The social network will be watching—and presumably learning.
How Facebook Is Taking On “Dangerous” Speech
The social network aims to tamp down violent incitement in Myanmar.
Facebook Lets You Write In Whatever Gender You Want
Any gender goes now.
Blogger Leaves The Porn To Tumblr
Google cleans up its blogging act.
Apple’s Emoji Characters Will Soon Look More Like The World
Cupertino steps up its diversity game.
Death Gets A Facebook Update
The social network offers its users more options as to how they’ll be remembered.
How People Communicate on Instagram
The comments and likes of an Instagram photograph become part of the viewer’s experience of that image. On this visual social network, communication is subtle, playful, innocent and devoid of any social expectations. It’s a place where image makers can go to freely express themselves and find other like-minded aesthetes. The adage says that a…
Twitter Stands Up to Pakistan
Twitter was blocked in Pakistan for much of Sunday because it would not remove tweets that were considered “offensive to Islam.” The tweets were encouraging the Draw Muhammad Day (#DrawMuhammadDay) competition, which prompted users to post images of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad to Facebook. Even though some of the images posted were favorable…
Twitter Ups the Privacy Ante Ahead of Facebook’s IPO
Twitter fired another salvo in the privacy wars, announcing that it will allow users to block it from recording their wanderings around the Web. Take that, Facebook!
RWW Recommends: The Best Social Video App
Sometimes less is more. At least, that’s how this social video app works. The key to this is in its limited ability to choose. Think about going to the grocery store: When there are 12 types of ketchup to choose from, everything can quickly become overwhelming and bizarre. Now reimagine that scene with only four types of ketchup. Much better…
Pinstagram: How Instagram Should Look On the Web
We have all seen those mythical hybrid animals, like the zeroed, a mix of zebra and equine, or perhaps the more commonly known beefalo, a mix of buffalo and cow. You may even be familiar with the leopon, the result of breeding a male leopard with a female lion. Hybrids are real. And there are others too, mind you. But it’s not all fur and feathers…
If You’d Rather Doodle Than Draw, Try Doodle.ly
If you’re not scanning Facebook, declining invites to play Hidden Chronicles and other “magical” social games, you might find yourself messing around on Doodle.ly. This visual social network is organized around the simple act of doodling, helping users share at times childish, at other times quite serious, drawings. Like finger painting, doodles on…
Why OMGPOP’s Draw Something Game Is Losing Users
OMGPOP’s Dan Porter sold Draw Something for $200 million to Zynga on March 21, 2012. The social drawing game was on its way up. By April 3, it struck gold at 14.6 million users. The decline since then has been slow and steady – and it’s not the kind that wins the race.
Drawing can be a social experience, but it is often times best as a…
Addressing The Future of Instagramers.com & Instagram Art Shows
Many are concerned that Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram means the end of a once indie photo-sharing community. But some say it ain’t so, including Philippe Gonzalez, the founder of Instagramers.com. In Part 2 of our interview (click here to read Part 1), we talk to Gonzalez about the impact of the Facebook acquisition on the…
What’s It Like to Be Mike Dew, the Most Followed Dude on Pinterest?
Last time we checked, Pinterest was a site mostly full of women pinning away images of wedding planning and home decor. The site is in fact about 80% women, according to data from Google Ad Planner. But there are still a few dudes on the site. User Mike Dew, aka tempspaz, is the most-followed guy on Pinterest. ReadWriteWeb tracked him down…
How Are Instagramers Reacting to Instagram’s Acquisition? Q&A With Founder Philippe Gonzalez
Instagramers.com, a community home for lovers of the Instagram app, was born on January 20, 2011. On the site, which is based in Spain, users can learn how to use the app and build community at the same time. It’s a great place for anyone who wants to learn how this photo-sharing app actually works, and how to get noticed. Instagramers.com is…
Tumblr President John Maloney Resigns as Ad Campaign Rolls Out
This past weekend Tumblr President John Maloney resigned. The news comes only a few weeks after the über-popular, yet utterly profitless, image-heavy blogging platform announced that it would begin selling ads.
This news does not come as a complete surprise. Earlier this year, Mr. Maloney had discussed the idea of moving on, as he is less…
A Look Into 3 Social Video Apps: Socialcam, Viddy & Klip
Moments after Facebook bought Instagram, the next race began – which mobile social video app would become the “Instagram for video”? Presenting a social video experience that is enjoyable not only from a smartphone but across existing social platforms is no easy task. Socialcam, Viddy and Klip are three apps that have emerged as leaders of the…
The Rapid Growth of Instagram-Powered Art Shows
Instagram images come in all shapes and sizes. But when they are on the wall of a gallery instead of just existing on the iPhone or Android app, the once ephemeral images cast with filters take on a completely different meaning. As Duchamp did with a urinal nearly 100 years ago, Instagrammers are doing with throwaway ephemeral imagery – taking it…
The Future of Social is Video: Interview With Socialcam CEO Michael Seibel
Socialcam is being called the “Instagram for Video” app. With this phrase comes the idea that, like seemingly every startup nowadays, the goal is to build an awesome and thriving community, pump up the product to the level of ultimate coolness and then cash in by selling to a bigger social company that may or may not have a working business…