Twitter warns users targeted by state-sponsored attacks

Facebook and Google already warn you if they think you’re the victim of a state-sponsored cyberattack, and now Twitter is joining the fray. The social network recently alerted some users that that they “may have been targeted” by government attackers trying to get email addresses, network connections and phone numbers. Twitter doesn’t think the intruders got any account info, but it’s offering suggestions (including using Tor) to anyone worried their personal info is out in the wild.

It’s not certain which country was responsible, and there isn’t much of a pattern in the attacks. Some of the targets are activists or security gurus, but there’s no obvious thread linking everyone. In that sense, the warnings are raising more questions than answers — just how worried should people be? Still, it’s good to know that Twitter isn’t waiting before it gives users a crucial heads-up.

Via: Christopher Soghoian (Twitter), Motherboard

Source: Coldhak (Twitter), Runa Sandvik (Twitter)

Twitter tests Promoted Tweets for users who aren’t logged in

Twitter is looking to expand its advertising reach, and to do so, the company is testing Promoted Tweets for folks who aren’t logged in. This means that if you’re browsing a profile or viewing a tweet’s details, you could see the social network’s ads before you enter your log-in info. TechCrunch reports that Twitter is only testing the new practice, and for now it’s only doing so on the web. Of course, this means that not only will the ads display for Twitter users who aren’t signed in, but also for visitors who don’t have an account at all.

Advertisers will have access to the same tools it does now for targeting registered users, as the company is making good on its word to offer a way to cash in on all visitors to the site — not just the ones with an active account. This isn’t the first time Twitter made a move to do so either, as it’s deal with Google to populate search results with tweets earlier this year was another step in this direction. When the test period is over, don’t be surprised if those Promoted Tweets show up in all of the places they do now when you log in, including search results and promoted trend pages.

[Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Source: TechCrunch

Twitter’s website supports all the new emoji

Twitter now supports all the new variations of emoji for Unicode 8 (the version found in iOS 9.1) on Twitter.com. So if you’re tired of giving a thumbs up with a finger that more resembles Bart Simpson than your own, now you can share your pictographs with a skin color that doesn’t look like it has jaundice. Tacos, burritos and unicorn pictures are also included, and according to Twitter, will even work when tweets are embedded elsewhere — you can test that promise out right here.

All the tacos 🌮 and burritos 🌯 you could possibly want are now in your embedded Tweets and timelines! 🍾🍾🍾🍾 https://t.co/yz4qDM2IML

— TwitterDev (@TwitterDev) December 9, 2015

Source: Twitter

Photos are automatically expanded in your timeline on Twitter

Twitter has grown and evolved over the years to incorporate images and videos rather than text alone. Today, your timeline will become even more busy and consumed with images as Twitter is now showing entire photos. Users were previously seeing previews of images that were merely cropped versions, being able to see the entire photo if they selected the tweet.

Stretch your fingers; there’s a lot of scrolling to do

There are also changes being made to the way that Twitter shows mutli-photo albums. Instead of separating photos into sections of equal size, Twitter is allowing one to be featured larger than the others.

Source: Twitter

Come comment on this article: Photos are automatically expanded in your timeline on Twitter

Twitter’s 2015 was defined by activism and its own tough luck

Twitter has posted its year in review, and it’s clear that some things are truer than ever in the social sphere… including for Twitter itself. More often than not, the 2015 trends were a continuation of what you saw in 2014: activism dominated tweets even more than in the past thanks to the Black Lives Matter, LGBT equality and pro-refugee movements. Straight-up politics mattered as well given crucial elections in countries like Canada, India and the UK.

Source: Twitter

Twitter no longer crops the photos in your Timeline

A small change, but one that’s welcome all the same. Starting today Twitter.com will no longer crop the photos in your timeline, saving you a click to see holiday snaps, selfies and anything else the people you follow have been posting. It also means that when you upload an image, especially anything in a square format, you don’t have to worry about how it’ll appear on the web. That’s good news for shutterbugs and news organisations, although power users will probably be disappointed in the move, which ultimately sacrifices tweet volume for visual media.

Source: Twitter (Blog Post)