Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 7
Posts 1 - 7

Antiabortion group accuses Twitter of blocking its ads, censoring images

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Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 23.9.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | censorship, social media, Twitter
Summary | Twitter has been accused of blocking antiabortion ads and asking to remove "sensitive content" from its social network platform. The antiabortion group (Live Action) claims that Twitter does not respect its policy to host "unfiltered debate". Other major tech companies such as Facebook or Google have been accused of crossing the line by censoring content and blocking posts from their platforms. According to Live Action, everyone should be able to share their ideas and opinion.
Image Description | N/A

Twitter testing longer tweets to boost its appeal

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Newspaper | Los Angeles Times
Date | 27.9.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | social media, Twitter
Summary | Twitter announced a new test: they are going to try to let a group of users tweet with a limit of 280 characters. Twitter's current limit (140 characters) was actually based on the SMS, but now many Twitter users feel constrained by the current limit. Twitter thus hopes the new limit of 280 characters will make things easier for users. Twitter has struggled to remain competitive next to Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook; they all offer other attractive features.
Image Description | N/A

Eager crowds are flattening Southern California's vibrant 'super bloom'

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Newspaper | Los Angeles Times
Date | 6.4.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Instagram, social media, threat, Twitter
Summary | Rare rainfalls in California have cause the 'super-bloom' in the deserts, drawing thousands of visitors to the national parks. This is the first time social media has had such a huge impact on visitor numbers: people are eagerly Instagramming the admittedly photogenic natural phenomenon. The only problem is that people are breaking park rules in order to get a good picture: many are straying off the tracks, trampling the delicate flowers. People have posted pictures of themseves with wildflower bouquet and lying or sitting on top of the flowers. Not all parks have this problem, but some people are destroying the flora just to get a good Instagram post.
Image Description | Photographs of the superbloom off of Twitter.
Image Tags | Twitter

United and Pepsi Affairs Force Brands to Respect Social Media

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 13.4.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | marketing, politics, social media, Twitter
Summary | Companies are becoming ever more aware of how powerful the "data tsunamis" transmitted on social media really are. Some are installing real-time social media response screens where they can track their brand image on social media. Many companies have increased their social media up to five times in the past two years. These social media analysts track trends and determine whether the company's marketing should jump on the bandwagon or whether the trend is on the decline already. Controversies can also hurt companies when they become viral, for instance the recent United Airlines incident or the insensitive Pepsi advertising. Social media staff are made aware that when they communicate with one customer on Twitter, they have a public audience, even if it is through the messenger because screenshots can get shared too.
Image Description | Carl’s Jr restaurant.
Image Tags | male(s)

None of Us Are Safe From Getting ‘Owned’

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 28.3.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | privacy, social media, Twitter, word/writing
Summary | Much communication on social media and especially Twitter revolves around criticizing. One frequently used term is 'owning' - one can 'own' a hater or troll when exposing some compromising information about them or something that they did not realize. The word hails from hacker culture of the early internet days when 'owning' meant to hack into someone else's virtual space and snoop around.
Image Description | Illustration of a lock made out of an ethernet cable.

Vine Dries Up. Black Humor Loses a Home

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 31.10.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | diversity, social media, Twitter
Summary | Twitter announced that it will shut down it's video-based social media platform Vine. The six second videos had established a particular kind of humor that the author argues is reminiscent of black humor with its allusions and communicating in codes. Many black comedians in particular had thrived on the platform and significantly shaped its visual language.
Image Description | Some vines by Jay Versace and a screenshot of a Nicholas Fraser vine with comments.
Image Tags | male(s), Vine

The Raised Fist Emoji Is Social Media’s Resistance Symbol

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Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 7.2.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | emojis, politics, research/study, social media, Twitter
Summary | Some researchers have analyzed which emojis are most often used in the recent protest hashtags on Twitter. The raised fist emoji comes up in all of them, particulartly when the tweet contains a word like "together" or a similar word marking community. Other popular emojis are the heart emoji, the American flag emoji, and the crying/laughing emoji. Depending on the tone of the hashtag, different emojis are more popular than others.
Image Description | The raised fist emoji and graphs and tables about the distribution of the different emojis in the protest hashtags.
Image Tags | chart, emojis, hashtag

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