We caution our children about the digital paper trails we leave. We need to be aware of what gets posted online, who can see it, and how things can be easily taken out of context. Another problem that is starting to manifest itself is our online legacy. What happens to our social media accounts when we pass away? Can our family access them or are they simply online forever stuck in limbo?
In an effort to be more competitive in the social networking space, Twitter is removing some restrictions on what counts towards their 140-character tweet limit. People agree that the brevity in posts is what makes Twitter great and soon images, videos, and people’s Twitter usernames (@account) will no longer count. This is great news!
Facebook has 1.65 billion users at last count and no character limit, definitely a social network that Twitter “competes” with. Twitter is celebrating 10 years with 310 million users. Twitter is hoping to re-ignite more user growth with these changes.
Facebook has many security measures in place that help protect user accounts, but what are some of the things you can do to make your account extra secure?
Ten years ago (2006), Twitter was initially named stat.us and the working prototype was changed to Twttr. The very first tweet was on March 21, 2006 by Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, indicating “just setting up my twttr“. He was definitely sticking to the 140 characters or less restriction. Twitter was officially launched on July 15, 2006.
Twitter can be compared to public SMS text messaging. Everyone can see it if they follow someone who sent out the tweet or re-tweeted it. Unfortunately there is a lot of noise out there. I would compare Twitter to The Soapbox and Breaking News. If you want to find out about the very latest news, Twitter is the place to go. Last year (2015) Google started adding tweets to the search engine results which had added major value to tweets. Posting something in 140 characters or less, which includes any hyperlinks added to tweet, is definitely some creative writing.
I have established myself as a source on Twitter for technology and social media links. If you are serious about Twitter, there are many ways to manage and automate your posts using free tools available. I find Twitter quite enjoyable because of the 140 character limit, how easy it is to scan headlines, and click for more information on only topics of interest.
Google Cardboard lets you experience virtual reality (VR) in a very inexpensive manner. If you use the YouTube Android app along with Cardboard, you can even watch 360 degree videos which are really taking off and providing quite the immersive experience. For those of you on iPhones, YouTube will be supporting it “soon” however there is a third party app called in360Tube which provides that functionality right now.
WATCHING 360 DEGREE VIDEOS (NO HEADSET REQUIRED)
You don’t need Cardboard or any other VR headset to watch 360 degree videos. Try opening up https://www.youtube.com/360 in your Google Chrome web browser. Select one of the 360 degree videos. When you press play, you will notice arrows appear in the top left corner or you can click and drag the video screen using your mouse. It is fascinating to be in control of where you are watching during a video. I highly recommend you all try it out.
WATCHING 360 DEGREE VIDEOS USING CARDBOARD
Every year I look forward to the recap videos that get put out by YouTube Rewind and always love the GoPro featured compilations. Last year’s videos certainly did not disappoint, enjoy watching both!
