An opinion article by Dave Lee published on Bloomberg on 5 October has ignited a conversation about the ethical implications of using X, Elon Musk’s social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. Despite the platform’s increasing notoriety for promoting violent and divisive content and its prominent role in the spread…
The hashtag has become ubiquitous on social media as a means of connecting conversations, topics and events. But 16 years after its invention, Chris Messina, the man who started it all, believes it’s time for an upgrade. In episode 355 of the For Immediate Release podcast I co-host with Shel…
For as long as many of us can remember, the Internet has been a single entity, a vast digital sea where we could navigate freely between its various islands. Social networks stood tall and united, giving us separate but unified spaces to connect and share. Yet, it seems that unfettered…
When Twitter first appeared in 2006, it marked the start of enablement and empowerment of people who wanted a means of communication that was unfiltered, uncontrolled and unfettered. It would let you chat with your friends and engage in sharing news and information on a small scale, something that met…
Just over three weeks ago, I signed up for Bluesky, the new social networking service started by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and currently in private beta for users who join via an invitation code from someone who already signed up. The company will open a public beta on a currently-unknown…
Since Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter last October, much discussion has ensued on finding an alternative social networking platform where unhappy Twitter users could migrate from Twitter and leave the uncertainty and chaos behind. In the past month, one name has gathered significant momentum and come to the…
In the early days of the twenty-first century, when the term “social media” was but a whisper in the digital wind, blogrolls played an instrumental role in the development of online communities. A blogroll – a curated list of links to other blogs that a blogger would include on their…
For many people, the blue checkmark on Twitter has been synonymous with credibility, influence, and social status. For others, it’s a vanity project with no real value to anyone, a broad sentiment that might grow in the face of changes to the verification programme that are in process. These changes…
