation of tests that began this July. The status feature, which is something of a cross between MySpace moods and a Facebook status, allows users to tag posts with an additional expression beyond the tweet itself like “shower thoughts,” “spoiler alert” or “picture of the day.” Other new status options now available include ‘Breaking news’, ‘Games’, ‘Pet of…

New labels for state-affiliated media Twitter accounts

Twitter adds labels for government officials & state-controlled media

New labels for state-affiliated media Twitter accounts Twitter will introduce new labels for accounts and tweets tied to government officials and “state-affiliated media.” “Twitter provides an unmatched way to connect with, and directly speak to public officials and representatives,” the company wrote in the blog post announcing these changes. “This direct line of communication with leaders and officials has helped to democratize political discourse and increase transparency and accountability.” However, Twitter suggested that these labels are part of a larger effort “to protect that discourse because we believe political reach…

Twitter might just launch a subscription platform, hints job listing

platform hint job Twitter CEO Voice Tweets Gryphon

Twitter appears to be having a subscription platform for its social networking service in the works. A new job listing reveals that Twitter has a new internal team, codenamed “Gryphon,” that is “building a subscription platform.” Twitter is currently recruiting engineers to join this subscription team, with employees collaborating closely with the company’s payments team. Shares of Twitter (TWTR) rose 8% Wednesday afternoon following the posting. The job posting notes potential Twitter subscriptions would be “a first” for the company, but it’s not clear exactly how Twitter plans to implement…

Twitter Launches Voice Tweets for the Human Touch

platform hint job Twitter CEO Voice Tweets Gryphon

Twitter has hit the ground with a new feature Wednesday that allows users to tweet out voice tweets or notes in place of traditional text posts. Everyone on the platform will soon be able to send voice tweets, the company announced Wednesday . Users will have to option to share audio recordings of up to 140 seconds directly to their feed to accompany the text, photos, videos, and GIFs they already can share with their followers. The new feature is available first on iOS and launching today for “a limited…

Twitter plans on deleting inactive accounts

Twitter

Are you inactive on Twitter and still plan on being on the app? Then you better watch out and keep an eye on your account because Twitter plans on deleting the inactive accounts. Consider being active in order to save your account. Earlier last week, Twitter said that it would in this coming month begin removing inactive accounts from their platform. But the company then walked back on that promise because of an uproar, particularly from those who had deceased relatives with inactive accounts and wanted to have some way…

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will be moving back to Africa for at least 3 months in 2020, new home?

platform hint job Twitter CEO Voice Tweets Gryphon

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and mobile payments company Square, tweeted his farewell to Africa on Wednesday, but announced that he would return and temporarily move to the continent for at least three months in 2020. JHe uggested that he may move to Africa for at least three months next year. Sad to be leaving the continent…for now. Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for 3-6 months mid 2020. Grateful I was able to experience a small…

Twitter prioritizes breaking news in an app redesign

Online news and social networking service, Twitter, announced  that it is changing up its service in favour of major events to make it easier for people to access the latest breaking news. This shift in focus sets the service apart from other social media networks such as Facebook who have opted to focus less on live events and news and more on the personal lives and interests of its user base. In terms of what they’re changing, the  app will now feature a “happening now” module to highlight all kinds…

Twitter banishes trolls to the shadows

Twitter says it is taking action against “trolls” that “distort and detract from the public conversation”, by making their tweets less visible. The social network has been trying to tackle abuse and harassment on its platform for several years. The company said it would now look at “behavioural signals” to “improve the health” of discussions on the platform. “People contributing to the healthy conversation will be more visible in conversations and search,” it said. Twitter said examples of suspicious behaviour included: Advertisement accounts failing to confirm the email address they…

Facebook calls out Google, Amazon and Twitter for also harvesting user data

Facebook wants users to know that it’s not the only one tracking their every move on the internet. The social media giant pointed a finger at Google, Amazon, Twitter and other platforms for using many of the same data collection practices that some privacy advocates are referring to as invasive. In a blog post published Monday, the firm described in depth all the ways it gathers information on you around the web — even if you’re not a Facebook member or are logged out of your account. Facebook has been…