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Twitter

  • #IfTwitterDidntExist: the internet imagines the 140-character apocalypse

    By on 4 August, 2017

    What would you possibly do if Twitter didn't exist? That's one of the most important questions being asked by the internet right now. Founded in 2006 by now-CEO Jack Dorsey, Twitter hasn't had the smoothest existence compared to its contemporaries. It was a breakthrough social network in many ways. While Facebook was toying with personal pages and Google possessed no tangible clue of what a social network is supposed to be, Twitter was the preppy kid with a brief but always sassy opinion. And users' opinion has always been at the fore of Twitter's social mechanics. While things looked up for Twitter prior to...

  • Here’s what’s up with that suicidal McDonald’s Twitter account

    By on 31 July, 2017

    If you were on Twitter over the course of the weekend, then you probably saw at least one tweet from a Hong Kong McDonald's branch claiming it wanted to die. The unverified account seems to be part of a long-con hoax that paid off for about 24 hours before McDonald's came to shut down the fun. It all started in October last year, when @Mc_DonaldsHK tweeted about the new McSpicy Chicken Filet meal. It then updated sporadically with other promotions, like a genuine account would. The account eventually hit its target in May. The verified @McDonaldsCorp tagged the fake Hong Kong account in a...

  • #StJohnsCollege: South Africans react to racist teacher

    By on 28 July, 2017

    Joburg's prestigious St Johns College has found the ire of South African Twitter after failing to remove a teacher found guilty of racist misconduct. Geography teacher Keith Arlow underwent an internal investigation where he was found to have consistently undermined black students' intelligence, labelled Indian students "Nawab" and called Greek students "dirty". He was punished with a final written warning. Parents of the discriminated students told Huffington Post (which broke the story) that they are unhappy with the how the school dealt with the issue and want more than just a promise of "healing". Twitter believes much the same. Just a few hours after the...

  • Twitter still has 328m users as growth flatlines

    By on 27 July, 2017

    Twitter's brief positive run of earning results and user growth came to an abrupt halt this quarter. The social messaging company today released its Q2 2017 earnings results, and the numbers definitely aren't steeped in optimism. While its contemporaries continue to experience growth surges -- Facebook's WhatsApp recently topped a billion daily active users, for instance -- Twitter's user base still stands at 328-million monthly active users (MAUs). It failed to match the meekest of estimates too, which predicted a growth of a million users in the quarter. Twitter's positive run of earning results and user growth came to an abrupt halt this...

  • Primedia apologises for Radio 702’s tweet comparing black babies to dogs

    By on 24 July, 2017

    Primedia CEO Omar Essack has apologised for a tweet published on Radio 702's Twitter account that compared two black babies to dogs. Here is the tweet that @Radio702 deleted without apologizing, they compared black babies to dogs. #MTN702WALK pic.twitter.com/bbmWRmQqSVRadio 702: 'We offended South Africans and are sorry' — ANC Defense Force (@ANC_LEADS) July 23, 2017 In the tweet, the account asked its followers which was was cuter, babies or dogs. "Go ahead and evoke those broody feelings," it wrote, promoting the Walk the Talk event that saw nearly 50 000 people walk for various causes. Essack said that the team was trying to draw people to...

  • South Africa, here’s what Twitter finds most annoying about you

    By on 24 July, 2017

    It's Monday. But instead of throwing that alarm clock out of the window and cowering beneath the covers, why not take some time to bitch about how short the weekend was? And where better to do just that than Twitter. Feeling the bone-chilling embrace of the new work week, South African Twitter is today talking about the little things that annoy them to no end. #101ThingsIFindAnnoying began trending countrywide late morning, thanks to an initial tweet by Twitter user Sheldon Cameron. #101ThingsIFindAnnoying Stores advertising things and when you get there dololo stock. pic.twitter.com/eYTDW39ngC — Sheldon Cameron (@Sheldon_Cameron) July 24, 2017 Soon enough, the rest of...

  • Donald Trump Jr posts emails of Russian collusion to Twitter

    By on 12 July, 2017

    Donald Trump Jr took to Twitter Tuesday to post a series of emails proving he had met with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign. The emails show correspondence with British-born entertainment publicist Rob Goldstone, who wrote on behalf of mutual friend and Russian popstar Emin Agalarov. Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017 "Emin asked that I schedule a meeting with you and the Russian government attorney ," Goldstone wrote. He stated that the meeting was to "provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her...

  • #MissSAChallenge: Miss South Africa subverts hashtag to issue her own challenge

    By on 7 July, 2017

    Yesterday #MissSAChallenge became South Africa's latest passing social media fad thanks to images of Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters wearing gloves at a soup kitchen in Soweto. Quizzing the pageant winner for her choice of attire, Twitter also grabbed hold of the hashtag to post ironic images of themselves preparing food, putting on makeup or handling household items wearing gloves. Sometimes candy wrappers too. But Miss South Africa wasn't having any of it. Late last night, Nel-Peters -- after explaining why she wore the gloves and issuing an apology for offending users -- once again took to the social network to post...

  • #MissSAChallenge: gloves, hygiene and angry tweets flood SA Twitter

    By on 6 July, 2017

    Yesterday Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters was in Soweto serving soup and bread rolls to kids. Today, it's one of Twitter's top trending topics. Why? Three words: gloves, hygiene and #MissSAChallenge. On Wednesday afternoon, this tweet published by the official Miss South Africa Twitter account became viral. We're helping @TheMaslowHotel with the #MaslowSoupKitchen here at Ikageng in Soweto. pic.twitter.com/eM25SPl0tS — Miss South Africa (@Official_MissSA) July 5, 2017 Noticeably, Nel-Peters is wearing gloves in these pictures. And Twitter wanted to know why. Some users gave their opinions. Why are you wearing gloves? Scared of catching the Black or?? — Rosalia (@MsZondi06) July 5, 2017 What's unhygienic about touching black...

  • Ed Sheeran leaves Twitter, Lady Gaga asks her fans to calm down

    By on 5 July, 2017

    Ed Sheeran has "come off Twitter completely," after trolls and hateful comments became too much to bear. "Twitter's a platform ," he told The Sun in an interview. "One comment ruins your day." Many of these comments came from Lady Gaga fans who assumed he was talking about her when he said in an interview that he did "not want to be the kind of artist who has had two successful albums and then feels invincible". "The smartest thing to do is listen to people who know I do not want to do the Super Bowl years later,...

  • Twitter memes girl who cleaned Donald Trump’s Hollywood star

    By on 4 July, 2017

    When Makenna from Wyoming visited California, she made sure to stop by US President Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to clean and polish it. The star was filled with scribbles, and Makenna didn't approve. She had her friend take pictures of her while she cleaned it, and posted them to Twitter claiming she was "#RaisedRight." Stopped to clean @realDonaldTrump Hollywood Star. Nothing but respect for MY President. #RaisedRight pic.twitter.com/jL4sqx4rlh — Makenna (@makenna_mg) June 28, 2017 "Nothing but respect for MY president," she wrote. Naturally, the tweet picked up traction. The first to respond was Alexa, who posted a picture of herself after...

  • #RTD2017: Rocking the Daisies announces lineup in annoying Twitter campaign

    By on 26 June, 2017

    There's nothing I hate more than a clever advertising campaign that forces me to tarnish my already messy social media brand. Local music festival Rocking the Daisies has just announced its 2017 lineup -- but on Twitter, it's forcing users to 'tweet to reveal.' All it reveals? A shortened link to RockingtheDaisies.com that disappears once you hit tweet. But don't worry: I took one for the team and tweeted against my better judgment so that no one else has to. Does this make me a martyr? Almost certainly. I'm about to see the @RockingtheDaisy line-up, and you can too! #RTD2017https://t.co/UJoN1KWxsr — Jules (@breakeypls) June 26,...

  • #SecretBallot: SA’s ConCourt ruling becomes a worldwide Twitter trend

    By on 22 June, 2017

    Yesterday might've been the darkest, longest night of the year for South Africans, but today is surely one of the brightest. Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng today ruled that the Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete does have the power to declare a secret ballot during the motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma. Previously, Mbete stated that she did not have the power to declare a secret ballot. #SecretBallot began trending Thursday prior to Justice Mogoeng's ruling, and hit Twitter's worldwide trend list too In the ruling passed at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, the Chief Justice also stated that members are Parliament...

  • Katy Perry hits 100m Twitter followers, but are they all human?

    By on 19 June, 2017

    It's taken a while, but a Twitter user has finally broken the 100-million followers barrier. And no, it's not Justin Bieber, Donald Trump or the Pope. It's Katy Perry. The recording artist, known for hits like Kissed A Girl and most recently Swish Swish, cracked the previously uncharted milestone this past weekend. It's been a long time coming though. Perry gained around 1.8-million followers in May 2017 alone, largely thanks to Backpack Kid no doubt. That swathe of new minions helped the star to break the 100-million ceiling, beating second placed Justin Bieber (96.8-million followers) and third placed Barack Obama (90.9-million) in...

  • Twitter’s huge UI update ditches old reply button, adds realtime stats

    By on 15 June, 2017

    Twitter has today unveiled its brand new user interface for mobile devices and desktop. The subtle update comes after the company refreshed its brand and mission statement back in July 2016. So fresh. So clean. So live. Check out our new look. 👀👇https://t.co/ClWbwi8CEH pic.twitter.com/nR27POQkEi — Twitter (@Twitter) June 15, 2017 "Today, with lots of feedback and ideas from you, we’re refreshing our product too and making it feel lighter, faster, and easier to use. We listened closely and kept what you love. And for the things you didn’t, we took a new approach to fix and make better," notes Grace Kim, Twitter's VP of...