Twitter just loves Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s African Content Movement

Google has released its 2018's Year in Search report, a look at the most searched for terms, queries, and trends that took place around the world in the past 365 days. "As each year closes, Google Trends data reflects not only these everyday queries, but also the moments, people, ideas, and questions that made that trip around the sun so unique, " said Google on its news blog. Global search trends saw the world delving into things like politics, celebrity deaths and all things royalty related.  But South Africans on the other hand had their sights set in a somewhat different direction....

As of 10 December 2018, Cape Town's dams are 69.5% full, declining by 0.9% over the previous week. This may seem like a substantial loss, but digging a bit deeper into the City of Cape Town's latest dam report (pdf), you'll find that it's not all doom and gloom. As Level 3 water restrictions are in place -- since the beginning of December -- the overall daily water consumption of the city remains below 550-million litres per day. The City's current consumption target for agriculture and urban use is 650-million. The knock-on effect is positive. According to the City's dam storage vs....

Instagram has launched yet another shopping tool in time for the festive season. Called #InstaGiftGuide, the feature gathers and lists products based on 2018's biggest hashtags. "The #InstaGiftGuide matches six popular hashtag trends from 2018 with gift-worthy products from 34 brands on Instagram", the company said on its blog. Though this may sound confusing, what it means is you can now view the guide to see all the popular brands and products on the platform, inspired by the year's trends. According to Instagram, the six most popular hashtags of 2018 were: #catsofinstagram - a trend born of cute and funny cat related...

Update, 9am, Wed 12 Dec: According to Reuters, at least three people have been killed, with 12 people wounded. The 29-year-old suspect was reportedly on a French security watchlist, and remains at large. It's also not clear if he is till sin France. French interior minister Christophe Castaner announced in a press conference that the country's national security threat level has been raised to its highest status. The lockdown on the European Parliament complex has also since been lifted. Original article: The French city of Strasbourg began trending on Twitter Tuesday night after gunshots were fired at a Christmas market. According to a BBC...

Google Maps' For You tab is rolling out to a select number of iOS users, and almost all Android users around the world. “Today, the For You tab is making its way over to Google Maps in over 40 countries on iOS and 130+ new countries on Android,” the company explained on its blog. The tab in a new addition to Google Maps that helps users find things to do, based on their searches and visits. If you follow a particular establishment, its details will now be visible in the For You tab too. “The For You tab is designed to be a...

Google+, the company's social network, will be killed off sooner than initially planned, after a security-threatening bug reared its ugly head last month. “We’ve recently determined that some users were impacted by a software update introduced in November that contained a bug affecting a Google+ API,” the company confirmed in an announcement. “No third party compromised our systems, and we have no evidence that the app developers that inadvertently had this access for six days were aware of it or misused it in any way,” it claimed. Due to this issue, the social network for consumers will be shuttered in April 2019,...

This new flick really should've been called "Godzilla versus King Ghidorah and friends" but King of the Monsters will just have to do. Godzilla: King of the Monsters got its second and much darker trailer this week, featuring all the heavy hitters you've come to expect from an ensemble monster flick. Actually, I shouldn't call them monsters. They're titans. Gods. And they're pretty sick of the "human infection" plaguing the Earth. Mothra makes an appearance. Rodan is present too. But the real clash on screen are the two monsters mentioned on line one. Alongside the frightening and angry pixels, Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger...

Instagram has announced that users can now send voice messages through the platform’s Direct Messages feature. “Talk the way you want to be heard, whether by whispering what you’re up to or shouting a compliment,” revealed the company in a tweet. The Facebook-owned social network has yet to announce details of the new feature on its blog, so specific details are unclear at present. Starting today, you can send voice messages in Direct. Talk the way you want to be heard, whether by whispering what you’re up to or shouting a compliment. pic.twitter.com/3rkdQneNXO — Instagram (@instagram) December 10, 2018 It's also not clear if...

As a huge Potterhead who is well versed in everything Harry Potter, I was quite excited at the prospect of new material from J.K. Rowling in the form of Fantastic Beasts. Back then, I ignored the sensible voice at the back of my head that said “Oh no, this could go so wrong”. The first movie in this to be five-part series, which debuted in 2016, certainly satisfied the Slytherin in me. It was great to be back in the Wizarding World, which in this movie felt both familiar and brand new. The magic was still alive. But with the sequel, The Crimes...

Uber South Africa has launched a telephonic support line which will be available around the clock throughout the festive season. According to a press release published on Monday, the company explained that the line can be used by passengers, current drivers, or those who wish to become drivers to voice concerns or ask questions. The hotline is only available through the Uber app's "Help" section. In the case of an emergency, the company still asks that drivers and riders call 10111, South Africa's emergency and police hotline. Feature image: Memeburn

US President Donald Trump on Monday posted a tweet that has people flipping through dictionaries and thesauri once again. Continuing his tirade against the Democrats and former FBI director James Comey, Trump tweeted that the former cannot find a "smocking gun tying the Trump campaign to Russia". "That's because there was NO COLLUSION," he added, caps included. “Democrats can’t find a Smocking Gun tying the Trump campaign to Russia after James Comey’s testimony. No Smocking Gun...No Collusion.” @FoxNews That’s because there was NO COLLUSION. So now the Dems go to a simple private transaction, wrongly call it a campaign contribution,... — Donald...

Andy Serkis is a living legend. When he's not winning Oscars for becoming an emotive clump of living pixels, he's doing Theresa May impressions in the voice of Gollum and Smeagol of Lord of the Rings fame. In a video published on Sunday, the "Prime Minister" -- presumably possessed by the spirit of the disfigured and slighly evil hobbit -- receives a copy of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, a near 600-page long document that details how the UK will pull out of the EU. Serkis then begins what might be the best cross-over event in history. "We's in a nasty mess my...

Netflix has today announced that South Africa will get its first locally-produced and directed Netflix Original in the form of Queen Sono. Starring Pearl Thusi -- who has appeared on Netflix before in the movie Catching Feelings -- will star as a "kickass female spy". "Can't wait for you guys to see what we have in store for you," she added in a tweet. #QueenSono - Africa’s first @netflix original ! A thrilling story about a kickass female spy. Can’t wait for you guys to see what we have in store for you ! @NetflixSA pic.twitter.com/z0LtRTbspv— Pearl Thusi (@PearlThusi) 10 December 2018 According...

YouTube Rewind 2018, in its four days of existence, has shattered a remarkable but unflattering record. The video, which was published on Friday, is now the video company's second-most disliked video ever, with more than 6.8-million dislikes. It's also the most disliked non-music video in YouTube history too. Only Justin Bieber's "Baby" has more dislikes on the platform (at 9.7-million), and Rewind 2018's less than 2.9-million dislikes away from taking its crown. The video's now more hated than "Despacito" -- the most watched video in YouTube history -- Rebecca Black's "Friday", and that Call of Duty trailer from 2016. Rewind traditionally recaps platform's year-that-was,...

Netflix is set to release a new Ghost in the Shell anime in 2020, the company announced in a tweet. Titled Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, the production will be "directed by Appleseed’s Shinji Aramaki and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex’s Kenji Kamiyama,” the company announced in a tweet. It will be a Netflix Original too. YES, A NEW GHOST IN THE SHELL ANIME IS COMING. Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 will be directed by Appleseed’s Shinji Aramaki and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex’s Kenji Kamiyama. On @Netflix in 2020! *desire to explore the true meaning of human consciousness intensifies*...