Friday, April 4

SOCIAL MEDIA

TikTok is a unique blend of social media platforms – here’s why kids love it
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SOCIAL MEDIA

TikTok is a unique blend of social media platforms – here’s why kids love it

TikTok, a social media platform targeted at young mobile phone users, was the second-most downloaded app in the world in 2019. It was the most downloaded app in July 2020. It’s also become a geopolitical football. Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok has been banned by India along with 58 other Chinese-owned apps in July in response to escalating border tensions between the two countries. The Trump administration issued an executive order banning TikTok and Chinese-owned messaging platform WeChat from engaging in transactions in the United States beginning on Sept. 15. The company sued the Trump administration in August in response to the ban. As a political scientist who studies social media, I’ve looked at what makes TikTok unique and why young people have flocked to it. In short...
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What to know about controversial app TikTok
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SOCIAL MEDIA

What to know about controversial app TikTok

Social media is often referred to as both a blessing and a curse. And, when new apps emerge and gain popularity, especially among children, teens and young people, they are scrutinized widely for content and effect. TikTok is a current target. Parents magazine in February expressed: “Gen Z can’t get enough of TikTok. But if you’re worried about what exactly your kids are getting, you’re not alone.” At its core, TikTok may seem harmless enough. Androidcentral.com last August defined the app as one that offers users the ability to create short videos, ranging from 15 to 60 seconds, with access to unique filters, stickers and other video editing software options. TikTok’s safety concerns, addressed by Parents, include: 1. Predators can access the app — and often do — to provide flattery a...
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Have a Live Streaming Show to Get More Exposure and Build Your Following Online!
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Have a Live Streaming Show to Get More Exposure and Build Your Following Online!

While uploading recorded videos can help get you noticed and gain a lot of fans, another great way to get you famous is to broadcast your own live web shows. You Tube has been experimenting with live video streaming in the past year; with things like a U2 concert and an Indian Premier League match. The site has also streamed webcasts of US President Barack Obama's press conference as well as San Francisco's "Outside Lands" concert, and recently a Bon Jovi concert live from NYC. Google, who owns YouTube, previously said it didn't want to go into the realm of live video because of the cost, but that doesn't seem to be the case now since YouTube recently held a two-day trial of its live video streaming platform allowing four users to feed live broadcasts to their You Tube channels. It's now ...
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Social networks aim to erase hate but miss the target on guns
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Social networks aim to erase hate but miss the target on guns

As Facebook faces down a costly boycott campaign demanding the social network do more to combat hate speech, CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced plans to ban a “wider category of hateful content in ads.” Twitter, YouTube and Reddit have also taken additional steps to curtail online hate, removing several inflammatory accounts. But as social networks refine their policies and update algorithms for detecting extremism, they overlook a major source of hateful content: gun talk. As a researcher of online extremism, I examined the user policies of social networks and found that while each address textbook forms of hate speech, they give a pass to the widespread use of gun rhetoric that celebrates or promotes violence. In fact, the word “gun” appears but once in Facebook’s policy on “Viole...
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Twitter hack exposes broader threat to democracy and society
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter hack exposes broader threat to democracy and society

In case 2020 wasn’t dystopian enough, hackers on July 15 hijacked the Twitter accounts of former President Barack Obama, presidential hopeful Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Kim Kardashian and Apple, among others. Each hijacked account posted a similar fake message. The high-profile individual or company wanted to philanthropically give back to the community during COVID-19 and would double any donations made to a bitcoin wallet, identical messages said. The donations followed. The hack on the surface may appear to be a run-of-the-mill financial scam. But the breach has chilling implications for democracy. Serious political implications As a scholar of internet governance and infrastructure, I see the underlying cybercrimes of this incident, such as hacking accounts and financial fraud,...
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Top Strategies When Using Facebook Live and Videos for Your Business
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Top Strategies When Using Facebook Live and Videos for Your Business

Are you tired of creating Facebook posts that nobody sees? (Painful isn't it!?) Then you NEED to be using video on Facebook - it's 'crackalackin'! Facebook Live is hot to trot! There is no doubt Facebook loves it. You may have even seen ads for Facebook Live around the place. Why do you want to use Facebook Live? Like I said, Facebook loves Facebook Live and they're going to reward you for going Live on Facebook by pushing your livestream out into people's newsfeeds. People are likely to watch your Live stream videos three times longer than just a normal video post. That's a very important metric to Facebook who sees that longer viewing means it is an engaging video therefore we're going to show it into more people's newsfeeds. That is going to improve your reach and your engagement...
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How fake accounts constantly manipulate what you see on social media – and what you can do about it
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SOCIAL MEDIA

How fake accounts constantly manipulate what you see on social media – and what you can do about it

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram started out as a way to connect with friends, family and people of interest. But anyone on social media these days knows it’s increasingly a divisive landscape. Undoubtedly you’ve heard reports that hackers and even foreign governments are using social media to manipulate and attack you. You may wonder how that is possible. As a professor of computer science who researches social media and security, I can explain – and offer some ideas for what you can do about it. Bots and sock puppets Social media platforms don’t simply feed you the posts from the accounts you follow. They use algorithms to curate what you see based in part on “likes” or “votes.” A post is shown to some users, and the more those people react – positively or neg...
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We’re measuring online conversation to track the social and mental health issues surfacing during the coronavirus pandemic
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SOCIAL MEDIA

We’re measuring online conversation to track the social and mental health issues surfacing during the coronavirus pandemic

The big idea Social media posts and news reports are rich sources of data about people’s attitudes and behaviors. Using artificial intelligence techniques, it’s possible to sift through billions of words to discern trends in a population’s well-being, or social quality. Performing this analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic is revealing the damage the pandemic is doing to the social and psychological well-being of the U.S. At the AI Institute of the University of South Carolina, my colleagues and I have processed more than 700 million social media posts since the beginning of March and more than 700,000 news articles about the COVID-19 pandemic. We are monitoring these information sources to capture the evolving human experience in the U.S. during the pandemic. We have found troubling indi...
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Social media fuels wave of coronavirus misinformation as users focus on popularity, not accuracy
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COVID-19, SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media fuels wave of coronavirus misinformation as users focus on popularity, not accuracy

Over the past few weeks, misinformation about the new coronavirus pandemic has been spreading across social media at an alarming rate. One video that went viral claimed breathing hot air from a hair dryer could treat COVID-19. A Twitter post touted injecting vitamin C to the bloodstream to treat the viral disease. Other threads hyped unfounded claims that vaping organic oregano oil is effective against the virus, as is using colloidal silver. The sheer number of false and sometimes dangerous claims is worrying, as is the way people are unintentionally spreading them in ever wider circles. In the face of this previously unknown virus, millions of people have been turning to social media platforms in an attempt to stay informed about the latest developments and connected to friends and fam...
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Social media companies are taking steps to tamp down coronavirus misinformation – but they can do more
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COVID-19, SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media companies are taking steps to tamp down coronavirus misinformation – but they can do more

As we practice social distancing, our embrace of social media gets only tighter. The major social media platforms have emerged as the critical information purveyors for influencing the choices people make during the expanding pandemic. There’s also reason for worry: the World Health Organization is concerned about an “infodemic,” a glut of accurate and inaccurate information about COVID-19. The social media companies have been pilloried in recent years for practicing “surveillance capitalism” and being a societal menace. The pandemic could be their moment of redemption. How are they rising to this challenge? Surprisingly, Facebook, which had earned the reputation of being the least trusted tech company in recent years, has led with the strongest, most consistent actions during the unfold...
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