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06 Jun 2011 17:06

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Politics: Today’s dramatic Anthony Weiner admission: What happened

  • The admission Congressman Anthony Weiner has confessed not just to sending a photo of his clothed penis to one woman, but to having sexually explicit (though non-physical) relationships with six or so women over three years. He repeatedly stressed his apologies, most of them directed at his wife, Huma.
  • No resignation Weiner made it clear, though — he has no intention of resigning his position as a congressman from New York. He maintains he hasn’t violated his oath to uphold the Constitution, and will work to convince his constituents that this was a personal failing that doesn’t compromise his ability to do his job.
  • The Breitbart angle Andrew Breitbart caused a stir when he arrived before Weiner’s appearance, and answered questions from the podium. He’s since said this wasn’t his idea, and that he was skeptical about it (we’d rate it a bad idea). That said, Weiner apologized to Breitbart by name during his appearance. source

18 May 2011 19:05

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Tech: NYT’s Nick Bilton, Bill Keller get into it over Twitter

  • Could Twitter make me stupid? Absolutely. If I only followed funny cats that speak with poor grammar, I’d be on my way to a vapid state of mind in no time. But I don’t. I follow dozens of news outlets and writers; I follow chefs, neuroscientists and the president of the United States; and of course, I follow Mr. Keller.
  • NYT blogger Nick Bilton • Publicly taking his boss, Bill Keller, to task about his Twitter-bashing column earlier today, where he suggested allowing his daughter to use Facebook was like giving her crystal meth. Keller got a chance to respond in an update at the end of Bilton’s piece, where he tried to clarify what he was going for (as well as jokingly threatening to fire his talented blogger). “If Facebook is displacing real friendship, if Twitter is diminishing actual conversation,” he says, “then maybe that’s a good reason to limit how much of your life they consume.” You know, here’s the funny thing about Facebook and Twitter: For the people in your social circle, you can turn the service off and contact many of the people you’re talking to on Facebook and Twitter in the flesh. And the people you can’t, you can reach via the service. These services don’t take away from our knowledge. They expand our reach, as long as they’re not used to excess (a point both Bilton and Keller agree on). Bill just doesn’t explain this point very well at all. source

09 May 2011 23:41

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Politics: Newt’s Pre-Announcement Announcement Fail

  • A two-day advance warning that Newt Gingrich will announce [a presidential run] on social networks demonstrates a gross misunderstanding of the modern media landscape.
  • Republican Strategist Mindy Finn • On the Newt’s pre-announcement announcement. Funny, we were thinking the same thing. We’ll never quite understand why the modern Republican party is unable to grasp the nuances of social networking, but it’s sure fun to watch (Note: Finn advises Tim Pawlenty on digital outreach, so perhaps hope remains for the GOP’s new media skills). source

25 Apr 2011 16:30

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Politics: Pentagon Press Sec. Morrell mad at working through Easter

  • A little perspective, maybe? Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell has come under some fire over a tweet he posted (and we noted) earlier today: “Thx to Wikileaks we spent Easter weekend dealing w/NYT & other news orgs publishing leaked classified GTMO docs.” The reason this feels wrong and icky, we think, is the extent to which Morrell (and the Defense Department writ large) never earnestly acknowledge the shocking facts that it’s now known they were keeping secret. Even as it’s probably the tact any government we’ve had in modern American history would take, it projects institutional coldness, and further secrecy. Morrell’s tweet also begs the counter: “Thx to Casio I spent last year dealing w/detention and interrogation in GTMO prison.” source

22 Apr 2011 18:38

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Culture: Fox network decides to throw official hashtags on its shows

  • We’ve noticed shows like Glee and Idol trend while the show is on, but fans often use different hashtags. We thought if we provided the official hashtags, then more posts would aggregate.
  • Fox marketing president Joe Earley • Describing the network’s decision to put Twitter hashtags for its shows next to the network’s bug. Genius idea. And on top of that, Twitter wins because it encourages more people to post on Twitter instead of going to some forum instead. But is this giving Twitter too much credit? While a lot of people use it, not EVERYONE does. Some food for thought. source

22 Apr 2011 18:12

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Tech: Twitter’s new building almost too big to describe in 140 characters

  • Twitter’s new home: Today, Twitter crossed the T’s and dotted the I’s on the lease for this, the San Francisco Mart building in the city’s Central Market district. The deal came after Twitter made a deal with the city to avoid a 1.5 percent city payroll tax for the next six years. Which means Twitter can bulk up without having to pay any extra taxes. Sweet — for them. source

16 Apr 2011 17:25

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World: “Walk to Work”: Did Uganda shut off Twitter & Facebook?

  • No, no, it is not us; it seems it is the government that has blocked the service. Even us, we are crying like you.
  • A Warid telecom engineer in Uganda • Expressing frustration that Facebook and Twitter reportedly no longer working in the country. The report — which would be the second bout of social media downtime the country has faced in the past few months — suggests a degree of par-for-the-course suppression as Ugandan citizens plan a “walk to work” protest for Monday, to fight against quickly-increasing food prices. Which, by the way, has been a root cause of much of the unrest throughout northern Africa of late. (hat tip John Ness) source
 

06 Apr 2011 14:44

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Politics: John McCain more into the internet than in 2008

  • awakening Senator John McCain, amidst the 2008 Presidential contest, was a self-avowed technological illiterate — now he champions Twitter, crediting it for Middle Eastern uprisings and swapping anti-tax tweets with Snooki.
  • thanking Inspired by a woman in Egypt, McCain phoned Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg to thank him for his role in Egypt’s uprising. This is cool, but in Egypt’s case it seems rather overplayed; after all, they had no internet for much of that time. source

12 Mar 2011 08:50

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World: Japan quake: Why Twitter rumors are particularly unhelpful right now

  • And this is what we hate about social media. In the fact of grave international tragedy, real media sources have to spend time writing stories to debunk (or in this case, point out) completely unhelpful claims propagated by misguided Miley Cyrus fans. It’s to Twitter’s discredit that it’s the top item that pops up when you hop into Twitter’s search for “#tsunami.” source

12 Mar 2011 01:17

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Tech: Great job, jerks: Twitter decides to block new third-party clients

  • Developers have told us that they’d like more guidance from us about the best opportunities to build on Twitter. More specifically, developers ask us if they should build client apps that mimic or reproduce the mainstream Twitter consumer client experience. The answer is no.
  • Twitter platform team leader Ryan Sarver • Revealing that the company, which built itself on the back of third-party clients, will no longer allow new ones to crop up. However, the ones there can still operate – well, that is, as long as they uphold high standards set by the company. Hear that? That’s the chirp of a bird that got really arrogant after it learned how to fly. We’re sorry – third-party clients basically built this platform and for Twitter to change the game now seems completely uncool. source