WhatsApp Rises as a Major Force in News Media

WhatsApp - Purpose of News

 
According to a study, WhatsApp is said to be one of the most prevailing means wherein individuals can discover and discuss various topics. However the utilisation of messaging app seems to differ extensively among countries. Over 50% of those surveyed in Malaysia had informed that they utilised WhatsApp for the purpose of news at least once a week.

 However in the US, the figure was said to be around 3% while in the UK it was considered to be 5%. It had also been indicated by the Digital News Report that the Brexit debate had led to mounting mistrust of the media of UK. It stated that around 43% of respondents had declared that the news could be trusted, down from last year to around 5% with BBC disapproved for having a pro-EU bias as well as failing to uncover the `distortions’ of the leave campaign.

Research had been conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism which had covered 34 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia besides Taiwan and Hong Kong which had been sponsored by the BBC and Google among others. In January and February, an estimate of around 71,805 had been questioned by YouGov to generate its data. Facebook still tends to lead though WhatsApp seems to be on the rise, and percentage of people utilising individual service at least once a week.
 

Facebook – Most Well-known Social Media/Messaging Service

 
The results indicated that Facebook tends to be the most well-known social media and messaging service for new engagement in all, though two countries namely Japan and South Korea wherein YouTube and Kakao Talk tend to dominate. However it adds that the utilisation of Facebook for the purpose of news had dropped in over half of the territories with the possibility of year-on year comparison. Sharing new stories by contrast as well as chatting regarding them seems to be increasing with private instant messaging apps especially in the case of WhatsApp.

As per a report, WhatsApp is said to be now the second most well-known social service for information in nine of the 36 areas as well as the third most famous platform in further five countries. Numerous prospective clarifications have been provided by the journalists for the rise of WhatsApp. The use of its end-to-end encryption means that messages can be seen only by their senders and recipients, providing users with the protection from being scrutinized by the authorities.

Nic Newman one of the authors of the study had commented that some of the biggest growth seen is in places like Turkey where it is positively risky for people to express anti-government preferences on open networks like Facebook.
 

Share-to-WhatsApp Button

 
As a consequence, people tend to use closed groups where they are more confident of expressing their views. WhatsApp has also profited from the circumstance that in much of Latin America together with other mobile networks have been providing unlimited data usage within the program has encouraged its use.

Moreover, numerous Spanish as well as Chilean media channels have incorporated the app and radio stations usually request listeners to send short voice recordings through the service. Local news site have also included share-to-WhatsApp button to their pages. Mr Newman however had stated that beyond that it could be complex for the media to take benefit of the popularity of the app further than publishing stories which people would prefer to share.

He had explained that one can set up branded areas or group of people on their own though it would be extremely heavy and time consuming and there seems to be few tools for assistance.
 

Digital News Report

 
He further added that part of the appeal of WhatsApp is that users do not get interrupted by brands, thus making it a pure kind of messaging which is something its developers would really tend to hold to. The report had also highlighted the widespread concerns regarding the so-called `fake news’.

It stressed on the suspicions of the users that the lack of rules and use of viral algorithms of social media had supported low-quality false stories to spread around rapidly. However, they have stated that there tends to be a strong distrust of the mainstream media especially in Asian and central, southern as well as eastern European countries where industry is seen as being closely linked to the government.

 The Digital News Report this year is said to be even more sobering than normal. Several of the institutions in the West, which tend to contribute to democracy, have been going through a crisis of trust and new providers are not exempted. The citizens of UK’s trust in news in general have dropped by 7% since the referendum of Brexit according to report which is a cause for worry.

 

Internet – Daily General News – Common Commodity

 
The combination of Reuter’s revelations that the proportion of people have been paying for online news in the UK seems to be `among the lowest of all the countries which had been surveyed and is a cause for alarm. One of the reasons could be the BBC, whose control in news ecosystem could mean the less people feel the need to pay for good news.

The link for a new generation between high-quality general news together with payment for the news could be violation. Due to the internet, the daily general news has become a very common commodity. With the help of tech giants such as Facebook and Google having more of the advertising share, news providers could find they have to specialise if they need to get audience to gain revenue and these audiences would not agree to pay for content which are not trustworthy.

Gaining back that trust in a period of digital echo chambers together with false news would be difficult though it needs to be done. Yahoo News is said to be the most famous online news brand with regards to the number of people utilising it at least once in a week all over the 36 markets all together. Moreover it also tends to rank as the top online provider of online news in the US, Taiwan and Japan.

What Facebook Knows About You

Model Devised to Analyse Facebook `Likes’

Whenever the advertisements on one’s Facebook newsfeed tends to appear unusually significant, it could be due to the social network giants being aware of you very well. The social network takes pride of having almost two billion users and provides a amazing amount of free content which has a tendency of keeping most of the users engrossed for hours daily. It intends to improve its efforts further in the near future by keeping the users on-site for even a longer time or in other owned properties of Facebook such as the Messenger, Whatsapp and Instagram.

Facebook is said to have accumulated an estimated $26.9 billion by way of ad revenue in 2016 by drawing out its massive troves of data on its 1.86 billion users in order to sell directed information to advertisers used to provide products as well as services depending on their particular preferences. There seems to be more disturbing methods wherein companies tend to utilise personal information. A model had been devised by researcher Michal Kosinski which tends to analyse Facebook `likes’ of a user in predicting information like ethnicity, sexual orientation together with political belief in creating as well as locating personal psychological profiles.

Facebook Most Appalling Spying Machine

As it was recently revealed by tech publication Motherboard, wherein an identical scheme was reported to have assisted Donald Trump in reaching the White House, on sending directed campaign ads which had appealed to individual needs together with requirements. Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder, in an interview with Russian news site RT, had called Facebook as the most appalling spying machine which has ever been invention.

 Assange had claimed that they have the most comprehensive database regarding people in the world, their relationships, their names together with their addresses, their locations as well as the communications with each other, their relatives, all being within the United States and accessible to U.S. intelligence. He added at a book launch in 2014, that each time one goes to a party, takes an image and posts the same on Facebook, you are being a traitor.

However even his organisation finds it difficult to refrain from joining the damage. Wikileaks tends to have its own Facebook page that seems to disclose the secrets of the rulers of the world. What Facebook intends to do with the data seem to be a subject of debate though the data it has is alarmingly all-inclusive. The following details will bring about an awareness of how much details Facebook can have regarding its users:

1. How much Facebook tends to know about the user, its family and friends

The source of one’s profile seems to be the on-site behaviour that covers the profile information one tends to provide, the advertisements clicked on, the events created and attended, items one prefers and the information that one has posted. All these behaviour tends to expose the age, gender, language together with the educational level, the electronic device one may utilise and how one would connect to the internet.

The post and the profile provide the details of your Facebook data footprint though the company gathers a huge selection of information from the other sources for adding personal information beyond those which have been significantly uploaded.

The user’s online behaviour together with the information from third-party sources are inclined to get mixed in conveying to Facebook about their job, whether the user is married, engaged or intending celebrating an event, whether you are a parent or expecting to be one. Moreover, it is also aware of who is in the family, how far they seem to be living and their anniversaries and much more.

2. Facebook aware of your finances and spending habits

It has a tendency of paying data brokers like Experian and Epsilon for added information they have compiled over a period of time in collection of additional information from government, surveys together with commercial sources like magazine subscription list.

 This conveys to them where one may shop, what is purchased and whether one owns a car. It also tends to be aware of the value, size, and composition together with the type of property one may be living in and when the said property had been constructed. Besides this, it not only knows what may be in possession with the user, but also what one purchases, on comprehending their tastes and when they would be likely in upgrading to some degree.

The financial information of the user is all taken hold wherein Facebook can forecast what one had invested in, or if is in possession of a credit card and if it is in debt, your net worth and income, together with details if one is a member of a credit union, national bank or regional bank

3. Facebook is aware of the websites visited and the apps utilised

The online activity of the user tracked by Facebook is not restricted to the social media site only. Should the user visit a web page which utilises Facebook technologies like Facebook pixel, then the publishers as well as Facebook can trail visits from the users. The information is utilised by the advertisers to craft ads for the individuals who tend to visit the website or use the mobile app.

 It covers any page with `like’ or `share’ button which informs Facebook where one could be browsing, any downloads of their mobile apps as well as any purchases done from the site or products which may have been added in the shopping cart. The family of apps and services of Facebook comprises of Instagram and WhatsApp which tend to add to the data record of the company.

4. Facebook knows the whereabouts of the user

The location data is utilised by Facebook to support advertisers in targeting individuals in or within a specific area. This detail is conveyed by the IP address where one tends to connect to the internet, the GPS as well as the location services on your phone, your check-ins together with the listed areas in your Facebook and Instagram profiles. In June 2016, debate came up when Facebook had first acknowledged and later denied that it was using smartphone location details to recommend friends, though eventually revealed that it had briefly done the previous year.

5. Facebook knows about your beliefs

Directed advertising utilised by the Donald Trump team before the US presidential election of 2016, had revealed the value of Facebook data in the political campaigning. If one mentions their political preferences, expresses a political leaning or like a page connected with one, Facebook has the tendency of utilising the information in presuming your political opinions.

 However, the company is not only in need of direct evidence. If the user like pages viewed as characteristic of a certain position, it could recommend you to share those beliefs. Liking Exxon for instance could specify that you are more expected to be traditional. Facebook tends to combine the details with demographic information to classify the users as substantial, traditional or reasonable.

6. Facebook knows your secret thoughts

The old saying of `think before you speak’ has given a new lease to life on social media where the fake security shield of screen together with the keyboard has given rise to several regrettable tap of the enter key. Recently it had been revealed by data scientist Vicki Boykis that Facebook tends to know what the user could be thinking even when they choose not to comment on it.

 The company can trail your typing in order to read your mind. Facebook tends to gather the text as it is typed by sending code to the browser which has the tendency of analysing the keystrokes and report the metadata. It comprises of deleted post, comments together with check-ins. The company has named these unpublished thoughts as `self-censorship’ and had earlier utilised the data in researching the human behaviour.

The overall incoming data amounts to about 600 daily terabytes if the estimates of 2014 of Facebook engineers tend to be precise. As per the calculations of Boykis, this could be the equivalent of uploading 193 million copies each day of the novel War and Peace.

7. How to find out what Facebook know about you

A board outline of information is provided by Facebook that tends to accumulate in its Data Policy though does not expose the complete details of how it functions. This can be found out by going to your ad preferences on the social network which comprises of profile information, categories of interest together with advertisers the user may have interacted with as a customer, a website user or by just clicking on their ads.

One could also hide advertisements regarding sensitive issues which you would like to opt out. Users of Facebook could also block certain kinds of ads by going to Facebook ads settings. The only means of averting the controls of the Facebook data collectors together with their partners is by quitting the social network completely though it may not provide you with a clean break.

 The data of the user has left an ineradicable mark and once the user tends to agree to hand it over they are no longer entitled to get the same back. However, one could download the complete Facebook data history as a ZIP file by utilising a self-service tool that has been designed by the company.

Leaked FaceBook Rule Book States What is not allowed on Social Media

Image Credit:  Guardian

The current generation is mostly found spending their maximum time on social networking sites and facebook is the most onymous in this regard. The very notion of posting an update on facebook frequently is what makes it even more gripping. The whole crux behind this idea is to get more likes and comment. More unique posts are directly proportional to more likes and comment. Social networking sites are applicable only for those updates that are society friendly and if one does not understand this then he or she is subjected to a vicious circle leading to cyber crime. Mark Zuckerberg has invented Facebook to connect people from all over the world via this platform, but its high time when he should launch a ‘facebook rule book’, to make a clear stratification of the do’s and don’ts as some are bent on misusing this platform for their anti-social nuisance which needs to be kept in check.

Keeping a strict watch on billions of users is next to impossible hence, putting forth of guidelines in this regard is an important move which is applicable both for the users and for the moderators, both before putting up a post and censoring a post respectively.

Some cases as per the ‘facebook rule book’ are:

• One can share a video of an abortion taking place only if it is free from nudity as then only the issue of censorship arises. 
• Sharing of animal or child abuse is allowed as it is done with an intention to educate the mass with the injustices incurred on them, but again too much use of graphic elements is a big NO as that makes the entire post very disturbing for the viewers. 
• Videos or pics related to violent death can be posted with the underlying notion of educating the mass of certain ailments like mental illness, depression and many more. So, this would act as an awareness program. 
• Threatening someone on this platform is strictly prohibited. You cannot abuse anyone here, neither raise question on someone’s character, as that is offensive. Life threatening someone is again a big No. 
• You cannot use this platform to motivate people to do acts which are against the general norms of being a human. Provoking someone to take up terrorism is severely offensive and if found guilty you can face severe consequences.

These are certain guidelines that facebook moderators have put up as Facebook Rule Book that every user using this platform needs to abide by. The whole crux behind these guideline is, that as long you are posting something which can result in creating awareness for the general mass till then your post is justified on moral grounds and if even once you go cross your limits facebook officials are liable to take severe action against you which may also lead to face judicial consequences if your post is degraded to that level. Power of Speech and thought is granted by our constitution and by Facebook until it does not go against the general code of conduct.

Twitter Finally Ditches Handles from Its 140 Character Limit

When one thinks of Twitter the character limit comes into the mind first because users have to express their thought within the set limits. Over the years the use of images, gifs, quotes and links has started to lower the limit of characters left to express one’s thoughts. Twitter is finally taking a stand to bring more opportunity for the users to make the best use of the character limit.

Twitter has launched a limited testing on the iOS platform to see how the new change in the character limit will perform with the audience. But from today onwards Twitter will allow users to mentions other people handle in their replies but it won’t be counted. Users will get a greyed-out line appearing right at the top of the tweet indicating “Replying to [username]’.

The current change made in the character limit is a part of plan announced by Twitter in May 2016 wherein it will slowly allow users to get more of their tweet in varied interesting ways. Twitter is struggling against other major social media platform and it is earnestly looking forward to attract more users to its network.

The Introduction of the Chronological timeline

In the February of this year Twitter brought the entirely chronological timelines for Twitter in a bid help users in catching up with the latest tweets from their favourite users. But as of today only two per cent of the total users have made the shift to this new feature. Twitter is aggressively making changes to the age-old features of its platform to bring something new and exciting for its users. Given the fact that Twitter is going through a stagnant growth period and falling stock prices the sudden changes in the character limit can be seen as a welcome addition.

List of Changes Brought in the Tweeting activity

When a person is using attachment in the tweets which may include either images, photos, videos, GIFs, polls or even quote tweets then it won’t be counted towards the 140 character limit. Secondly a new retweet button will be enabled on the user’s profile to ensure they can tweet their own tweets or people tweet as well share or unlove any older tweet with ease and simplicity. Replying has always been a tedious task in the Twitter but form now on users will get some respite the Twitter handles will not be counted as the character limit.

A number of times we have different Twitter handles mentioned right in the replies and it counts. But rpm now on that wouldn’t be the case rather Twitter handles will appear in greyed-out right at the top of the tweets which label stating ‘Replying to [username]’.

Twitter gives a solemn goodbye to the ‘@’ tweeting culture which has emerged in the recent past. Users were most likely to tag a username right at the beginning of their tweet to get the attention of the concerned person using ‘@’. But from now onwards replies to such tweet will only be seen by the sender or by the followers and simply by the person who is specifically replying to that tweet.

How to Secure Your Facebook Account

Facebook has become an important and integral part of our lives and it is necessary to safeguard online especially on the social media platform. A hack into the Facebook account will result in revealing wide range of sensitive and extremely personal information about a user to the hackers which can ultimately lead to financial, identity or emotional loss of varied kinds. Here are few smart ways to secure the Facebook account without any hassle.

Turn your account secure

Account protection begins with optimizing the passwords. Make use of numbers, letters & special characters while creating a password and for security question ensure it is known only to you. You can also set the two factor authentication system for logging into your Facebook account by going to the Settings.

Check for suspicious activity

Going to the Facebook Settings page will allow you to keep a tab on ‘from where’ your account has been accessed at any given point of time. If you has gained access to your account without your knowledge then you will be able to gain knowledge about it from here and even take steps to thwart such attempts in future.

Get a grip on your privacy

Privacy is an integral part of the cyber security of the internet users in the modern world. Facebook offers wide range of features and security measures built right into its platform which helps in safeguarding the members from the hackers, marketers as well as stalkers to a great extent.

It is extremely important for the Facebook users to think twice before sharing anything on the Facebook without choosing the setting which states who can see the posts. The setting is pretty simple opting for ‘Public Posts’ will allow your posts to be seen by everyone on the web. Clicking on the Limit Past Posts will help in hiding the older posts from the public view.

Be sensible with using the Facebook

Simply restricting who views your posts, personal information and profile on the Facebook is not enough. In order to turn your Facebook account highly secure it is vital that you apply some common sense while interacting with strangers, suspicious links, offers and other things on this social media platform. Secondly stay away from sharing critical personal information in the public domain like on Facebook pages and profiles needlessly. If you don’t want to proclaim your whereabouts then turn of location search on Facebook.

Thirdly giving every little details of your daily routine or lifestyle like where your work, when is your birthday, favourite movie, pets name, family address unknowingly through posts, location tags will only help in losing your identity.

Anyone closely following your social media activity will be able to pretend to be you with all the information you have shared online. Don’t forget to pay attention to the computers or different browsers you use in order to access the Facebook. Make sure the system or browser is up-to-date and has a robust antivirus at work.

Twitter Explores Subscription-Based Option for First Time

Tweetdeck Convenient Twitter Experience

Recently the company had mentioned that Twitter Inc. had been planning to build a premium kind of its well-known Tweetdeck interface targeted at professionals thereby raising the likelihood that it would collect subscription fees for the first time, from some users. Tweetdeck provides a much convenient Twitter experience by enabling the user to see various timeline in an easy interface comprising of various advanced features to benefit the most of Twitter.

 It also helps in managing numerous accounts, schedule Tweets for future posting build Tweet collections and much more. Similar to the other Twitter applications it interfaces with the Twitter API thus enabling the users in sending as well as receiving tweets and observe profiles. Tweetdeck tends to comprise of sequences of customisable columns that tend to be set up displaying the Twitter timeline of the user, mentions, direct messages, trends, list, search results, hastag, or all the tweets by or to an individual user.

Since its launch 11 years ago, Twitter like most of the other social media companies has focused on building a big user base for a free service with the help of advertising. It had reported last month that it had 319 million users all over the world.

Twitter Unsuccessful in Drawing Adequate Advertising Revenue

However unlike Facebook Inc. Twitter seemed to be unsuccessful in drawing adequate advertising revenue to gain profit in spite of its popularity with Donald Trump, the U.S. President while the other celebrities have made the network an endless hub of attention. A subscription fee could be helpful from a type of Tweetdeck, a prevailing interface which could be beneficialto users in exploringTwitter.

A survey is being done by Twitter to assess the interest in an updated and much more enhanced kind of Tweetdeck according to a spokeswoman Brielle Villablanca in a statement recently. She added that they conduct user research frequently in collecting feedback regarding the user’s Twitter experience as well as to improve their product investment decision.

They have been exploring a number of methods of making Tweetdeck more treasured for professionals. No indications have been provided stating that Twitter would consider charging fees form its users. Announcement of the survey had been disclosed on Twitter earlier wherein a journalist associated with the New York Times had displayed screenshot of what a premium version of Tweetdeck would probably appear like.

Advertising Revenue Progress – Lag User Growth

This kind of version would comprise of more powerful tools enabling marketers, professionals, journalist together with the others in the community to identify of what could be happening across the globe in a quicker manner, as per one of the screenshots displayed on the account @andrewtavani. The description had stated that the experience would be ad-free.

Social media firms like Microsoft Corp’s, MSFT.O, LinkedIn unit, have already tiered memberships together with subscription types which provide better access as well as data. Twitter had posted the slowest revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2016 since it had gone public four earlier ago where the revenue from the advertising had dropped year after year.

The company had also informed that advertising revenue progress would remain to lag user growth during 2017. Last year, financial markets wondered regarding the sale of Twitter though no concrete bids have come up.

FaceBook Building a Safer Community With New Suicide Prevention Tools

Facebook Utilising Artificial Intelligence to Avert Suicides

Facebook intends utilising artificial intelligence and updating its tools and services in order to avert suicides among individuals. This social media network which is the largest in the world had informed that it intends to integrate its prevailing suicide prevention tool for Facebook post in its live streaming feature namely Facebook Live together with its Messenger service.

The company had mentioned in a blogpost recently that artificial intelligence would be utilised in supporting spot users having the tendency of suicides. As per the New York Post, a 14 year old foster child in Florida had broadcasted her suicide on Facebook Live, in January. In live video stream, Facebook has been utilising artificial intelligence in monitoring offensive material.

Recently, the company had expressed that the latest tools would be providing a choice to users viewing a live video in reaching to the user directly and report the video on Facebook. Resources would also be provided by Facebook Inc. which comprises of reaching to a friend and get a help line to the individual broadcasting the live video. Among individuals in the age group of 15 -29, suicide is said to be the second leading reason of death.

Suicide Rates Escalated by 24%

As per a National Centre for Health Statistics study, in the United States from 1999 to 2014, the suicide rates had escalated by 24 percent after a period of almost steady decline. Suicide among youngster seems to be the final ultimatum in stepping in and ending their life when help and proper counselling is not available to the victim.

 Facebook has provided advice to individuals who would be at risk of committing suicide for years though till now it seemed to depend on other individuals in bringing about awareness by clicking a report button on a post. It has now progressed pattern-recognition algorithms in recognising if an individual seems to be stressed by training them with examples of the posts which could have been earlier identified.For instance, dialogue of sadness and pain could be an indication and responses from friends with comments such as `Are you ok’, or `I am concerned about you’, could be of some help.

System Being Rolled All Over the World

When a post has been recognized, it could be sent for quick review to the community operations team network. When someone who would be viewing the live stream tends to click a menu option declaring that they are concerned about the individual, Facebook then provides advice to the viewer with regards to how they could render help to the broadcaster.

The stream is also identified for instant review by the team of Facebook who in turn overlaps a message with a suitable recommendation whenever possible. This latest system is being rolled out all over the world. Presently, a different choice in contacting various crisis counsellor helplines through the Messenger tool of Facebook seems to be limited to the US. Facebook has mentioned that it needs to check if the other organisation would be capable of managing with the demand before it intends to develops the facility

Five WhatsApp Hacks You Should Know

WhatsApp has taken the era of messaging to another level. Starting from text messages to voice call and now video chat. It has magnanimously brought the entire world at the tip of your fingers. People opt for Android phones just to avail WhatsApp for themselves. You can even share photos and videos using this application. Other applications may not be there on everyone’s phone, but this is an application that is common to all. It is very addictive and you are liable to get charmed under its spell. The application has rigorously taken the notches high by introducing new updates and features after being taken under by Facebook. Here, are some enrapting tips that will give you a much advanced use of WhatsApp.

• How To Hide Your Chats – You can now hide all your chats so that no third person can get the hue of your personal life by just archiving them. In order to avail this option you need to go to the chat area and just tap and hold on to the chat you want to archive. Once the entire chat that you want to archive is selected, you will find that a button with a down-arrow will be visible on the left side of the screen. You just need to tap on that arrow and your chat will be archived and when you want to access this chat, just scroll down towards the end of the chat page and tap on the archived chats option. 
• How to Doodle on Images – You can now play with your photos and modify them the way you want as WhatsApp has upgraded itself to provide its users the benefit of Snapchat, due to this feature you can doodle the image before sending, i.e., you can add stickers or crop the image the way you prefer. 
• Text Highlighting – This is completely a new feature that is used during group chat or long compiled texts. The user will now be able to highlight the text by just tapping on the arrow on the top right corner of your skin. 
• You can also Tag People on WhatsApp – This feature is really beneficial in a group chat, as using this feature you can tag people in the respective group by using @. This enticing feature was previously available only on Facebook but now with the upgraded version of whatsapp you can use it in your group chat to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding in denoting people. 
• You can Mute Group Chats – WhatsApp might be very interesting, but it is a fact that we are not always free to entertain text messages. So, now you can avoid getting disturbed by frequent messages from any group. You just need to tap on the chat that you want to mute by pressing the mute button that appears on the top of the screen. A pop-up will immediately appear and will ask you that for how long you want to mute the conversation for eight hours, a week or a year. Just choose your desired time period and the feature will be applicable.

Twitter Ramps up Abuse Controls As It Lets Users Silence Anonymous Twitter Eggs

Trolling on the Twitter has become a nuisance for the common innocent users who have to deal unwanted barrage of abuses and insults. Twitter has boosted its capability which will not allow it to throttle the anonymous trolls right from the user’s timelines. This is regarded as a positive and strong effort on Twitter’s part to put an end to the unwanted barrage of abuses on the social media platform. Twitter introduced a new filtering option which will make it easier and simple for the users to mute accounts without any profile picture as well as email mail addresses and phone numbers.

Twitter is filled with ‘Twitter Eggs’

Currently Twitter is filled with millions of accounts that doesn’t possess any profile pictures and are commonly referred as Twitter eggs. These account holders usually indulge in abusive behavior and trolling activity on the site which has become a chronic problem for the Twitter platform. Currently Twitter is actively working toward identifying such abusive accounts and it will continue looking for such bad eggs without the need of them being reported of other users. In the first phase Twitter will be limiting such accounts for some time during which only its followers will be able to see the tweets.

In later stage a mute feature will be introduced which made its debut in November last year. This mute feature will allow users to block a number of phrases as well as keywords from the notification to keep common users safeguarded from the unwanted trolls and abuses. But the latest update will allow users to directly mute certain words and phrases from their own end to get rid of abusive and unwanted content in their home timeline.

Twitter is gearing up to remove abusive content from its platform

Twitter safety team has a tough week wherein it worked towards bringing such filtering functionalities which can help in limiting the abusive content on the platform. Just a month ago it brought such system which prevents permanently suspended people from creating any new accounts on the platform. A ‘safe search’ is also introduced which removes such Tweets containing any kind of potentially sensitive content from the search results. Finding rogue accounts, people, thwarting sensitive tweets are just a list of simple steps taken by Twitter.

Twitter has stated that it platform support to share different viewpoints but it has to be done without violating the Twitter Rules. Twitter is hoping that the algorithm set in place for varied filtering mechanisms will help acting only against such accounts which support and propagate abusive behavior content on the platform.

Given the fact the tools utilized for this new there might be some mistakes and Twitter is eagerly working towards improving its ability to crack down upon the abusive accounts for once and all. Twitter has even admitted that it has struggled in the past to deal with the online buddies in the past but these filtering features will help in covering the lost ground.

Why FaceBook Keeps Pushing You to Go Live With Video

In the contemporary world, the mode of communication and correspondences between individuals and communities have witnessed some of the most magical changes, which have changed the entire scenario and people are more and more get accustomed with these social media options. The facebook is undoubtedly the best and popular option, among the social media segment and every day the number is growing with an enviable upward growth rate.

The most interesting part of the services, provided by facebook, is the relentless development and customization of their service profile, which attracts lots of newer user and the same time, keep their old friends intact. The Live video feature is the most modern service that is now available with facebook and millions of enthusiastic users have already tried this feature and just loved it. To make this an instant hit among the enthusiasts; facebook is trying every possible means and route to get it in more user-friendly modes, such as; billboards, Television advertisements and other avenues, which provide essential supports in getting the intended results.

Some Important Issues to Be Noted

•  It is now a million dollar question, whether this Live video craze is a good business opportunity or not - it can be noted that the prospects of these ads are quite uncertain, as the "live" issue of these videos are often seen in the recorded mode. When somebody is trying to capture and send Live moments of their memorable issues like the first step of the toddler, high school prom, the university convocation, seminars, conferences etc. but in most of the cases; friends are not been able to see those Live, on the contrary, they seen it like the recorded videos only. 
•  After having such uncertainty, why facebook is trying to pushing up this feature with all relevant promotional support? - This is one of the most pertinent questions in the digital world now. Some of the social media analysts are now describing this effort of the facebook as a gesture of keeping the users to its well-structured service as far as possible, like any other business entity. 
•  As per their mission, facebook offer this feature to existing almost 2 billion users and once any of the individual users try this, immediately his friends got the notification about the event and as per the ads, prompted to try the same, which is getting an upward swing in the uses in the last couple of weeks. 
•  While facebook is trying to promote this feature to a great extent, which has the potential of revenue generation, but it's not an easy thing to do, as some of the companies are now using this Live video, prepared by themselves, to advertise and promotion purposes. 
•  The tech-savvy people are now trying to make this a big deal, by taking the advantage of the Live video option, which is changing the experience to feel the world in much better form. This is helping the user to express him in a more subtle manner, which is the crux of the positivity of this feature.

How to Manage Your Security Settings on Facebook

Facebook developed in the previous years to wind up the biggest online interpersonal organization in the world. It spread so much that even our neighbors, folks, and inaccessible relatives, even from remote regions of the nation, now continually utilize it. It's the place where everyone is dynamic, from family, companions, work partners, and outsiders who just chose to include us as their friends. That's why Facebook has rolled out a few improvements to its security settings over its lifetime, so it merits looking up to check whether you're still just giving the general population you need your private data and photographs.

Here are some basic approaches to ensure your security.

1. Restrain access to you and your Facebook stuff To limit access to your past and future Facebook posts, click Privacy in the left sheet of the Account Settings. At that point pick Limit Past Posts under the option of who can see it and in similar segment another option of who can see future posts. A message will pop up when you endeavor to restrain access to all your past posts without a moment's delay as opposed to changing the setting post-by-post. The alternatives under "Who can reach me?" let you confine companion demands and channel the messages you get. You can also limit your audience by restricting email address and telephone number 
2. Secure browsing A few times ago, Facebook made secure perusing the default for all clients. To guarantee you're utilizing a safe association at whatever point one is accessible, click Security in the left sheet of Facebook's Account Settings and ensure Secure Browsing is enabled. The security settings likewise give you a chance to empower sign in warnings and endorsements and see and alter your perceived gadgets and dynamic sessions. To evacuate a gadget, click Edit to one side and after that Remove beside the gadget's entrance. In like manner, to end one or all dynamic Facebook sessions, click Edit to one side of Active Sessions and pick End Activity or End All Activity, separately. 
3. Approve tags To trigger the survey of posts you labeled in before they show up on your course of events, you can choose Edit to one side of the section and select Enable in the drop-down menu. There In the timeline and tagging options you can enable or disable your posts' appearance by selection of options like "How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?" , "Who can post to my timeline?" etc. 
4. Facebook Application A large portion of the most prevalent applications now associates with your Facebook profile, implying that your action on those applications may be posted on your Facebook profile. Be that as it may, to do this, the applications need to get consent, which is the place you can step in. In Settings, go to the Apps area and select "Select All" to see what authorizations applications have. You may need some of these to have the capacity to post for your sake - Instagram for instance - however, you may not need your dating applications to do as such, for instance. Click an application to alter protection settings.
5. Read and always try to be updated Set aside the time to peruse and comprehend the norms and terms of Facebook. Remain in order to the progressions that are updating regularly try to learn and read more often. The best aspect regarding Facebook is the capacity to custom yours and your companions experience. 

You Can All Finally Encrypt Facebook Messenger

Facebook – Secret Conversation

Whatsapp had put up a code with the addition of new layers of security to the apps of billion users with the creation of the largest end-to-end encrypted messaging network in history. WhatsApp’s parent company Facebook has now eventually provided it users using its other hugely famous chat app with the opportunity to catch up. As informed to WIRED, a spokesperson of Facebook had informed that the company had completed rolling out `Secret Conversations’ to 900 million Facebook Messenger users in the last few weeks.

The chosen feature enabled users to encrypt their messages in order that no one could read them with the exception of the two individuals at each end of a chat and not even Facebook or law enforcement of the intelligence organizations. A description stated in the app that when users had initiated their first encrypted conversation `your messages are already secure, though Secret Conversation are encrypted from one device to another’.

While the updates of the software of the company for iOS as well as Android have not been clearly mentioned the feature of encryption, those who tend to update their Messenger app would now find the choice of `secret option towards the top right area of the `new message’ screen.

Opt for Snapchat-Style Termination

Moreover the feature also permits the transmitters to opt for Snapchat-style termination time for messages which may vary from five seconds to a day. Users who have updated the app have the facility of sending or receiving encrypted time-sensitive messages and hence users are recommended to update as early as possible.

Secret Conversation tends to use the Signal encryption system which seems to have a healthy status in the security community. It had been established by the non-profit Open Whisper System that had implemented the encryption layer first in its own Signal app before teaming with the other companies to include the procedure.

The new security mechanism had been first announced by Facebook and had been tested with beta users in July. Google had also recently launched the Allo messenger which included the encryption choice.

New Feature – Strong/Simple Encryption

The new layer of encryption of Facebook Messenger needs to be enabled manually for each conversation instead of being changed on by default since it is in the Signal app or WhatsApp. The conclusion could be a measure of a negotiation with the purpose of assisting Facebook to prevent legal as well as political difficulties.

The default encryption of WhatsApp for instance seems to have already placed its parent company in an uncomfortable spot at least once when the authorities of Brazil had arrested an executive of Facebook in the country for his negligence in helping police decrypt WhatsApp messages that had been send in a drug trafficking case, by criminal suspects.

However, the opt-in move has brought about the scorn of privacy advocates when Facebook had announced Secret Conversation, such as the tweet from ACLU technologist Chris Soghoian. Considering it or not, the new feature of Facebook tends to bring in strong, simple encryption to hundreds of millions of users.

The spread to the other ultra-popular messaging services, with the combination of end-to-end encryptions, stopping investigations has never been easy.

Facebook Launches Lifestage App for School Teens

With a purpose in mind of targeting high-school goers, Facebook, the social media giant has launched a new iOS app known as Lifestage which requests the user to fill in their biographical details which is then turned into a virtual profile video and is shared immediately with their school networks.

Lifestage which is a standalone iOS app for individual under 21, requests users for their happy face, sad face, likes, dislike, best friends, best book and much more. The users however, instead of filling the biography test with script tend to shoot videos, which later on Lifestage tends to turn into video profile where others in their school network can view.

The app enables users to find video profiles that have been generated by other users in their school enabling them to know more about their classmates, their shared interests and much more, as conveyed by Facebook in a recent blog post. The post also mentioned that each time someone tends to update their page; it would show up in a feed prompting the others to check on it. Since all the posts are public, there is no choice of restricting viewing the same. The purpose, according to its inventor, was to connect members of the same school.

Privacy – A Matter of Concern

An expert had informed BBC that the lack of privacy was a matter of concern. School members could view each other’s profiles once the individual school had reached a registration of 20 members and above. Users above the age of 21 were only capable of viewing their own profiles according to the Tech Crunch website. But the app has cautioned that it cannot guarantee if all its users seem to be sincere. It states that they cannot confirm that people who tend to claim to go to a certain school really go to that school and all videos uploaded to your profile tend to be fully public content.

There is no messaging functionality forLifestage, though users could display their contact details from the other sites like Snapchat and Instagram. Presently on the iTunes store, the app has a 2.5 star rating with comments which describe it as `kinda sorta creepy’ and `confusing’. Around 8% of Facebooks’ US users seem to be between the ages of 13 to 19, according to the statistics website Statista which had been designed by a 19 year old, Facebook product manager, Michael Sayman.

Being Open Could Get in the Way of Getting Connected 

He had mentioned in a Facebook post that the app had been based on the original social network of early days. Way back in 2004, Facebook had been about `who I am’ where his relationship status could be posted and share about his favourite music. It was a way of expressing himself. Presently since Facebook has progressed so much more, there are chances of exploring that concept of `who I am’ once again, though for Generation Z in 2016. Dr Bernie Hogan from Oxford Internet Institute had informed BBC that the absence of privacy settings could tend to be unpopular.

He commented that the `lack of privacy settings on the app in its present condition is symbolic of Facebook ideology which is to stay open and connected as much as possible’.He further added that from their point of view it is a great idea though at times being open could get in the way of getting connected. This is already a known fact, since people tend to be reluctant in sharing things online if they have to share it with all. It also seems that they are attempting in pushing the boundaries of what is thought to be appropriate to share online and then walk back when faced with public criticism.

Get Your Photos Looking Better on Facebook

Facebook Compress Images – Appear Smaller in Size

If one tends to use Facebook, they would possibly upload an image at some point of time and though Facebook is good for sharing, it is also inclined to use some pretty callous compression which seems to make your images appear like crap. Having a large source of photos on the Web, it is not amazing that Facebook tends to hire heavy compression to its 250 billion images they have a tendency to store. Facebook is enormous and millions of images tend to get uploaded to Facebook daily which could be a great amount of data for them store.

Hence, in order to lighten the burden, Facebook is inclined to compress these images which make them appear smaller in size but it could also ruin the quality of the image. Usually when an image tends to pass around the internet, downloaded or re-uploaded and shared to a group of different services, it could turn out to be offensive. Facebook is said to mechanically resize image that are uploaded to the site though one can change it in the settings of their account. The user should be aware that uploading bigger image file would take up extra data and if one is on a metered plan, from your carrier, they need to keep a tab on their monthly outgoings.

Lossy Compression – Condense Size of File

The dominant photo file format, JPG, tends to utilise a form of `lossy’ compression, which means that it tosses out image data in order to condense the size of the file. If one has even toyed around with `Quality’ slider in Photoshop one would possible comprehend the compromise in the size of the file as well as image fidelity.

The revealing signs of JPG compression are `Blocky’ looking segments of an image, especially around edge detail or rise in colour. The compression is mainly obvious when a graphic is said to have hard edges like white type against a classified background. When one saves a JPG you should resave a JPG (when Facebook tends to convert your image on their server, and these compression artifacts seem to be more prominent. Uploading images over Wi-Fi connection tends to be faster and cheaper unless the user is on a slow network together with a data allowance. If the user has been using the Facebook app on Android phone, he could go to your news feed page and tap on the `More’ button which seems like three horizontal lines, towards the top of the screen.

You could scroll down on the list of icons to Help & Settings area and opt for App Settings, tap the button next to Upload HD Photos. Utilising the iPhone version of Facebook app, you could tap the three-lined `More’ button at the bottom of the screen, tap Settings and opt for Account Settings in the menu which tends to pop up. In the category list in Settings, tap Videos and Photos.

On the next screen which appears, go under `Photo Settings’ and turn on the button near `Upload HD’. In order to have your photos looking their best, the Help Centre at the site recommend to size them to widths of 720 pixels, 960 pixels or 2,048 pixels along with HD Photos setting support. With the HD Photo setting activated, some bigger images will not appear in full resolution since Facebook tends to have a maximum width of 2,048 pixels for normal pictures.

Twitter Turns Your Photos Into Ads With Promoted Stickers

New Branding Tool – `Promoted Stickers’

Twitter followed Snapchat with the addition of applying stickers with embedded hastags and the business reasoning appears that brands would be capable of providing stickers with their own built-in hastags in order that one could promote for them, enabling them in tracking your stickered tweets.

The initiative of the company’s Promoted #Stickers had been announced in a blog post recently with Pepsi since the special partner as well as the choice was available to `select dealers with accomplished accounts. They are inclined to advertisers as a big opportunity for brands in driving brand affinity together with raising an awareness of their message - `happy brand-affinity driving’.

The search of Twitter of becoming a profitable business which could be utilised by some of the biggest brands in the world is in progress and recently the company has introduced a new branding tool known as `promoted stickers’.

Twitter has named that `promoted stickers’ though basically they are branded sticker, subtly branded stickers. The roll-out is said to be a part of PepsiMoji campaign, which is the soft drink maker launched, providing users in 10 markets admission to custom Twitter stickers.

Stickers Innovative & Searchable

At the moment it is enabling advertisers in providing sponsored sticker that would be appearing up front in the list of stickers which the users could place on their photos. Twitter states that at the moment, `brands could design four or eight stickers such as accessories together with other props, in order that users could add to their own photos.’

Featured in the #Stickers library would be the promoted options, which would provide brands with an opportunity of raising awareness and drive the brand affinity through Twitter. The stickers of Twitter are said to be somewhat innovative where each one is searchable.

As per Twitter, it tends to make it easy for people in creating conversation regarding events and get the experiences of what tends to happen at the moment. #Stickers tend to act as visual hashtag which means that photos with the brand’s sticker could be linked and discovered by anyone who seems to tap your brand’s sticker.

Offering Advertisers Sponsored Stickers

Twitter had reckoned out of making money from a feature cloned from Snapchat less than two months back and is now enabling advertisers in offering sponsored stickers which would be appearing up front in the list of stickers that the users could place on their photos.

The new ad format was recently kicked off with sponsorship from Pepsi that had paid for eight custom stickers, out of which six are strange smiley faces; one is a trophy and just one that has a Pepsi logo on it. Twitter would be permitting advertisers to purchase either four or eight custom stickers at a time which would be appearing in the featured section that tends to appear first at the time of adding them to a photo.

Promoted stickers, just like all Twitter stickers would also be searchable and hence one would be able to click on the Pepsi graphic to see what purpose people seem to be using it. Up to now, it’s to say, `Hi, I am an advertising executive who worked on this Twitter/Pepsi integration’.

Facebook is bringing 360-degree photos to the News Feed

Facebook’s 360 Degree Photos to News Feed

Facebook has informed that in the coming weeks, it will let you upload and view 360 degree photos on mobile and the web. Facebook has progressively made VR an essential part of its platform and hence this announcement is not much of a surprise of 360 degree photos coming to your News feed. The feature would function identical to a 360 degree video wherein one will be able to click and drag to discover the environment on desktop or move your smartphone around as if its screen were a viewfinder.

The feature is said to be a part of a great mission to frame Facebook as a means of exploring faraway places. Moreover it is also tied directly to Facebook-owned Oculus VR’s push for more live-action photography and video you can experience with the Gear VR and Rift headsets.

With both the device you will also be capable of viewing 360 degree photos that are shared on the social network. Since September of last year, 360 degree video had been available on Facebook and it will still be quite a while before users as well as creators hold the new format in large numbers. Facebook is presently making its platform friendlier to photos that can be shot with smartphone rather than an expensive video rig.

VR – An Integral Part of Platform

We may see a firm uptick in professional grade as well as consumer shot 360 degree content.Update would enable you to upload scenes that have been captured with native smartphone cameras, 360 degree photospheres made with third party apps or photos shot utilising a dedicated 360 degree rig. Facebook has increasingly made VR an integral part of its platform, so today’s announcement isn’t a huge surprise: 360 degree photos are coming to your news feed.

Facebook needs to urge users to create many photos and videos as possible so that it made a camera of its own. At the time of its annual F8 developers’ conference, it had announced a reference design for a new 17 camera array known as Facebook Surround 360. The company expects that the third party manufacturer would develop their own 360 degree cameras utilising the blueprints since at the end of the day, the more photos and videos which make their way to Facebook, the more time users would spend engrossed in social network.

Landscapes Captured on Phone – Better Viewing Experience

Three years ago, Google had first attempted to promote360 degree images with the introduction of Photospheres, but they never caught on much since they were difficult to share. Anticipate that to begin changing now that Facebook tends to support the format. There is no information regarding the release date, though Facebook states that 360 degree photos would be available on mobile and the Web in the coming weeks.

 The landscapes captured on the phone would ultimately provide a better viewing experience both on News Feed and the Oculus powered Samsung Gear VR. For the first time, Facebook would also be releasing Gear VR usage stats, stating that Gear VR tends to have 1 million monthly users and those who seem to use it spend around 25 minutes each day on the device which would encourage developers in building the platform.

WhatsApp now has a Desktop Version for PC and Mac users

WhatsApp desktop App Linked to Mobile Phone

WhatsApp has eventually brought its highly popular messaging platform to the PC for Windows as well as Mac users and a desktop app has been launched, which tends to link with user’s phones so that they can message from their computer. Prior to the launch of its native desktop app, user could only utilise it through third party apps or the web version of the site.

Facebook owned company had informed in an official blog statement that the new app would include all the features such as desktop notifications, keyboard shortcuts and much more. Besides WhatsApp abilities, it brings it in line with other messaging platform Messenger of Facebook that has a native Windows 10 app in addition to web version. Intended to mirror the conversations from the mobile app, WhatsApp desktop app needs the mobile phone of the user to be switched on, close by and connected to the internet in order to function.

The basis for this apparently inconvenient need is to strengthen the security of the app by sending all the incoming messages to a specific device for protection from potential account hacking, according to the independent report. Moreover, account users are compelled to sign in with their phone numbers and forbid users from installing the app on other platforms such as tablets which makes the messaging service essentially mobile first and PC second.

No Calling Abilities

The new app is said to work just the same way as WhatsApp Web, the web browser form of the well-known messaging service. Users could scan a QR code on their computer screen with the phone to connect the two devices which is believed to improve the security of the app.

By providing inroad for PC users, the improvement will further speed up the growth that WhatsApp has seen over the years. Presently, WhatsApp has over a billion users all over the world. Early in the year, in order to improve the privacy of the user, WhatsApp had added end-to-end encryption to its mobile app.

Various keyboard shortcuts, comprising of Ctrl (command on a Mac) +Shift + M to mute a conversation and Ctrl + Shift + U to change the read status of a message, make the desktop app, an improved form of WhatsApp Web. Besides the shortcuts, the desktop app does not provide any new services to set it apart from the web form and does not have calling abilities.

WhatsApp Free to Download

But it does fill a gap bringing the service that has over a billion users, in line with apps like Slack, Messenger and Hangouts. Users will not have to log back in every time they close their web browser; with the desktop app. Desktop App of WhatsAppis free to download and is available for all software types after Windows 8 and Mac OS 10.9. In the meanwhile the release of the desktop app comes at an extremely contentious timing since the company is involved in legal problems with the Brazilian government especially with the law enforcement agencies over debated access to user data. The judge has already suspended the services of WhatsApp, nationwide, twice and has also ordered the jailing of a Facebook executive over its apparent refusal to hand over the requested data mentioned in a report of Venture Beat.

You can now Report Multiple Abusive Tweets in one go

Users Can Report Various Abusive Tweets in Single Report

Users now have the privilege of reporting various abusive tweets in a single report after an update to twitter’s harassment rules. Twitter had stated that it required making user feel safe while expressing themselves on the social network. Twitter had mentioned in a blog post announcing the change, that the behaviour which crosses that line into abuse is against the rule and want it to be easy for user to report and have introduced an improvement to reporting process, the ability to attach multiple tweets to a single report.

The update would enable users to add more information regarding the extent of abuse, providing extra context which could be helpful in getting reports resolved quickly. Twitter had regularly come under fire due to its inability to stem the flow of abuse that often tends to take place against the minority groups.

However, steps have been taken in preventing the abuse from recurring both by Twitter as well as by governments. Trolls, in the UK who tend to use false profiles to pester other users would now face prosecution. In Germany, hate speech posted to Twitter, Facebook and Google will now be deleted within twenty four hours.

Not Tolerate Online Behaviour, Intended to Pester Users

Twitter had updated its rules, late last year to a more clearly state, that it would `not tolerate online behaviour which is intended to pester, intimidate or use fear to silence another user’s voice. The update is said to be rolled out on iOS, Android as well as on the web with Twitter stating that it assumes all user would have access to the feature within the next few weeks.

Twitter safety engineer Hao Tang had mentioned in a blog post that this update makes it easier to provide them with more information about the extent of abuse and reduces the time it takes to do so. That added context often helps them to investigate issues and get them resolved faster.

A little over a year ago, the then Twitter Inc. CEO Dick Costolo had admitted to employees in a memo of the company that `we suck at dealing with abuse and trolls’. Twitter’s brisk system of self-expression unluckily tends to facilitate a flood of wandering and disapproving tweets.

Easier to Report Threats to Law Enforcement

Earlier, when a Twitter use would be harassed or saw a user pestering another, abusive tweets had to be reported one at a time which takes six clicks to report a single tweet. Moreover reporting multiple offenses would get labour intensive, and individually reported tweets were not automatically considered part of the same harassment occurrence.

Hao Tang, state that this change would make it easier for the company to understand the extent of abuse some users deal with. The change would be made available on Twitter.com and Twitter’s iOS together with Android apps rolling out to users world-wide over the next few weeks.

This update trails the improvement over the last couple of years which target to make it easier for users of Twitter to report threats to law enforcement and as a rewriting of the company’s violent threats policy, the capability of sharing list of blocked Twitter accounts with other users and the launch of Twitter Safety Centre combining the resources that are available to victims of harassment.

Facebook Developing Camera App Similar to Snapchat

Facebook to come up with Stand-Alone Camera App

According to online source report, quoting people familiar with the matter, Facebook is coming up with a stand-alone camera app which will be like the disappearing photo app Snapchat, to upsurge user engagement and will encourage its 1.6 billion users to create and share photos and videos.The app which is being developed by the friend-sharing team of Facebook in London is said to be in its initial stage and may not come to completion, as per the report.

 Moreover, the newspaper has reported that the company is also said to be scheduling a feature which would enable user to record video through the app to start live streaming. The same had caused apprehension within Facebook, over increasingly passive behaviour on the social network of the user. Several of the users tend to check Facebook often or multiple times a day though few tend to share photos, video and update of status regarding their own lives.

Withdrawing the trend seems to be a growing priority within the company. Facebook spokeswoman had refrained from commenting on the product plans. She had mentioned that the overall level of sharing on Facebook had been strong and alike to levels in prior years. People familiar with the matter had stated that the camera-first format is focused in motivating users to create photos and videos.

Open to Personalized Feed/Articles

The flagship mobile app, in comparison, tends to open to a personalized feed or articles, status, updates and ads, which encourages users to use content, though not necessarily create it. The approach also tends to differ from Instagram image-sharing network of Facebook that had gained reputation as a place to post the best, most well-photographed pictures.

 Instagram tends to compel users to go through numerous steps before posting an image, inclusive of filters and it is not the first time that Facebook has built an app encouraging sharing. It had launched Slingshot, in June 2014, a Snapchat like app which enabled users to trade photos and videos, which disappeared after 24 hours.

It had earlier launched a photo-editing as well as sharing app known as Camera and none gained much traction among users which was later on dropped. The latest app would have a bit different features like the live-streaming mode. In the past year, the decline in sharing on Facebook has developed as a problem.

New Feature - `On This Day’

Technology news website – The Information had reported earlier this month that the original broadcast sharing on Facebook had dropped by 21% as of mid-2015 when compared with the earlier year.During the first quarter of 2016, 33% of Facebook users surveyed by market researcher GlobalWebIndex had informed that they had updated their profile status in the past month and 37% stated that they had uploaded or shared their own photos.

A year back, 44% had informed that they had updated their profile status in the past month and 46% stated that they had uploaded or shared their photos. The camera app just seems to be one way that Facebook intends tackling the issue.

 Facebook has also tried to re-engage users with a new feature known as `On This Day’ that permits users relive and share past posts. According to GlobalWebIndes, this together with similar features could have prompted more users to `like’ Facebook post. It also said that that in the first quarter of 2016, 82% of Facebook users had clicked `like’ at least once in the previous month up from 73% at the same period, a year earlier.

How to Add Bold, Italic and Strikethrough Formatting to Whatsapp Messages

Facebook owned Whatsapp have brought in some cool new features with a recent update. Whatsapp has brought in features to add bold, italics and strikethrough to the messages which were not available before. Some experts believes bringing of such features will help Whatsapp in positioning itself as complete word processing platform which will be direct challenge to the Microsoft Office is some ways. Apart from the word processing related features Whatsapp also brings support for Google Drive which is a Google owned service. It is quite interesting to note that Facebook is allowing users to use Google Drive on the Whatsapp. It has been seen most of the tech giants makes it impossible for the users to use the rivals softwares and services on their apps and devices.

Update the Whatsapp to get these cool features

It should be noted that the Whatsapp available for download on the Google Play Store doesn’t comes loaded with these new features. In order to enjoy new feature you have to update the app to version 2.12.535 on the Android platform. iOS users will have to make sure their running the latest version of 2.12.17 on their devices. Most of the time update gets downloaded automatically if not then get your app updated by going to the respective app stores.

How to use the new features? 

As said earlier the latest update brings three features of bold, italic and strikethrough which can be inserted in the messages. But it is bit tricky to use these as Whatsapp has not provided any dedicated buttons on their app. In order to use bold users will be required to add asterisks at the beginning and end of their text like *bold*. To use italic font users has to add underscore on both the sides of text like _italics_ and to use the strikethrough users will have to add tildes on either side like ~tilde~.

Users can even experiment with various new formats by combing two features like _*bolditalics*_. This particular way will help in getting in both bold and italic style with ease.

The other new feature is the access to Google Drive. Whatsapp now allows user to share their documents from the Google Drive. In order to make use of this feature open the Whatsapp app select on Share followed by Share Document, More, Google Drive. Herein you will be direct to your browser to get permission access to the Google Drive.

The success of Whatsapp over the years

Whatsapp has become the world’s largest messaging service with its whopping over a billion million member count. It does faces competition from other messaging platform like Snapchat, WeChat, BBM but their numbers are nothing compare to the Whatsapp. It was purchased by the Facebook in 2014 after paying an incredible sum of $19 billion and Facebook has been running successfully aside it own Messenger app without any problems. The major changes introduced in Whatsapp under Facebook are the introduction of blue tick read receipts and the voice calling.