David Mark, Nigerian Senate PresidentBy Karen AttiahNigeria, with a population of nearly 160 million, is one of Africa’s giants when it comes to the use of social media. Nearly 4.6 million Nigerians are on Facebook. Twitter is the 6th most popular website in Nigeria. So it comes as no surprise that Nigerians were angered when the President of the Nigerian Senate David Mark suggested that social media in the country should be censored.
“Mark also added that Nigerian reporters should emulate foreign media ‘who never report negative things about their countries.’” Sounds like this guy needs to read more foreign media.
neightkelly asks: What seems rather suspect? That twitter silenced him or that he leaked the email?
» SFB says: That Twitter silenced him. That sets a very bad precedent for the company and suggests it was for reasons other than those specifically stated. — Ernie @ SFB
The Independent’s Guy Adams, a prominent critic of NBC’s Olympic coverage, just got suspended from Twitter … for tweeting out an NBC official’s relatively-public e-mail address ahead of the opening ceremonies. *wince* That seems kind of … suspect, don’t you think, especially considering the network’s standing relationship with Twitter? Read the tweets here.
dimplevjk asks: Um, is Twitter down?
» SFB says: Yes, though if you use the mobile web client, you can still tweet. If news breaks when twitter is down, does anyone hear it? — Ernie @ SFB
Thanks to a tip from Favstar creator, Tim Haines, there’s a way to take a “scroll” down memory lane. Twitter used to have a “public timeline” that showed you all of the global tweets that were incoming. This was way before Bieber and those other punks joined, so it was somewhat easier to manage then. That link is still exposed and viewable, and it has the older design. (via Check Out The Old Twitter Public Timeline)
For fans of time travel.
Jenna Wortham:
“We’re working on a tool to let users export all of their tweets,” Mr. Costolo said in a meeting with reporters and editors at The New York Times on Monday. “You’ll be able to download a file of them.”
Exporting is nice, but what I really want is history search. They also hint that this is coming, but it’s really sort of ridiculous that it hasn’t yet. I *still* use FriendFeed for that.
In which your embarrassing tweets from that time you went to that Puddle of Mudd concert “ironically” come back to haunt you.
Wait til u hear my version; much more PG. & my review, lousy film, but theater would make a terrific racquetball court. Full story 2 follow.Actor and comedian Fred Willard • In his first public comment since his arrest at an adult theater last week. Such pride at his ability to make fun of what was a career-damaging incident. He also notes that (while PBS canned him) he’s not leaving his other show, ABC’s “Trust Us With Your Life.” Willard will likely not go to jail, by the way, but will have to enter a sex-counseling program. Anyway, bask in the glow of that epic tweet.
Twitter is appealing a judge’s decision requiring the social media company to turn over an Occupy Wall Street protester’s tweets and account information to Manhattan prosecutors.
In June, Criminal Court Judge Matthew Sciarrino ruled that releasing Malcolm Harris’s tweets would not violate his privacy, since he had posted them on a public website.
Harris, a Brooklyn-based writer, was arrested with hundreds of other Occupy members during a mass march across the Brooklyn Bridge last fall.
The case has focused attention on a number of murky legal questions surrounding the use of social media, including whether users own the content they post publicly and whether companies like Twitter can prevent authorities from using that information to prosecute social media users.
READ ON: Twitter appeals ruling to hand over Occupy protester’s tweets
Twitter has historically fought for its users’ rights in cases like these. So props.
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
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Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
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Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
With its mixture of speed and features, Tweetbot long ago became my go-to Twitter client for both the iPhone and iPad. And today it launches for the Mac as well.
It’s in the pretty early alpha stage, but it works. Users of Tweetbot for iOS will feel right at home. Most importantly for me, it’s retina-ready, meaning I no longer have to look at the abomination that is Twitter for Mac on a Retina MacBook Pro.
I have basically no faith in Twitter updating Twitter for Mac again with the departure of creator Loren Brichter from the company. So Tweetbot is most welcome. Hopefully it’s allowed to stay.
Get Tweetbot for Mac here.
My favorite mobile Twitter client, now on Mac desktop. Probably won’t replace Tweetdeck for me but worth checking out.
Trying it now. Looks rad, kids.
The good news is that it will be very hard for any of you to be the sender of 2012’s most embarrassingly shameful tweet, now.
And yes, this tweet is in reference to this story. If you want to take a shower after reading this post, we understand.
EDIT: The original hed on the DC post was ”For Ohio woman, a killer day.”
In May, Twitter sought to quash a subpoena for Occupy Wall Street protestor Malcolm Harris’s tweets, location, and other data over a 90-day period flanking his October 1st arrest for disorderly conduct on the Brooklyn Bridge. On Saturday, Judge Matthew Sciarrino Jr. upheld an earlier ruling that Harris himself had no standing to contest the subpoena, ruled that Harris had no expectation of privacy in a public tweet, and denied Twitter’s claim that the subpoena constituted an unreasonable burden on the company.
In short, only Twitter can fight a criminal court subpoena for user information, and for most requests for once-public information, the company will be expected by the court to hand it over. Unlike a privately sent email, “[t]here can be no reasonable expectation of privacy in a tweet sent around the world,” writes Judge Sciarrino Jr.
Sciarrino also makes it clear that in his opinion, the logic and implications of the ruling are not limited to Twitter alone, but all forms of social media.
It’s not the first time Twitter fought against giving away its users’ data in court.
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