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Social media and online
The latest social media news and insight on the changing internet. Verdict covers the developing technology of social media and the online world, from regulations to innovations and the business beyond. Social media has seen dramatic maturation in recent years, but has faced an increasingly challenging time as its true impact is felt. So what does the future hold?
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10 Jul
The Bank of Amazon: How big tech is disrupting banking
The announcement that Facebook was entering the world of cryptocurrency through the launch of Libra has certainly sent shockwaves through the tech sphere, with its future as the “global currency” hotly debated.
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5 Jul
Amazon at 25: What could the next 25 years have in store?
On the 5th of July 1994, Princeton graduate Jeff Bezos founded Cadabra, an online book store based in the garage of Bezos’ home in Washington.
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5 Jul
Presidents, parliaments and parties – how social is driving a new age of TV
In an age of ‘Netflix and chill’ it’s easy to imagine linear television being shoved under the covers.
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3 Jul
Social media strike: latest call for decentralised social media
Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger has called for “people with serious grievances against social media” to go on strike from social media for two days to “demand that giant, manipulative corporations give us back control over our data, privacy, and user experience”.
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2 Jul
UK falls to 34th place in global broadband speed ranking
Last year, the number of fixed broadband subscribers passed one billion worldwide for the first time ever.
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26 Jun
Instagram’s in-app shopping is “another sign of the changing nature of shopping”
Head of Instagram, and former Facebook executive, Adam Mosseri has outlined his ambitions to “connect the dots thoughtfully” and introduce in-app shopping to photo sharing platform Instagram, the Financial Times has reported.
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26 Jun
Is the internet too fragile for Google Stadia?
The first generation of game consoles opened a brand-new method of entertainment and since then, technological innovations have brought more people together across the world through gaming.
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14 Jun
Could zombie-survival e-learning boost your business?
Forbes estimated in 2018 that the e-learning industry will be worth £225bn by 2025, supported by a sharp increase in the number of entrepreneurs entering the marketplace.
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14 Jun
‘Fishwrap’ campaign recycles old terror news to sow discord
A misinformation campaign is presenting old terrorism news as new in an attempt to sow discord and uncertainty, according to threat analytics firm Recorded Future.
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10 Jun
Canada gets Facebook ad transparency tool ahead of election
Facebook has launched an ad transparency tool in Canada to tackle foreign political interference in the country’s upcoming federal election, taking place in October this year.
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4 Jun
Tesla blocks access to anonymous workplace chat app Blind amid crackdown on employee leaks
Tesla has begun blocking its employees from accessing anonymous workplace chat app Blind, according to its developers, in an apparent attempt to protect against employee leaks.
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31 May
Gen Z marketing: walking the fine line between personalisation and privacy
It’s safe to say that marketing teams today are almost unrecognisable to teams a mere decade ago.
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24 May
Will Facebook cryptocurrency GlobalCoin become the world’s biggest online payment platform?
US social media giant Facebook has announced plans for GlobalCoin, a cryptocurrency that is set to become the core payment technology on the company’s online platforms.
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14 May
Post-truth news: Terrorist-busting analytics tool shows fact-based journalism is declining
Journalism in the US has been found to be less objective and more opinion-based than in the past, confirming concerns surrounding the rise of so-called post-truth news, thanks to an analytics tool previously used to identify social media discussion of Islamic terrorism.
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8 May
You know nothing, Sky Go: PS4 update causes streaming misery for Game of Thrones fans
Sky customers using Sky Go on their PlayStation 4 (PS4) have been reporting severe streaming errors following the latest software update.
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7 May
Internet Explorer’s days are finally numbered, and it’s good news for online security
Microsoft Build 2019 has begun with a string of announcements that, according to experts, signal the death knells for Internet Explorer.
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1 May
Which is the best connected city in the UK?
With the rise of remote working, plus an ever-increasing number of IoT devices, both businesses and individuals expect constant internet access.
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30 Apr
25% of Facebook employees don’t trust Facebook with their data
Facebook F8, the social platform’s annual developer conference, is set to get underway today offering the tech giant a rare opportunity to show off its successes.
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26 Apr
Facebook faces inquiry for password breach. But is a fine coming?
Ireland’s data regulator has opened an inquiry into Facebook’s failure to securely protect millions of its users’ passwords.
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23 Apr
Twitter’s Q1 results show company’s “winter of discontent” is over
In a surprising turn of events, Twitter’s Q1 results have beat earning expectations, triggering a rise in share prices.
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18 Apr
Facebook’s 1.5m email harvest shows continued privacy failings
Facebook has admitted it “unintentionally” harvested and uploaded email contacts from 1.5 million people, showing once again a lacklustre approach to user privacy.
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18 Apr
Pinterest IPO value slammed: “There is no guarantee it will ever make a profit”
The Pinterest IPO value has been met with criticism from experts in the business community after the social media platform’s initial public offering (IPO) exceeded the higher end of the expected range.
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15 Apr
Ad-block fightback is harming publishers, finds first major study
The first major study into the use of technologies designed to circumnavigate ad-block software has found the tools are causing publishers damage, as they significantly increase the chance of a user opting to not return to a site.
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11 Apr
Mark Zuckerberg salary: How much does the Facebook CEO earn?
Overseeing the Facebook empire might be one of the toughest jobs there is at the moment as the social media platform struggles to fight against fake news, political interference and data privacy concerns.
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8 Apr
Blocked, fined, personally liable: UK clamps down on social media firms for harmful content
Social media companies could face a raft of tougher regulations to ensure that they protect their users from harmful content online under new proposed UK laws.
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2 Apr
Google+ did well to last this long – Here are 12 Google products that failed in the first year
The Google+ shut down will begin today, as the search giant concedes that it won’t be able to break Facebook’s social media dominance.
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28 Mar
What is dark social and why do companies want to harness it?
Using private messaging apps is the most popular method of sharing content, according to new research from GlobalWebIndex and We Are Social.
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27 Mar
Article 13 upload filters could see memes unintentionally blocked
The EU Copyright Directive that encompasses Article 11 and Article 13 is expected to trigger widespread adoption of automated upload filters, however these Article 13 upload filters could see protected content such as memes being essentially banned.
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21 Mar
This company will pay you to turn off your ad blocker
A new browser add-on hopes to convince consumers to turn off their ad blockers and start profiting from use of their own data.
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18 Mar
Social media regulation and mental health: Is a tax the answer?
UK MPs are calling for an additional tax on the profits of social companies to combat the “detrimental effect on young people’s mental health and wellbeing”, in the latest call for social media regulation.