Twitter has just updated its mobile web version, mobile.twitter.com, the startup announced on its blog today. According to the post, the purpose of this update is to improve Twitter experience for users who access the platform from feature phones, low-bandwidth networks or older browsers.
Before today’s announcement, these users were unable to see the redesigned version of Twitter, which the company introduced last December. Thanks to this new mobile version, feature phone owners will now be able to see the Discover and Me tabs, as per Twitter’s screenshot of a Nokia phone:
It is also worth noting that today’s changes are deeper than they may look; according to Twitter, the new interface “uses one-third less bandwidth than the previous iteration.”
As you can imagine, the purpose of this new version is to cater to global audiences, especially in emerging countries where smartphones are still far from common. Says Twitter’s VP of Product Satya Patel: “We will continue to make Twitter the most accessible way to connect with the world, even with the weakest signals and the simplest devices.”
Make no mistake about it, I’m a Twitter fan and “power user”. I’ve shared some of my most personal moments on the service to friends, family, and onlookers who have nothing else better to do (kidding). It’s a fantastic service to share your thoughts or news going on around you, and everything in between.
The one thing that Twitter has always lacked for me is context. With CEO Dick Costolo telling us today that a billion tweets are sent “every two and a half days or so”, there’s a lot of stuff flying around on the micro-blogging-status-updating service.
While trending topics shed some light on what’s popular or interesting throughout the entire network, the actual context as to why those topics are trending has always been missing. Right now I can see that the top trending topic on Twitter is “I Don’t Really Care”, and I have no idea why that is. Sure, I can click through and read a bunch of the tweets like I always have, but it’s an annoying, time-consuming, and unnecessary process.
The Discover tab’s new design shows who tweeted about particular stories. You can click “View Tweets” on any story to see popular Tweets from your network or recent, relevant Tweets directly below the story summary. This social context helps you understand why each story matters to you and makes it easier to join the conversation. You can reply, retweet or favorite these Tweets, or you can “Tweet this story” to share your own perspective.
Bingo, social context. I don’t really care what type of context is it as long as it’s some type of context. Context is exactly what’s been lacking for Twitter and holding it back from becoming a complete service. Unlike Facebook, not all of its users are intertwined enough to tell a proper narrative about why something is news, and what interesting people have to say about it. This new change fixes most of that.
These personalizations will be rolled out over the next few weeks and I’m pretty stoked about the context that they’ll provide. In the screenshot below, you can see a story that has been retweeted by people that you follow, making it way more relevant to you:
In the past, when a big news story hit, you would see something pop up on the trending topics and then have to do all of the work to validate it. For example, when Michael Jackson passed away nobody knew who the source of the story was or who else shared the original story as something they believed to be true. With the Discover tab, the story would pop right up with the source, showing everyone who has shared it.
This makes Twitter an easier place to navigate, but also makes it an even more valuable source of news and information to me.
Megaupload, one of the world's largest file-sharing websites, was shut down today and its founder is facing charges of violating piracy laws. Four others linked to Megaupload were also arrested in New Zealand.
Megaupload.com is accused of costing copyright holders more than $500 million dollars in lost revenue from pirated music, movies, and other content. All of this comes after the proclaimed "largest internet protest" of the SOPA that happened on Wednesday.
Soon after the news that Megaupload had been sued, the website of the DOJ (Department of Justice) went offline. Other websites such as the RIAA's (Recording Industry Association of America) website, MPAA's (Motion Picture Association of America) website, and now WMG's (Warner Music Group) website later joined the state of being offline.
Anonymous, in an operation dubbed 'OpMegaUpload', has claimed credit for the attack.
A Russian news service is claimed to have stated that "this is the largest coordinated attack in Anonymous' history."
Within minutes of the megaupload, site being shut down, and DOJ releasing its statement, Anonymous sprang into action and started taking down a ton of sites -- including websites for the DOJ, the US Copyright Office, Universal Music, the RIAA, the MPAA and a bunch of other sites. Most of the sites are back up at the moment, but the war will continue.
Anonymous launches largest attack ever, crippling government and music industry sites. Hacktivists with the collective Anonymous are waging an attack on the website for the White House after successfully breaking the sites for the Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America, as well as fbi.gov
Many members of Congress have just changed their stance on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, the raid on Megaupload Thursday proved that the feds don't need SOPA or its sister legislation, PIPA, in order to pose a blow to the Web.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a move that heightens the growing tension between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, Wikipedia and other websites went dark Wednesday in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart the online piracy of copyrighted movies and TV programs.
The web-based encyclopedia is part of a loose coalition of dot-coms and large technology companies that fear Congress is prepared to side with Hollywood and enact extreme measures — possibly including the blocking of entire websites— to stop the online sharing and unauthorized use of Hollywood productions.
The fight will test which California-based industry has the most sway in Washington.
This screen shot shows the home page Google.com. A campaign whose backers include tech heavyweights like Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. has successfully portrayed the bills _ the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act _ as an attack on a free and open Internet rather than a way to protect the jobs of Americans in the movie and music industries, in a protest Wenesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Google.com)
For now, Silicon Valley appears to have the upper hand. Supporters of the legislation — called the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate — say the bills are aimed at protecting jobs in the movie and music industries. But a campaign including tech heavyweights such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. has successfully portrayed the bills as an attack on a free and open Internet.
"It has nothing to do with stolen songs or movies," said Justin Ruben, executive director of MoveOn.org, which is participating in the blackout. Ruben says tougher legislation — even directed overseas — could make domestic cultural commentators more prone to legal attack.
The one-day outage by Wikipedia, Reddit and other sites was timed to coincide with key House and Senate committee hearings as they prepare to send the bills to the full floor for debate.
However, sponsor Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, moved last week to remove a controversial provision from the House bill that could force Internet service providers to interfere with the way Web addresses work for foreign sites deemed to be dedicated to online piracy. He postponed work on the measure until February.
Critics believe such tinkering with core Internet technology treads into dangerous territory that could lead to online censorship. It might also give hackers a new way to wreak havoc.
The White House raised concerns that the bills could stifle innovation. Over the weekend, the Obama administration reacted to two online petitions, saying it "will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet."
At the same time, the administration called on all sides to "pass sound legislation this year that provides prosecutors and rights holders new legal tools to combat online piracy originating beyond U.S. borders."
That nuanced stance is President Barack Obama's attempt at "threading the needle" between two important constituencies as he seeks re-election in November, said Jeffrey Silva, a technology policy analyst at Medley Global Advisors in Washington.
On the one hand, his administration has defended a free, open Internet as it watched repressive regimes fall in the Middle East with help from social media such as Twitter. It has also been a proponent of the concept of "net neutrality," which prevents Internet service providers from slowing online traffic that comes from file-sharing sites known to trade in pirated content.
On the other hand, Obama and other Democrats have gone to Hollywood dozens of times to raise campaign funds over the years.
"The administration is trying to fight to protect the Internet space," Silva said. "But at the same time, it doesn't want to disenfranchise Hollywood and the business community."
Indeed, behind the protests and public posturing, both Hollywood and Silicon Valley spend generously to lobby causes in Washington. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the movie, television and music industries spent a combined $91.7 million on lobbying efforts in 2011, compared with the computer and Internet industry's $93 million.
In the 2012 election cycle, the movie, television and music industry offered up $7.7 million in direct campaign contributions to congressional candidates. The computer and Internet industry contributed $6.6 million.
Despite the uproar on websites and blogs, PIPA remains firmly in play. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said Tuesday that he intends to push the bill toward a floor vote on Jan. 24. He said much of the criticism of the bill is "flatly wrong."
It remains to be seen whether the two industries can come to the table and negotiate a compromise.
"There are good companies, and then there are companies simply out to preserve the Wild West, free-to-steal business model," said Recording Industry Association of America CEO Cary Sherman. He expects to know "within the next few weeks" whether the legislation can survive.
Lawmakers may have a personal incentive to keep online piracy on the nation's political radar, said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a non-partisan government-accountability watchdog. If the issue stays alive through the current election cycle, it may help bring in campaign contributions from high-tech donors and Hollywood later this year.
The issue "becomes an opportunity for raising more money from these groups," Wertheimer said. "If you're into an important issue and money is flowing in on both sides, then both sides can up the ante."
Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.
Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.
The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.
NEW YORK (AP) — January 18 is a date that will live in ignorance, as Wikipedia started a 24-hour blackout of its English-language articles, joining other sites in a protest of pending U.S. legislation aimed at shutting down sites that share pirated movies and other content.
Reddit.com shut down its social news service for 12 hours. Other sites made their views clear without cutting off surfers. Google blacked out the logo on its home page, directing surfers to a page where they could add their names to a petition against the bills.
Local listings site Craigslist took a middle route, changing its local home pages to a black screen directing users to an anti-legislation page. After 10 seconds, a link to the main site appears on the home page, but some surfers missed that and were fooled into thinking the whole site was blacked out.
The Internet companies are concerned that the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate, if passed, could be used to target legitimate sites where users share content.
The 24-hour Wikipedia blackout is an unprecedented move for the online encyclopedia. The decision was reached after polling the community of contributors, but dissenters say political advocacy undermines the site's mission as a neutral source.
However, it's not complete: the block can be bypassed by changing browser settings to disable JavaScript, or by using the version of the site designed for cellphone screens.
There's also a "mirror" or copy, of Wikipedia called The Free Dictionary, but it's not up to date.
Though Facebook itself hasn’t made much of a public stance for or against SOPA and PIPA, it’s safe to say that the company has now made its feelings known, through the words of its CEO. Mark Zuckerberg, on his personal Facebook profile, has stated the following:
“The internet is the most powerful tool we have for creating a more open and connected world. We can’t let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the internet’s development. Facebook opposes SOPA and PIPA, and we will continue to oppose any laws that will hurt the internet.”
Zuck then continues with his thoughts, saying that we need better representation in Government:
“The world today needs political leaders who are pro-internet. We have been working with many of these folks for months on better alternatives to these current proposals. I encourage you to learn more about these issues and tell your congressmen that you want them to be pro-internet.”
The post had gathered over 75,000 likes in 10 minutes, and by some accounts had topped 3,000 likes in under 60 seconds.
There’s considerably more discussion on a page that he links concerning Facebook’s stance on piracy bills. Specifically, it addresses SOPA and PIPA, but then goes further to talk about how you can report IP infringement on Facebook.
“We understand the concerns of the film and music industries, as well as other content creators and trademark owners, and we have been engaging in a constructive dialogue on the most effective ways to combat piracy. However, we must ensure that Congress does not do anything in this area that threatens the security of the Internet, hampers U.S. innovation or competitiveness, or sets harmful precedents for other governments to follow.”
The issue is so important to Zuck, it would seem, that he’s broken Twitter silence for the first time in nearly three years:
Facebook has chosen to not “black out” for the day, but with potential losses topping $11 million if it did, it’s understandable. There’s still plenty or representation, however, from sites like Reddit, TNW and even Google.
