Yes, YouTube is ‘experimenting’ with users’ subscriptions feed

A slew of Twitter's swanky primary app features are finally hitting Twitter Lite, Twitter for Windows, and the mobile website. This week, the company's set to bring night mode, real time updates on parameters, and an updated tweet composition box to the above platforms. Each will bolster the user experience across the company's less important platforms. We are rolling out the following features to https://t.co/AIUgyCj4rs, Twitter Lite, and Twitter for Windows to provide more consistency across platforms. See what’s new. 👇 ✔️ night mode ✔️ real time updates on reply, Retweet, and like counts ✔️ updated Tweet compose box — Twitter (@Twitter) May 22, 2018 "Night owl?...

Great news, everyone. You can now mute your annoying Instagram friend vested in the art of smoothie making and selfie taking (sometimes together), after the social network introduced a new feature Tuesday. "The new feature lets you hide posts in feed from certain accounts, without unfollowing them. With this change, you can make your feed even more personalized to what matters to you," the company writes in its blog, dodging the entire reason this problem exists: its algorithm. Nevertheless, users who want to mute others on the social network can now do so via the three-dot menu button on posts themselves. Tap...

Governments, like potential Bumble matches, will say anything to get you to swipe right on that election ballot paper. And often, those promises made during the campaign trail are never kept. Fact-checking website Africa Check today unveiled a tool to help voters keep track of their ruling parties' promises. It's aptly dubbed the Promises Tracker. "They campaigned and promised to change your life for the better. You voted for them. But have they kept their word?" asks Africa Check. "We have picked out 10 key promises made by governments in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya and are tracking progress on them." "Our tracker...

Digital culture is not quite what it looks like at face value. Digital culture is not defined as one where everyone lives on a digital platform 24/7. Sure there are certainly large pieces of activity that can be devoted to being on a digital platform, but this is not what makes for a digital culture. The first definition might define a consumers digital culture. One filled with selfies; the near-constant voyeurism of social media and an opinion on everything. But this is not the definition of a digital culture within your business. When we look at the conundrum that is digital...

These are the Huawei P20 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S9+. They're two 2018 flagships from two of the world's biggest smartphone makers, but which should you take home? We take a look at each based on five particular categories that should be on your mind when purchasing your next smartphone: aesthetics, the internal components, the screen, that all important camera setup and finally, the price. Huawei P20 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S9+ - Aesthetics The Huawei P20 Pro is unlike any phone you've ever seen before. It's offered in three distinct colours in South Africa: Twilight, Black and Midnight Blue, all...

If something's not broken and doesn't need fixing, trust Google to provide a solution. The firm did this with its messaging services -- now boasting more than five actual messaging apps -- and now, Google Play Music is seemingly suffering the same fate. The company on Thursday announced a new music service, the free-but-ad-supported YouTube Music that lumps in music streaming and YouTube's host of videos and bespoke audio tracks. There's also a paid tier, which costs US$9.99, and gives users access to ad-free YouTube Music. For US$2 more, you can add ad-free "YouTube Premium" on top of that too, for...

If you thought 2016's Deadpool was a tad too short and lacked a stocky cast list, you'll smile wryly at its sequel. Deadpool 2 has seen some of the more annoying marketing antics in the lead up to a movie for quite some time, but thankfully the film lives up to its predecessor's hilarious hype. Ryan Reynolds reprises the role he was made for, bringing to life a character usually maligned for crass, sexual humour with deft moments of sweeping emotion. He remains a smart cracking wise ass loaded with pop culture quips and a love for Barbra Striesand, sure,...

From the moment they click onto an ecommerce site, customers develop a lasting impression of your brand. Creating a frictionless environment with an outstanding customer journey is helping even small, boutique offerings significantly boost their bottom line. The last mile is the most important Despite what many think, we have seen that the delivery of goods and services is the make or break of an ecommerce offering. The importance of this last mile service is clearly demonstrated by industry stalwarts like Takealot (which acquired Mr. Delivery) and Yuppiechef, which put their own branded drivers on the road. The companies which have succeeded...

In a not-all-that-exciting update, WhatsApp has tweaked the way groups work on its platform. There are five distinct changes outlined by the company on its blog. Firstly, group descriptions are now more verbose, allowing users to set "the purpose, guidelines or topics for the group". (Good luck sticking to them though.) "When a new person joins a group, the description will show up at the top of the chat," the company highlights. Secondly, group admins can now determine "who can change the group's subject, icon, and description" through the group settings menu. "Admins can now remove admin permissions of other group participants, and group...

Snapchat is seemingly the new social network to join if you're into watching people brutally murdering animals. Two US teenagers were charged with animal cruelty after filming their killing of an opossum mother and her babies on Snapchat. The teenagers from Kennesaw, Georgia, reportedly used a baseball bat to kill the opossum mother, and then "allegedly used a chemical mixture that included bleach and ammonia to kill three other babies", a local news report gruesomely read. While the incident occurred early April, the adult assailant appeared in court last week. The story's this week trending across the internet, with users on Reddit...

Are you still taking personality tests on Facebook? Stop. Actually, throw your computer out the window and set it on fire, because you should really know better. After Cambridge Analytica's data reaping antics were exposed in March and Facebook shamed, you may have thought that your information was safe on the internet. But it's not. According to a new report by New Scientist, at least three million users have had "intimate" data about themselves, and their psychological state, shared online. According to the report, some six million people completed a questionnaire app dubbed myPersonality. Half offered to share the information with the...

If you pay for Google Drive storage, take note. The company this week announced "a simple plan for expanded storage that includes extra benefits" dubbed Google One. Coming to all paying customers of Google's cloud storage service, Google One sees an upgraded offering from 100GB to 30TB if you really, really have a lot of cat pictures to store. This however plays into Google's new family sharing scheme, allowing up to five members to use the wad of storage under a single account. And said family members will also be given a private slice of that storage pie too. Google One will...

After spending more than three months perched on its upper slopes, Black Panther has finally said its goodbyes to Southern Africa's movie charts. The film, after grossing more than R106-million at the box office, finally tumbled off the chart from last week's seventh spot. But don't fret Marvel fans; Avengers: Infinity War is spending its third weekend (11-13 May 2018) at the top of the charts. It has already grossed more than R60-million. Not only tasked with defending those infinity stones, the flick also guards the top spot from fart-joke laden animated comedy Sherlock Gnomes debuting in second place. It, in...

Earlier this year and in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg suggested that a host of apps prior to the company's policy reforms in 2014 had access to users' data. He promised in a March 2018 post that the company will investigate these apps, and ban those that do not play nice with users' data. Today, the firm gave the internet an update on this audit currently underway. "The investigation process is in full swing, and it has two phases," revealed Ime Archibong, the company's VP of product partnerships. "First, a comprehensive review to identify every app that...

Don't look now folks, but according to the gatekeepers of South African Twitter, the social network just isn't lit anymore. I know. Shocking. As if Monday wasn't bad enough, the hashtag #twitterwaslitbefore began trending around midday, and served to remind everyone that things never stay the same. This, according to some, is thanks to MTN and Vodacom. #TwitterWasLITBefore MTN and Vodacom Had Clapbacks pic.twitter.com/9OUBJKd3Fv — 26 Feb. 90s (@HopewellMlaba) May 14, 2018 #TwitterWasLITBefore MTN started with this free Twitter nonsense. pic.twitter.com/VGgVnPHn3J — Maestro Harry™ (@Haharharry_) May 14, 2018 Those who joined Twitter to become "comedians and savages" were also outed. Tweet-stealers were given special mention by a...