An update to Twitter's blocking policy changes exactly how blocked users can interact with the users who have blocked them. Bear with us for a moment as we step through this.
Previously, if you blocked another user, that person could no longer follow your account, although they could still see your tweets (assuming your account was public, as most Twitter accounts apparently are). Twitter wouldn't tell other users that they'd been blocked, although they could figure it out if they tried to follow you and couldn't.
Now, though, any user you block can follow you and view your tweets directly in their timeline. They can also favorite, retweet and @-reply to your account—you just won't see any of that activity in your timeline or your "connect" tab. You also won't see anyone else who RTs, favorites or follows blocked users, and you won't see blocked users among your followers.
In effect, blocking another user "mutes" them for you, but changes nothing for them.
A Twitter spokesperson told me that updating the blocking policy is intended to reduce the antagonism some people express when they've been blocked. Sometimes users who found out they'd been blocked would retaliate by getting -- For more information read the original article here.
Bring on the school holiday pageants, local baseball games and armchair poetry slams… YouTube today announced that it is expanding its live video services to the masses. Everyone who has a verified account can now stream live video on YouTube, and verified accounts can now create a Google+ Hangout on Air.
The company today has not given an update on how much take-up the live service has seen overall, but big-name, high-profile live events have proven to be major draws on the platform. The Red Bull Stratos Mission, for example, drew 8 million concurrent viewers.
Live events give Google a way to complement the role it plays as the archive of the long-tail and keeper of viral clips. “Appointment” viewing around live events presents specific kinds of advertising opportunities and helps YouTube position itself more securely as a TV alternative.
Whether that positioning can work in the context of long-tail content that may not attract that many concurrent users is another question. On the other hand, it presents particular opportunities for hyperlocal advertising that complements Google's pitch as a one-stop marketing shop for smaller businesses.
The YouTube live video service has been in a “beta” mode for the -- For more information read the original article here.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has a sobering new report finding identity theft cost Americans $10 billion more last year than all other property crimes measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey.
While identity theft cost Americans $24.7 billion in 2012, losses for household burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft totaled just $14 billion.
The BJS report measures both direct and indirect losses tied to identity theft. Direct losses, the majority of the $24.7 billion, consisted of the money thieves got by misusing a victim's personal info or account information. Indirect losses included other costs associated with identity theft — like legal fees and bounced checks.
The BJS's last report on identity theft, for the year 2010, measured just direct losses and put them at $13.1 billion. While that report didn't measure indirect losses, a separate research firm called Javelin Strategy and Research found this year that identity thefts are indeed on the rise.
Here are some key points from the BJS report:
- 85% of theft incidents involved the fraudulent use of existing accounts, rather than the use of somebody's name to open a new account.
- People whose names were used to -- For more information read the original article here.
-- For more information read the original article here.
It's another month and another update for channels on the Apple TV. Today the company quietly added four more channels to its media-streaming box including ABC, Bloomberg, Crackle and KORTV.
American readers will be familiar with ABC. The new "Watch ABC" channel on the Apple TV allows users to view content from their local ABC affiliate. The Bloomberg channel is a portal into media from the Bloomberg news and financial empire, including the Charlie Rose show. Crackle is a media-streaming service like Netflix that offers up free and pay-per-view movies. Finally, KORTV is a Korean television channel that offers videos on demand.
There's no software update required to get the new channels; they should just appear. If you don't see them, simply restart your Apple TV and they should show up.
While Apple's strategy for the Apple TV remains a mystery -- and it seemingly adds more channels at random -- those that are interested in the development process of creating a channel for the Apple TV should check out this piece by 9to5Mac, where the site talks to the devs behind the Bloomberg app.
Apple TV gets ABC, Bloomberg, Crackle and KORTV channels originally appeared on TUAW - The -- For more information read the original article here.
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Today is the fourth day of a 12-day feature where we'll show you the strangest Apple-flavored gifts we can find. Check out the previous days here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3
Day 3: An iPhone fan
You know those cheap little fans with the foam blades that you can buy in the gift shop of the zoo? They work OK, but when you're slogging through the elephant exhibit with the midsummer sun baking your neck, it's hard to really feel like your investment was worth it. This iPhone accessory is a bit like that, only it's much more compact and it runs off of your iPhone's battery.
Is it practical? Not really, no. It's not something you'd leave plugged in when you're not using it, and unless you want to get strange stares from people at the park, it's not something you'd probably use in public anyway. Still, it's less than US$10, and although there's no iPhone 5 version, the weird little gadget will still move a bit of breeze for anyone with an iPhone 4s or earlier.
If you have a loved one who is perpetually too-warm-to-stop-talking-about-how-warm-they-are, it could be a nice stocking stuffer. -- For more information read the original article here.