EE TV now highlights what shows are trending on Twitter

Ever feel like your colleagues are speaking an entirely different language when you’re eavesdropping around the water cooler? Who is this Greg guy with the insatiable appetite they keep bringing up? Well, if you happen to have an EE set-top box sitting under your TV at home, then prepare to up your small talk game. As part of the platform’s first major update since the ability to download recordings to phones and tablets was added, EE has today brought various “Watch with Twitter” features to its TV service after partnering with the social network.

Users will now be able to see what shows are trending on Twitter in real-time, with up to five being flagged by the familiar blue bird icon right in the EPG. You’ll see the Twitter logo pop up in various parts of the EE TV UI, including in the listings of soon-to-air shows people are already getting hyped about. Go to the specific programme page and you’ll also find the show’s official hashtag, so you too can join in the chorus of reaction GIFs from a second screen.

EE is planning to continue working with Twitter to launch deeper integration next year. Though the partnership is the first of its kind in the UK, other providers elsewhere have additional features like a live overlay option that surfaces relevant tweets, so we expect that might be on the cards in the future.

Today’s update isn’t all about Twitter, though, with other improvements being rolled out to set-top boxes this month. EE is expanding the Replay feature, for example, which records everything that’s aired on a channel in the past 24 hours so you can catch up on something you recently missed without going through an on-demand app. You will soon be able to set the recording loop running on up to eight channels at a time, up from the previous cap of six. From the Replay tab on the main menu, you’ll be able to filter all that content by category, too, like movies, sport and so on.

EE is also pulling 41 channels out the TVPlayer and Box Plus apps and integrating them directly into the EPG, though some of the former’s channels will require a subscription to view. Finally, the reality TV streaming service Hayu has arrived on EE TV in app form, just in case all those Freeview channels aren’t showing your favourite brand of trashy TV.

Source: EE

Apple Wins ‘Gold’ Customer Service Award From Twitter

Twitter today announced the results of its first ever #Awards initiative, naming Apple as the top customer service provider on the social networking platform.

Apple was awarded with the “Gold” #Customer award for the @AppleSupport Twitter account, which Apple uses to quickly respond to customer service requests. According to Twitter, the @AppleSupport account ranks #1 among support accounts for average engagements and average engagements for followers, racking up 150,000 likes and retweets since its launch.

The average online customer service response time is a long, grueling 17 hours. Hours! @AppleSupport decided to do something about that sad stat and use Twitter to respond to customer inquiries and comments. Because of the live nature of Twitter they are also able to pick up conversations with customers at any time, and incorporate rich media into responses to provide even more help to people when and where they need it most.

Apple launched its Apple Support Twitter account in March of 2016, marking its first support account on a social networking site. Apple uses the Apple Support account to answer customer questions, offer support, and provide Apple customers with tips and tricks on using Apple products.

Illustrate your point. Draw, zoom, and add text to images before sending. pic.twitter.com/WKXfjlac5j

— Apple Support (@AppleSupport) November 9, 2016

Apple interacts directly with customers through the Apple Support Twitter account and provides quick solutions to problems, often responding to requests in a matter of minutes during the hours of 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Since its March launch, Apple Support has gained more than 524,000 followers and has shared dozens of useful product tips that often garner hundreds of likes and retweets.

Tags: Twitter, Apple Support
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Twitter COO Adam Bain steps down

This afternoon Twitter’s Chief Operating Officer Adam Bain announced in a series of tweets that he is leaving the company after six years “and a once-in-a-lifetime run.” Listed second under CEO Jack Dorsey on Twitter’s management page, Bain was in charge of building the company’s advertising business. His departure comes after weeks of turmoil for the company, including rumors of a sale and hundreds of layoffs. A Bloomberg report in October signaled an internal struggle with CFO Anthony Noto taking more control, and he will replace Bain in the COO position.

Developing…

Source: Adam Bain (Twitter), Twitter (press release)

Twitter May Sell Vine Instead of Shutting It Down

Twitter last week announced plans to shut down Vine, but it looks like the video sharing service could potentially live on as Twitter is currently entertaining multiple purchase offers.

According to TechCrunch, Twitter is vetting term sheets from several companies who are offering to buy Vine and “hopes to make a deal soon.” Its not known which companies have made offers for Vine, but one rumor suggests Japanese company Line is in the running.

One source says that at least some of the offers are for under $10 million, indicating Twitter might not generate significant revenue directly from selling Vine.

However, Vine could still benefit Twitter even if it’s owned by someone who would help it thrive and retain the strong integration between the two apps. Vine content plays instantly in the Twitter stream, bolstering its current parent company’s quest to serve more video that could attract user engagement.

First introduced in 2013, Vine lets users capture six-second-long looping video clips that can be shared on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Vine has had some stiff competition in recent years from companies like Snapchat and Instagram, leading to Twitter’s decision to shut it down.

Should Vine not be sold, Twitter plans to shut it down “in the coming months.” The Vine website will remain intact so Vines will continue to be available to watch and download, though no new content will be able to be created.

Vine’s demise comes in the midst of significant layoffs at Twitter. In October, Twitter let go of nine percent of its staff, or 350 people, in an effort to cut costs and restructure its priorities.

Tags: Twitter, Vine
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After Math: Politics as usual

It’s been a crazy week for US politics, what with the end of the contentious 2016 election just around the corner. The New York Times announced that it would lower its paywall for the 72 hours surrounding election day while human dumpster fire Peter Thiel tried to explain away his support for Donald Trump. Security experts are also investigating why one of Trump’s servers keeps pinging a Russian bank as the FBI investigates one of its own Twitter accounts for violations of the Hatch Act. And no, you still can’t vote by phone, dummy. Numbers, because how else are you going to rig an election?

Trump’s campaign staff took control of his Twitter account

Have you noticed that many more of Donald Trump’s recent tweets are obviously from his staff, rather than from the presidential candidate himself? It’s not because he’s busy on the campaign trail. According to the New York Times, Trump’s team “wrested away” control of his Twitter account. While there’s no official reason given, it’s said to be out of concern that Trump’s off-the-cuff online remarks are doing his campaign more harm than good — a late-night insult or inaccurate statement would come back to haunt him in the next debate or Clinton ad.

The trick, according to the newspaper, was convincing Trump that losing control would actually make him stronger. His campaign chief, Steve Bannon, claimed that Clinton was trying to “get inside [Trump’s] head” and prod him into saying things on Twitter that he’d regret later. Now, Trump suggests tweets and lets staff edit them before they reach the internet.

This hasn’t completely stopped Trump from tweeting himself (there are a handful of recent examples as of this writing), and not everyone will be happy with the move. It’s easier to connect with candidates if you know it’s really them, rather than press managers serving as conduits. However, Trump himself is happy with the change as it has led to the media reporting more on his campaign message than his outbursts. The big question is whether or not the shift in policy is coming in time. After all, Trump had unfettered Twitter access for nearly his entire election run. If those tweets did any tangible damage to Trump’s chances of winning, there’s no guarantee that he’ll repair his image in the last few days before the vote.

Source: New York Times

Periscope debuts Clinton and Trump masks ahead of Election Day

I, for one, wouldn’t want to be in either candidate’s shoes right now but Periscope has a different idea. For the next week, the livestreaming app will allow users to don Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump masks when they broadcast in selfie mode.

“Live video continues to be an important way for anyone, including our elected representatives, to share their point of view on important issues and invite everyone to be a part of the conversation,” the Periscope team wrote in a recent Medium post. And what better way to share your thoughts and spur reasonable discussion of the issues than to hide behind a virtual mask and shout partisan opinions into your phone?

Still, this is an interesting move on Periscope’s part. The company is clearly taking aim at rival Snapchat, which has long enabled users to don digital masks — the difference of course is that Periscope’s overlays are applied directly to a live video feed rather than as a post production treatment for prerecorded video.

Source: Periscope (Medium)

FBI investigating its own Twitter account over election posts

One of the FBI’s Twitter accounts was dormant for a year before it was revived over the weekend. @FBIRecordsVault began posting links to documents related to candidates in the US presidential election in the early hours of October 30th, starting with info on Donald Trump’s father Fred Trump. The account followed that up two days later with a release of files from an investigation into President Bill Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich, a case that was closed in 2005. ThinkProgress reports that the FBI has launched an internal investigation into the activity.

The FBI’s Inspection Division will reportedly look into the matter. As you might expect, it’s illegal (and against bureau policy) for employees to use the department’s resources to influence an election. In a statement after criticism about the posts, the FBI said the document releases were in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and that the files were posts automatically. This doesn’t explain why the account didn’t post anything for over a year. We doubt this wasn’t the first FOIA request in the last 12 months.

“Per the standard procedure for FOIA, these materials became available for release and were posted automatically and electronically to the FBI’s public reading room in accordance with the law and established procedures,” the statement explained.

The social media posts come just days after FBI director James Comey wrote a letter to Congress informing them of new Clinton emails that turned up as part of an unrelated case. That case was an investigation of Anthony Weiner and the material surfaced during an examination of devices used by the former Congressman and his wife and Clinton aide Huma Abedin. The Justice Department said that Comey’s letter didn’t follow departmental protocols.

Source: ThinkProgress