Monthly Archives: March 2020

At long last, heres an actually useful purpose for Twitters blue-check verification mark: Twitter last night announced that it is mobilising the badge system to help surface and signal more authoritative and verified voices that can provide credible updates on the topic of the coronavirus, and made a general call out for people that are experts to get all of their information up to date including associating the word addresses with their accounts to speed up this process.

This is the latest move from Twitter in what has been an ongoing effort to clear its platform of false information and the harmful spread of it as the pandemic increasingly takes its grip on the world.

The blue check mark was always intended to help steer people to know when they looking at more authentic voices or the official accounts for high-profile people or organizations, although its also been a huge vanity metric for many people, and so has often had a taint of the more ridiculous side of Twitter (the one where people also obsess over like and retweet counts). So harnessing it for a truly useful purpose is a great move.

Its also one that is linking up with other efforts online: yesterday Google launched an updated search experience that includes a carousel of Twitter accounts Tweeting information related to the pandemic. This will help Twitter and Google populate that in a more informative and dynamic way.

If you are an expert who would like to use Twitter to broadcast more effective messages to the public, please read on. And if you are an authority who is not affiliated with one of the authorities working on fighting and managing the coronavirus outbreak, hold tight as Twitter said it will also be working on how to more quickly verify you, too.

Twitter said it is working with global health authorities these include organizations like the WHO, the CDC, state health authorities and recognized academic institutions to identify not just these organizations own accounts but those of experts affiliated with them. While it has it has already Verified hundreds of accounts, there are many more to verify, but the process is being slowed down by people not having all of their information in order. (Essentially these are some of the usual requirements for verification, applied specifically now to coronavirus experts.)

Specifically, Twitter said that experts needed to make sure that the email address that a person has associated with their Twitter account is their work emails. Instructions on how to do that here.

Then, Twitter said that a persons bio needs to include references and a link to the place where they are working, and ideally that the page they are linking to also includes a reference back to the Twitter account (if its a link to a bio page). Instructions on how to update your profile here.

And accounts that are looking for verification, it goes without saying, have to follow the officialTwitter Rules (which cover things like no harassment, impersonation accounts and so on), and specifically as it relates to coronavirus and COVID-19, Twitters guidance for that.

Twitter had, predictably, what looked like hundreds of responses to its Tweets on this subject, both from people simply saying, Hey, what about me? Can I get verified today for my birthday?! and those saying they also should be verified because of their authoritative position on COVID-19. Going about how to do the latter with accuracy will be a much bigger challenge that Twitter is still working out. Were also considering a way to take public suggestions, but first are reviewing the suggestions we have from global public health authorities and partners, it concluded.

Read more:

Twitter prioritizes blue-check verifications to confirm experts on COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus - TechCrunch

(RTTNews) - Twitter Inc. (TWTR) said it now expects operating loss in the first-quarter, and quarterly revenue to be down slightly on a year-over-year basis, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Twitter had a strong start to the year before the effects of COVID-19 began spreading more broadly...... it has impacted Twitter's advertising revenue globally more significantly in the last few weeks," said Ned Segal, Twitter's Chief Financial Officer.

While announcing the fourth-quarter results, Twitter had expected operating income to be between break even and $30 million and total revenue of $825 million - $885 million for the first-quarter.

The social media giant today said it withdrew its prior operating income and revenue guidance for the first quarter of 2020, due to the growing impact of the COVID-19 on the global operating and economic environment and their effect on advertiser demand.

The company also withdrew its full year outlook for expenses, stock-based compensation, headcount, and capital expenditures.

Twitter noted that in the first quarter, global conversation about COVID-19 as well as ongoing product improvements were driving strength in total monetizable daily active users (mDAU). The quarter-to-date average total mDAU reached about 164 million, up 23% from 134 million in the first-quarter of 2019 and up 8% from 152 million in the fourth-quarter of 2019.

Twitter expects to release financial results for the first quarter on April 30, 2020.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Excerpt from:

Twitter Warns Of COVID-19 Impact On Q1 Results - Nasdaq

The big social networks take steps to ensure that theyre providing accurate information for public health, Charter refuses to allow employees to work from home and Microsoft Teams sees a big spike in popularity. Heres your Daily Crunch for March 19, 2020.

1. Facebook will put a new coronavirus info center on top of the News Feed

In an effort to disseminate trustworthy health information on COVID-19, Facebook will roll out its own coronavirus information center a central hub where the company will collect information from sources like the CDC and WHO.

Meanwhile, Twitter updated its safety policy to prohibit tweets that could place people at a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19. The new policy bans tweets denying expert guidance on the virus, encouraging fake or ineffective treatments, preventions and diagnostic techniques, as well as tweets that mislead users by pretending to be from health authorities or experts.

2. Charter staff told to report to offices despite positive coronavirus tests

The phone and internet giant, which owns the Spectrum brand, has doubled down in the past week on its policy of disallowing its 15,000 office-based employees to work from home, prompting one engineer to quit over fears he would contract the illness. Dozens of other Charter employees have contacted TechCrunch in the past few days with concerns about their current working conditions.

3. Microsoft Teams jets to 44M DAUs, announces new features as remote work booms

Microsofts Team product is a Slack competitor and a likely beneficiary of the COVID-19 remote work boom. The new figure represents a huge gain on the number Microsoft shared in November 2019, when the product had 20 million DAUs.

4. Home diagnostics startup Everlywell is launching an at-home coronavirus test sample kit

Everlywells test kit includes swab-based collection equipment, as well as shipping materials that ensure safe transport of a persons sample, which is then tested by labs certified for COVID-19 testing under the FDA Emergency Use Authorization.

5. The 20 best startups from Y Combinators W20 Demo Day

With world events overtaking the tech industrys preference for coffee meetings and in-person events, Y Combinator skipped its famous two-day live Demo Day and went for a radical experiment: no demos at all, but instead a long list of the nearly 200 startups in its Winter 2020 batch, with links to their sites and one-page slides. (Extra Crunch membership required.)

6. Ada raises $44M Series B to improve its chatbot customer service platform

Although AI gets thrown around a lot in the enterprise, we are focused on companies offering solutions that are driving real business value, and Ada is doing exactly that, said Accel partner Ben Fletcher. Ada is breaking through the crowded market of chatbots to define a new category of automated customer experience that can manage far greater customer inquiry volumes while delivering some of the strongest customer satisfaction scores weve seen.

7. COVID-19 updates

While the Daily Crunch has been packed with headlines about the global pandemic, theres still plenty of news that Im leaving out. So if you want to stay fully up-to-date, visit our hub for COVID-19 coverage.

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunchs roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If youd like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.

See the article here:

Daily Crunch: Facebook and Twitter fight coronavirus misinformation - TechCrunch

Two Republican lawmakers on Friday called on Twitter to ban the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from its platform following a surge in Chinese misinformation around the coronavirus.

Sen. Ben SasseBenjamin (Ben) Eric SasseHillicon Valley: Senators press Amazon over workplace safety amid outbreak | Lyft expands to deliveries | Dems seek election security funds in stimulus package GOP lawmakers call on Twitter to ban Chinese Communist Party from the platform McConnell takes reins of thirdcoronavirusbill MORE (R-Neb.) and Rep. Mike GallagherMichael (Mike) John GallagherHillicon Valley: Senators press Amazon over workplace safety amid outbreak | Lyft expands to deliveries | Dems seek election security funds in stimulus package GOP lawmakers call on Twitter to ban Chinese Communist Party from the platform Russia using coronavirus fears to spread misinformation in Western countries MORE (R-Wis.) sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey strongly urging him to remove the CCP from the platform, and to block access to Twitter for any other foreign officials that ban the use of Twitter in their countries.

While the coronavirus pandemic is afflicting families, governments, and markets around the world, the Chinese Communist Party is waging a massive propaganda campaign to rewrite the history of COVID-19 and whitewash the Partys lies to the Chinese people and the world, Gallagher and Sasse wrote.

Twitter is blocked in China, Iran, and North Korea, but according to the lawmakers the CCP spreads misinformation on the platform outside of China, an issue Gallagher and Sasse heavily criticized.

By banning Twitter in China, the Chinese Communist Party is keeping its citizens in the dark, they wrote. By putting propaganda on Twitter, the Chinese Communist Party is lying to the rest of the world.

The lawmakers asked that Dorsey respond to several questions around how Twitter decides which officials are allowed to access the platform, how Twitter views tweets from the CCP and how Twitter rationalizes allowing the CCP to tweet out misinformation.

It is clear that Chinese Communist Party officials are using Twitter to disseminate propaganda in the midst of a dangerous global crisis, Gallagher and Sasse wrote. Even worse, this propaganda obscures and confuses users over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and potentially undermines efforts to contain and control the outbreak. We believe this behavior more than warrants their removal from the platform.

Twitter has taken steps to limit misinformation on its platform, including expanding its policy around coronavirus misinformation this week to include a wider amount of content.

The letter was sent the same day Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoTrump needs to stop the daily press briefings GOP lawmakers call on Twitter to ban Chinese Communist Party from the platform Overnight Defense: First two cases of coronavirus inside Pentagon confirmed | Trump triggers wartime production powers | 2,600 military personnel in Europe being monitored | Task force set up to help stranded Americans MORE said during a press conference that China, Russia, and Iran were actively working to spread misinformation around the coronavirus pandemic.

"There are coordinated efforts to disparage what America is doing and our activity to do all the things President TrumpDonald John TrumpBlame game heats up as Senate motion fails Trump approves disaster declaration for coronavirus in California Why studying persistent post-traumatic headaches in soldiers matter MOREhas set into motion," Pompeo said.

The European Union also found evidence earlier this week that Russia was seeking to sow discord and create chaos through spreading coronavirus misinformation on social media.

See more here:

GOP lawmakers call on Twitter to ban Chinese Communist Party from the platform | TheHill - The Hill

You might not be able to go to the theatre at the moment due to coronavirus social distancing measures, but that doesn't mean you can't still watch famous actors reciting iambic pentameter.

You just need to head over to Sir Patrick Stewart's Twitter feed for that.

On Saturday, the legendary stage and screen actor who was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for over 15 years shared a video of himself reciting an old classic: Shakespeare's Sonnet 116.

Stewart didn't mention why he picked that particular sonnet, although the lyric about love being "an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken" seems pretty relevant at the moment.

The video got a solid 9,000+ retweets, and on Sunday night Stewart decided to post a follow-up.

Yep, he's started at the beginning, with Sonnet 1. Does this mean we'll be getting a Shakespeare sonnet every day for the foreseeable future?

We can only hope...

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Sir Patrick Stewart is reading soothing Shakespeare on Twitter while social distancing - Mashable

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Summerfest isn't happening in summer anymore.

The largest music festival in the United States is moving from its 11-day run beginning June 24 to September (specifically, Sept. 3 to 5, 10 to 12 and 17 to 19), officials with parent company Milwaukee World Festival Inc. announced Monday evening.

The unprecedented delay is because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has upended life as we know it across Wisconsin and the world, including spring and summer music festivals. Coachella in California and Bonnaroo in Tennessee are now taking place this fall, while Glastonbury in England is moving to 2021, and SXSW in Austin was canceled.

Many Summerfest fans on Twitter were upset.

Others were borderline devastated, seeing the news as a sign that life isn't going back to normal any time soon.

But a few were actually excited about the news.

And can't we all agree that Summerfest happening later is better than no Summerfest at all this year?

"The new dates provide the best possible option to deliver the Summerfest experience our fans and sponsors have grown to love; we are doing everything possible to continue a tradition which spans five decades," Don Smiley, CEO of Summerfest's parent company Milwaukee World Festival Inc., said in a letter Monday.

Festival officials didn't say Monday if any of the 32 acts previously announced would still perform at Summerfest this fall, but said there would be more information in the coming days. Justin Bieber, Guns N' Roses, Luke Bryan, Dave Matthews Band and Halsey are among the headliners festival organizers had already lined up.

Related: Summerfest in Milwaukee postponed until September due to coronavirus pandemic

Live Updates: The latest on coronavirus in Wisconsin

Daily Digest: What you need to know about coronavirus in Wisconsin

ContactPiet at (414) 223-5162 orplevy@journalsentinel.com. Followhim on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

Piet also talks concerts, local music and more on "TAP'd In" with Jordan Lee. Hear it at 8 a.m. Thursdays on WYMS-FM (88.9), or wherever you get your podcasts.

This content is being provided free to all as a public service during the coronavirus outbreak. Please support local journalism by subscribing at jsonline.com/deal.

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Summerfest in Milwaukee is postponed because of coronavirus, and fans on Twitter are shaken up - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Gideon Kidd of Cedar Falls has more than 175,000 Twitter followers on his account that shows him petting peoples dogs. In June 2018 he visited Drake to pet Griff. Des Moines Register

Gideon Kidd, the 11-year-old behind the popular Twitter account I've Pet That Dog, is now taking requests.

For about three years, the Cedar Falls boy and his mom, Rachel Braunigan, have been walking their neighborhood and driving around town in search of dogs to pet and post on Twitter. But social distancing has made Gideon's project difficult.

On March 13, Braunigan posted on Twitter that Gideon would be taking a hiatus from petting other people's pups in order to stay home as much as possible and limit contact with others. Instead, she wrote, they asked that people send the I've Pet That Dogaccount a direct message with a picture of their dog so Gideon can showcasethe dogs he'd like to pet.

More: The latest on coronavirus in Iowa

So for the past week, Gideon and Rachel have been combing through thousands of pictures people around the world have sent of their dogs. Gideonchooses the dog he'd like to pet and they ask the owner for a couple of fun facts about the pup.

Gideon's only requirement is that the dog has to be cute. The problem? All dogs are.

"We dont often have any information before a choice is made so its literally Gideon looking through pictures and going, 'Oh, look at that cute dog,'" Braunigan said.

Gideon Kidd, the 11-year-old behind the popular Twitter account I've Pet That Dog, is limiting his interactions with others, so he's not going outside. Instead, he's choosing dogs that have been sent to him on Twitter as dogs he'd like to pet. This is Bunsen.(Photo: Rachel Braunigan)

When a dog has gone through the rigorous selection process, Gideon prints out their photo and his mom takes a picture.

Gideon's school has temporarily closed due to the coronavirus, and he's home more often. He has his own dog, Cookie, but he misses meeting others.

"I'm kind of upset I dont get to meet the dogs but at least I get to see the dogs and hear about them," he said.

Gideon isn't sure if he'll keep posting pictures of dogs he'd like to pet when life returns to what it was before the pandemic, but he knows one thing: He'll never stop loving dogs.

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Sarah LeBlanc covers trending newsfor the Register. Reach her at 515-284-8161 or sleblanc@registermedia.com.

Your subscription makes work like this possible. Join today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.

Read or Share this story: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/03/23/iowa-twitter-account-ive-pet-dog-submissions-social-distancing-coronavirus/2885205001/

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Twitter account I've Pet That Dog has a twist in the era of social distancing - Des Moines Register

After my teams latest episode of University Challenge, I idly scrolled through Twitter. It was much as ever: old men telling me to wipe my nose (I have a septum piercing), some praise, and the usual criticism: What a mess, did she get dressed in the dark; She deserved to mess that up after her poncey Kraftwerk pronunciation. So far, so much as wed been warned. But then came the real doozy. A man whose bio proclaimed him to be grandad of six married to my lovely teacher wife, had tweeted: All these knobs on here saying they got [a question on] massive attack along with everyone else, what other question have you answered ? Plus Ill guess Clarke sucks like a fucking Dyson.

I stared at it for a long time, trying to understand the bizarre conjunction of defending me and matter-of-fact sexual objectification.

Women are grossly under-represented on University Challenge: of 28 teams this year, only five were equally gender-balanced, and no team had more than two women. This is no fault of the lovely production team, but down to selection within institutions. After my experience with the social media circus, though, I think theres another big reason: women dont apply because being on the show is horrible.

Female contestants walk an impossible tightrope. Answer more than a couple of questions, or smile after you get an answer right, and you are arrogant: I became showoff and Ol bighead. In 2009, Gail Trimble was smug and cocky because she answered more questions correctly than anyone on the show, ever. Quieter female contestants are useless. This season, Nancy Collinge was targeted: Did they tell Collinge to just sit on the end, be quiet and just try to look pretty? Quiet male contestants rarely face this.

The tiny gap between arrogant and useless is impossible to fit into. Last season Dani Cugini said: I performed basically the same in all my episodes, and the comments veered wildly between me purposely taking up all the attention in the room, and me doing nothing.

Quizzing is so accepted as male that when women take part successfully, there is always a pushback. After wed won an episode, a man tweeted that I ought to be launched into the sun, and that I did nothing in the contest, Cashman [my teammate] smashed it. I was the matchs highest scorer: these people cant conceptualise a woman doing well.

Theres another tiny gap that women can fail to fit into: being perfect sexual objects for watching men. One tweeted me to tell me how ugly I was; another told me that with my teeth I should never laugh again. One bloke spent 24 hours telling me I was getting abuse because of my prattishness and lack of feminine charm. The reason I was so defective? No heteronormal man would want to fuck me.

Indeed, the response to women on University Challenge confirms that women are only ever sexual objects. After we won our playoff, I punched my teammate James on the arm in excitement: in flooded the comments about how I clearly wanted to have sex with him because the only way to interpret female joy is in relation to desiring a man. Every time weve played, a pair of men hiding behind Rainbow character avatars have sent the same tweet about how I must have a genital piercing. The hashtag is filled with men being attracted to female contestants. They dont compliment how talented they are.

Women on the show are scrutinised far more stringently than men are, and castigated in singularly awful terms. When we dont fit into the millimetre increment between useless and arrogant (where were useful but not too clever), or a specific sexual checklist, we must be cut down to size. Shut your mouth, Clarke, Im told. The same man tweets every episode that Clarke thinks shes all edgy and alternative but we all know shell be baking cakes for the W.I. ten years from now. Thats what This treatment of women comes down to: a refusal to accept that there is space for all women. Attractive women, yes. Quiet women who know their place, yes. Ones who doesnt fit into these small boxes? Nope.

And thats why women arent applying: because the social media circus is a closed loop. Confirming that if you are a woman, and have the temerity to be yourself, or clever, you are going to get abuse.

I opened my messages last Wednesday to find a woman my age telling me she could never appear on a show like University Challenge. Despite how much I enjoyed filming the show, I cant say I blame her.

Read the original here:

I loved appearing on University Challenge. Then I looked at Twitter - The Guardian

Provided by For The Win Associated PressTampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is already working to ingratiate himself in his new community.

The Buccaneers' team Twitter account shared a message from an adorable, young fan in Tampa, who was welcoming Brady to the team. Apparently, that caught the quarterback's eye.

He responded: "Thank you! Come see us play!"

It seems that Brady isn't hesitating to win over the fans in Tampa. And while some are resistant to the idea of rooting for Brady, the quarterback is likely to win over the entire fanbase, if he helps get a number of big wins of the organization. It certainly didn't take long for him to win over New England.

It's surreal to see Brady interacting with Buccaneers fans. It will be even more surreal when the quarterback dons the Tampa jersey.

UP NEXT

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Link:

Tom Brady replies to adorable Buccaneers fan on Twitter - msnNOW

Who are the nonprofit professionals to follow during the coronavirus pandemic?

With coronavirus updates coming from around the world at nearly a minute-by-minute pace, it can be challenging to keep the importance of philanthropy top-of-mind.

I highly recommend following each of these seven people on Twitter and listening carefully as they offer perspective into how the nonprofit industry is handling the effects of the coronavirus crisis:

> Vu Le, blogger at NonprofitAF.com: A bold thought leader and keynote speaker known for verbalizing what is on the mind of many nonprofit executives. Check out Les latest blog post, Funders, this is the rainy day you have been saving up for.

> Asha Curran, CEO of Giving Tuesday: GT announced this week a daily generosity alert program. You can subscribe by texting GivingTuesday to 33777.

> Neil Parekh, network communications at United Way Worldwide: Neil keeps his finger on the pulse of the various arms of one of the worlds most far-reaching nonprofits.

> Beth Kanter, author and nonprofit trainer: One of the most trusted nonprofit thought leaders in the industry, Kanter offers a steady but firm voice during times of crisis, and is crowdsourcing a list of places where people can donate N95 masks.

> David Hudson, national commander of The Salvation Army USA: Hudson often communicates the most critical needs of the Army through his own social media channels.

> Tim Sarrantonio, director of strategic partnerships at NeonOne: Sarrantonio often uses Twitter to gather important viewpoints from nonprofit leaders around the country.

> Julia Campbell, author and nonprofit trainer: As nonprofits try to navigate the uncertainty of how to share their needs through social media, theyll be smart to follow Campbells lead.

Looking for more nonprofit thought leaders to follow? Ive compiled a Twitter list with nearly 200 contributors. You can follow that list here, and Tweet me your suggestions to add to the list: @ChrisStrub.

Here is the original post:

Seven Nonprofit Thought Leaders To Listen To On Twitter During The Coronavirus Crisis - Forbes