No, ‘Fable’ designer Peter Molyneux isn’t retiring today
Peter Molyneux is not done making video games. Molyneux appeared to announce his retirement from the video game industry in a series of tweets today, but it turns out his account was hacked. The impersonator also claimed that Molyneux was shutting down his latest game, Godus, but that’s not true, either.
“Ahh my account has been hacked, ( you can tell cos they know how to spell) I am not retiring, not closing godus,” Molyneux’s account tweeted just minutes after a trio of messages claimed he was done with video games.
One of Molyneux’s former employees at 22cans, Jack Attridge, also tried to get the message out about the hack, tweeting, “Peter’s account was hacked. That is not a real tweet1!!” He said he spoke with Molyneux on the phone to confirm the hoax.
Molyneux is known as the creator of the “god game” genre, which kicked off with his 1989 title, Populous. He’s also the mastermind behind such acclaimed games as Dungeon Keeper, Black & White and the Fable series (yes, including Fable III). He’s one of the gaming industry’s more eccentric characters and this isn’t his first brush with Twitter-based impersonators.
Godus is (unsurprisingly) a god game that Molyneux crowdfunded in 2012 under his independent studio, 22cans. The game raised $850,000 on Kickstarter and it was tied to an experimental app, Curiosity, that promised to turn one player into a legitimate “god” of Godus. That idea didn’t pan out as Molyneux promised.
Ahh my account has been hacked, ( you can tell cos they know how to spell) I am not retiring, not closing godus
— peter molyneux (@pmolyneux) January 28, 2016
@LaurakBuzz @pmolyneux Laura he’s been hacked. I just got off the phone with him 
— Jack Attridge (@JacksFlavour) January 28, 2016
Source: @pmolyneux
Twitter opens topical Moments feed to UK advertisers
Twitter’s Moments feature lets users step back from their rapid-fire feeds and see what hot topics are dominating internet chatter. From news to funnies to trending subjects, Moments blend media and commentary into curated, bitesize overviews. But like any self-respecting social network would, Twitter’s made sure the new feature doubles as a new revenue stream. Promoted Moments, aka adverts, began appearing in the US weeks after the feature launched, and from today, Brits will start seeing them pop up too.
Twitter’s initial partners include Tesco, Sky and Xbox, and you should be able to spot their Promoted Moments pretty easily, since all are labelled as such. Unless you’re far too important to be monetised, that is.
Source: Twitter
LG trolls Samsung for ditching removable batteries
In one of those lovely social media kerfuffles we all love so much, LG USA has trolled Samsung Mobile for ditching removable batteries in the Galaxy S6 Edge+. Samsung tweeted to advertise the fact that you can charge the S6 Edge+ battery from zero to full in just 90 minutes. LG replied with the clever rebuttal that the LG V10 can go from zero to full instantly with a removable battery.
This is great for several reasons. One, it keeps us giggling like schoolgirls. Two, it implies LG plans to stick with removable batteries for the near future. Three, LG kinda stole the idea of removable batteries and microSD cards from Samsung in the first place. Of course, rumors have it that the Galaxy S7 will get a microSD card slot back and Samsung’s battery improvements since the Galaxy S6 mean that removable batteries are kind of obsolete. But we still love a sick burn when we see one.
Whether or not removable batteries are necessary anymore is a question up for constant debate. Fast charging has, for many flagships, replaced the need for a replaceable battery. While a user-switchable battery is definitely convenient for power users, it is a feature not made use of by many, and including it makes a device thicker than it would be with a non-removable battery. So whether LG is poking fun at the future or Samsung made a wrong move, it’s little scraps like this that keep the OEM game fun.
Are you a fan of removable batteries? Or do you prefer fast charging?
Instagram snags Kevin Weil after Twitter departure
The last few days have been tumultuous for Twitter after news broke that several executives were leaving the social platform’s management team. At least one of them appears to be headed to a competitor as multiple sources are reporting that Kevin Weil, the former vice president of product at Twitter, is on his way to Instagram as the Head of Product.
Weil’s move comes on the heels of Instagram’s former head of product, Peter Deng, moving over to the Oculus portion of the Facebook collective earlier this month. According to sources, Instagram has actually been courting Weil for several months now and Deng’s move helped things fall into place. Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey may have gotten wind of that development as reports indicate Weil’s responsibilities at Twitter had been scaled back after a round of layoffs last October. Weil is slated to to officially stay on as a Twitter employee until January 29th, so no official word from Instagram is likely to be released until after that date.
Along with Weil, Twitter also lost their VP of Engineering Alex Roetter, their VP of Global Media Katie Stanton and VP of Human Resources Skip Schipper. Despite some initial reports, all of the executives left of their own accord rather than being let go by Twitter. Some sources indicated that Roetter alerted Dorsey to his imminent departure late in 2015 after a reorg. No word has surfaced yet on where these individuals may be heading.
source: Re/code
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Twitter Close to Hiring Former Apple PR Director Natalie Kerris
Apple’s longtime public relations executive Natalie Kerris, who retired last April after 14 years at the company, is the leading candidate for Twitter’s head of communications, according to Re/code.
Kerris initially sought to succeed longtime Apple PR head Katie Cotton, who retired in 2014, but fellow Apple PR veteran Steve Dowling was named as Cotton’s permanent successor last April.
Kerris previously said that her decision to retire and “enjoy life” came after spending two weeks with her family in Italy, but it appears she may put those plans on hold in joining Twitter.
Instead, she has recently spent a lot of time talking to top Twitter execs and is the leading candidate for the job. If hired, Kerris will report to general counsel Vijaya Gadde and not, interestingly, to newly named CMO Leslie Berland. Gadde conducted the search, which has been taking place for months.
Kerris was Senior Director of Worldwide Corporate Communications at Apple, where she served in public relations and communications roles since 2001. Kerris worked closely with the late Steve Jobs and oversaw the launch of the iPod, iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air and, more recently, Apple Pay and Apple Watch.
Kerris would replace Gabriel Stricker, who left Twitter to lead Google Fiber communications.
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Twitter’s product head is jumping to Instagram
Ex-Twitter executive Kevin Weil is switching social networks: he’s joining Instagram as its new head of product and will be reporting directly to CEO Kevin Systrom, according to NYT. Recode says Weil has replaced Peter Deng who moved to another FB property, Oculus, earlier this month. The Facebook-owned image-sharing network has apparently been courting Weil since last year, and it’s not true that he was fired. He’s chosen to take the company up on its offer way before it was reported that some of Twitter’s top execs are leaving the microblogging service.
The New York Times describes Weil, who joined Twitter in 2009, as a “well-liked veteran.” It’s unclear why he’s decided to change allegiances, but his responsibilities were reportedly trimmed down after Dorsey cleaned house in October.
Source: The New York Times, Recode
Livestream your next GoPro video through Periscope
Those Periscope livestreams on Twitter are about to get a bit more eXtreme (note the uppercase X). Or at least you’ll have a front row seat to someone wiping out. Today Periscope and GoPro announced that the app will now support streams from HERO4 Black and HERO4 Silver cameras. Unfortunately, only the iOS version of the app supports connecting to GoPro footage. No word on when or if Android support is on its way.
If you do have a GoPro connected to an iPhone with Periscope, the footage will automatically appear within the app. You can switch between the action cam and the iPhone’s camera. While you’ll need to keep the application open to keep broadcasting, the latest update adds a lock screen switch so you can put the phone in your pocket while doing something awesome with your GoPro.
Recently Twitter timelines for iOS were updated to support livestreaming within a user’s feed. Adding GoPro support has the potential to make the streaming service more of a destination fans of the X Games.
The update supports broadcasting and saving to the camera roll on on iPhone 5S and later. The iPhone 5 and 5c only support broadcasting. But the GoPros will save the footage to an SD card. So your epic backflip (or bail) is still available for later editing.
Source: Periscope
Twitter VIPs don’t see as many ads as everybody else
Twitter’s most prominent members have apparently been enjoying an ad-free (or an almost ad-free) experience these past few months. According to Recode, the microblogging website has started experimenting with giving VIPs special treatment way back in September. The publication’s sources say it’s a move the social network decided to undertake in an effort to make sure its most active users continue to tweet. We guess the company believes having popular personalities on the website can entice more people to sign up and help it achieve the growth it needs.
Simply being a popular celebrity isn’t enough to land you in the VIP area, though: the company reportedly selects people based on their tweet numbers and on how many people those tweets reach. Us common folk who don’t make the cut can look forward to seeing new ad types in the future. If you’re wondering if Twitter’s losing money over this, well, we’ll bet the VIP pool’s quite small and it doesn’t impact its earnings much — the company has bigger problems at the moment.
Source: Recode
Vine boss departs Twitter to work on VR at Google
The arrival of consumer level virtual reality is one of the most anticipated tech developments heading our way this year, both for customers and developers alike. The fledgling industry clearly has some major pull, as Vine General Manager Jason Toff has announced that he is leaving the company to work with Google on virtual reality.
Jason Toff didn’t offer an explanation for the move, other than exciting new opportunities to work on. He had been the director of product management at Twitter before heading over to Vine a couple of years ago, and had worked at YouTube before that. Unfortunately for Twitter, which owns Vine, this is just the latest in a number of high profile resignations, which includes Kevin Weil, head of products, and Katie Stanton, Twitter’s chief of global media. The company has been under increasing pressure to recapture its previous growth and generate additional revenue lately, and has seen its stock price fall to new lows.
Personal update! I’m joining Google to work on VR. So much exciting potential there.
— Jason Toff (@jasontoff) January 25, 2016
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
To accommodate the recent departures, CEO Jack Dorsey will be reorganizing some of the leading positions within the company. Twitter COO Adam Bain will be taking on responsibilities for the production, media and HR teams, while CTO Adam Messinger will be heading up engineering and consumer product research and development.
Read more: Google creates new virtual reality division
Turning back to VR. A couple of weeks ago, Clay Bavor was appointed to head up a newly created virtual reality division at Google. We don’t know exactly what the group will be working on, but it seems probable that the company is looking to expand out beyond its low cost Cardboard headset, especially if it wants to compete with emerging platforms from the likes of Oculus and HTC/Valve.
What we think about VR:
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A flock of Twitter employees leave the nest amid shakeup
The last eight months at Twitter have been nothing short of dull. Dick Costolo, the company’s longtime CEO, left in July 2015 with an unplanned successor. Founder Jack Dorsey assumed the role on an interim basis with the intent to set Twitter on a course to revamp its board, get everything on the right track, and name a new leader for 2016 and beyond. That new leader was never named because Dorsey permanently became the CEO once again in October, just one week before Twitter announced it would be letting go of more than 300 employees. But the reshuffling isn’t over yet. Dorsey himself announced a whole bunch of moves as The New York Times went public with Twitter’s decision to overhaul high-level positions throughout the company.
Was really hoping to talk to Twitter employees about this later this week, but want to set the record straight now: pic.twitter.com/PcpRyTzOlW
— Jack (@jack) January 25, 2016
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Alex Roetter (SVP of Engineering), Kevin Weil (VSP of Product), Katie Jacobs Stanton (VP of Global Media), and Skip Schipper (VP of Human Resources) are all leaving Twitter on their own terms. Dorsey stated that they are “taking well-deserved time off” before thanking them for their service. Each of their roles will be filled, at least on an interim basis, with existing Twitter executives. COO Adam Bain will handle revenue-related product teams, media, and human resources. The engineering, consumer product, design, research, and user services wings will be folded into one group overseen by CTO Adam Messinger.
Vine, which is owned by Twitter, also lost someone important to its operations. GM Jason Toff confirmed that he’s leaving the struggling video sharing service to assist Google in its virtual reality efforts.
Here’s what the head honcho sees for the future:
“Twitter will become the first thing everyone in the world checks to start their day and the first thing people turn to when they want to share ideas, commentary or simply what’s happening.”
Dorsey will also continue searching for new people from the outside to join Twitter’s board.
Source: The New York Times, Jack Dorsey (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: A flock of Twitter employees leave the nest amid shakeup
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