HiTechEdge

Category: Culture

All news related to culture.

  • Lookout TikTok: Reddit Adds TikTok-Style Video Feed to iOS App

    Lookout TikTok: Reddit Adds TikTok-Style Video Feed to iOS App

    Reddit has added a TikTok-style video feed its iOS app, the latest social media company to emulate the popular platform.

    TikTok is one of the most popular and fastest-growing social media platforms, driven by its short, viral videos that have made stars and fortunes. Other platforms have sought to cash in on the trend, and Reddit is the latest to do so.

    According to TechCrunch, Reddit has added a video feed button to its iOS app, just to the right of the search bar. While the company has been experimenting with this feature for some time, this marks an increased effort to make the feed much more prominent than it has been in the past. 

    “Reddit’s mission is to bring community and belonging to everyone in the world, and subsequently, Reddit’s video team’s mission is to bring community through video,” a Reddit spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Over the course of the last year, our goal was to build a unified video player, and re-envision the player interface to match what users (new and old) expect when it comes to an in-app video player — especially commenting, viewing, engaging and discovering new content and communities through video.”

  • Twitter Introduces First ‘Algorithmic Bias’ Bounty

    Twitter Introduces First ‘Algorithmic Bias’ Bounty

    Bug bounties are a common incentive in the tech industry, but Twitter is introducing the first “algorithmic bias” bounty.

    Twitter pulled its auto cropping algorithm in May after the company found it had a number of biases. The company is working to address that, enlisting the community’s help.

    “For this challenge, we are re-sharing our saliency model and the code used to generate a crop of an image given a predicted maximally salient point and asking participants to build their own assessment,” writes Jutta Williams, Product Manager, Twitter META. “Successful entries will consider both quantitative and qualitative methods in their approach. For more details on the challenge, including how to enter and the rubric we’ll use to score entries, visit the submission page on HackerOne.”

    First place will receive $3,500, second place $1,000 and third place will receive $500. There will be a $1,000 price for Most Innovative and $1,000 for Most Generalizable (applies to the most types of algorithms).

  • Snap Smashes Q2 Expectations, Stock Takes Off

    Snap Smashes Q2 Expectations, Stock Takes Off

    Snap, the company behind Snapchat, reported its Q2 results, smashing expectations for revenue and subscriber growth.

    Snap turned in one of its best quarters, growing more in Q2 that it has in four years. The company’s revenue came in at $982 million, 116% higher than the prior year.

    Even more impressive, the platform’s daily active users came in at 293 million, an increase of 23% year-over-year.

    “Our second quarter results reflect the broad-based strength of our business, as we grew both revenue and daily active users at the highest rates we have achieved in the past four years,” said Evan Spiegel, CEO. “We are pleased by the progress our team is making with the development of our augmented reality platform, and we are energized by the many opportunities to grow our community and business around the world.”

    One potential concern for the company had been Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT), allowing users to choose whether companies can track them or not. Many companies that rely on advertising are seeing low opt-in rates, having a significant impact on their bottom line.

    Chief Business Officer Jeremi Gorman said Snap, in contrast, had “higher opt-in rates than we are seeing reported generally across the industry.”

  • TikTok Reaches 3 Billion Downloads, the First Non-Facebook App to Do So

    TikTok Reaches 3 Billion Downloads, the First Non-Facebook App to Do So

    TikTok has hit a major milestone, becoming the first mobile app outside of Facebook’s ecosystem to reach 3 billion downloads.

    TikTok has been one of the fastest growing social media platforms, despite ongoing privacy concerns. The service has now become the first non-Facebook app to cross 3 billion downloads, according to SensorTower.

    “With the 3 billion install milestone, TikTok is the fifth non-game app to join a tier that’s historically been the exclusive domain of Facebook,” writes Stephanie Chan, SensorTower Mobile Insights Strategist. “Based on worldwide installs from the App Store and Google Play and excluding pre-installed apps, the four other apps that have accrued more than 3 billion installs since January 2014 include WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram.”

    The milestone is even more impressive when considering the pressure TikTok has been under, being banned in India and narrowly surviving a US attempt to ban it.

  • Clubhouse Branching Out Into Direct Messaging

    Clubhouse Branching Out Into Direct Messaging

    Clubhouse is adding a much-requested feature, giving users the ability to direct message each other.

    Clubhouse is the popular, invitation-only, audio-only social media platform. The app has gained users at a phenomenal rate, and has been a popular option among many tech icons.

    The platform is now adding direct messaging, according to TechCrunch. The new feature, called Backchannel, allows users to send one-on-one messages, as well as group messages.

    The feature is currently live on both iOS and Android.

  • Facebook Groups Will Be Able to Assign “Experts” to Combat Misinformation

    Facebook Groups Will Be Able to Assign “Experts” to Combat Misinformation

    Facebook is taking another major step in its battle to combat misinformation, allowing groups to assign “experts.”

    Misinformation has become one of the biggest challenges facing social media platforms. From elections to vaccines to current events, misinformation runs rampant on social media. Facebook, in particular, has faced accusations of not doing enough to combat it.

    The company is adding a major new feature that will allow groups to appoint experts, according to CNET. The experts will have a badge next to their name, which will inform other users of their expertise.

    Facebook hopes having experts in groups will help combat misinformation, providing a bit more accountability within groups, rather than them being a complete free-for-all.

  • TikTok Introducing Three Minute Videos

    TikTok Introducing Three Minute Videos

    TikTok is introducing longer videos, up to three minutes, giving users even more opportunity to express themselves.

    TikTok is one of the fastest growing social media platforms, and has redefined social media with its short videos. While 60 seconds allows creators to do quite a bit, the company is now looking to expand the length of the videos even more, up to three minutes long, giving content creators even more freedom.

    Some users may have already noticed three-minute videos. The company says it has letting some creators around the world experiment with the new feature in advance of a full release.

    Three minute videos will be rolling out in the coming weeks to all users.

    With all the ways our community has redefined expression in under 60 seconds, we’re excited to see how people continue to entertain and inspire with a few more seconds – and a world of creative possibilities.

  • TikTok Releases 2021 Q1 Transparency Report

    TikTok Releases 2021 Q1 Transparency Report

    TikTok has released its first transparency report of the year, detailing the measures it has taken to protect users.

    TikTok has been under ongoing scrutiny for its privacy practices, as well as for not doing enough to protect the privacy of minors. Not surprisingly, its 2021 Q1 transparency report addresses a number of issues the company will likely use against its critics.

    The company says that during the first quarter of 2021, it removed 11,149,514 accounts for violating its Community Guidelines or Terms of Service. Of those, 7,263,952 were suspected of belonging to someone under the age of 13. For users in that demographic, TikTok has TikTok for Younger Users, with curated content and additional safeguards in place.

    TikTok also says it removed 86.1% of videos featuring adult nudity and sexual activity proactively, before they could be reported. A total of 89.8% were removed within 24 hours of being reported.

    Similarly, when it came to videos that featured harassment and bullying the company says “66.2% were removed before they were reported to us, and 83.8% were removed within 24 hours of being posted.”

    It’s clear TikTok is working to address the criticism it has faced. It remains to be seen if such efforts will win over any critics.

  • Twitter Down for Some Users, Ad-Blocking Blamed

    Twitter Down for Some Users, Ad-Blocking Blamed

    Twitter appears to be down for some users in France, with at least some blaming ad-blocking software.

    Twitter users started reporting an outage on Downdetector Sunday, primarily when accessing Twitter via a desktop web browser. Phone and tablet apps appeared to work just fine.

    Interestingly, according to some users, turning off ad-blocking software in their web browser fixed the problem. So far, Twitter has not issued a statement or acknowledgement.

    It remains to be seen if the issue was the result of an error, or if Twitter is beginning to target ad-blocking software.

  • TikTok in the Crosshairs of Dutch Consumer Group Over Data Harvesting

    TikTok in the Crosshairs of Dutch Consumer Group Over Data Harvesting

    TikTok is once again in hot water for its data practices, as a Dutch consumer group is launching a $1.8 billion claim against the company.

    TikTok is no stranger to controversy regarding its privacy and data practices. The company has faced accusations of exploiting child privacy, discrimination, lawsuits, bans — from corporations and the military — and criticism for being “fundamentally parasitic.”

    The Consumentenbond, along with the foundation Take Back Your Privacy, is bringing the claim against TikTok, according to ABC News.

    “The conduct of TikTok is pure exploitation,” Consumentenbond director Sandra Molenaar said in a statement. “The company earns hundreds of millions per year on the backs of children. And that while privacy law prescribes that children should receive additional protection.”

    TikTok has received a reprieve in the US, as the Biden administration has halted the previous administration’s attempts to ban TikTok. The company has drawn increased scrutiny from the EU, however, and this latest claim could have major repercussions.