social media
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Source: @spillmob / Instagram
In the wake of another chaotic situation caused by Elon Musk, Black Twitter users are making a move to the new Spill social media platform in droves.
On Saturday (July 1st), Twitter users were greeted with an error message that either said “Rate limit exceeded” or “Cannot retrieve tweets.” Musk stated in a tweet that users who were unverified would only be able to read 600 posts a day, but Twitter Blue subscribers would be able to view 6,000 a day. For Black Twitter, that was the last straw in what many felt was the Tesla and Space X CEO’s continual disrespect, prompting many to sign up for Spill.
Spill is a social media platform with the purpose of creating a safe space for diverse communities with a distinct focus on Black women and LGBTQ+ communities. The app had recently launched its beta version on June 19th. It was created by Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell and DeVaris Brown, former Black Twitter employees who were let go in the wake of Musk’s $44 billion purchase of the social media platform. “Our thesis was if we could build a platform from the ground up that caters to these groups, these culture drivers, and then solve the core problems that they’re facing, that our community is facing more specifically, that would make for a better experience for everyone,” Terrell said in a recent interview. The exodus of Black Twitter users, including numerous famous figures such as Keke Palmer and Desus Nice has propelled Spill to be number one in Apple’s App Store as of Monday (July 3).
Spill is styled as a microblogging app with a visual-first approach, with users being able to select from four colorways for their home page. Instead of Twitter’s 140 characters per tweet, each post or “spill” is set at 90 characters but users can get creative with images and GIFs, and even short videos in their posts. Spill is currently invite-only for new users, and is only available on iOS devices, which has spurred some complaints from those using Android devices. But many who’ve made their way to the app are praising it for its diversity and fun factor, as well as the dedication to keeping it a safe space for everyone. Hashtags such as #SpillMigration and #Spillionaires were in wide use on the app, with many more on Twitter making public requests for invite codes.
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SZA is tired of people tearing Lizzo down online. The “Kill Bill” singer took to social media on Tuesday (June 13) to express her annoyance at trolls for targeting Lizzo. “I be wondering where all the virtue signaling, well spoken sh– talking, internet warriors are when someone genuine needs defending. Where the f— do y’all […]
Two U.S. senators are asking TikTok to explain what they called “misleading or inaccurate” responses about how it stores and provides access to U.S. user data after recent news reports raised questions about how the Chinese-owned social media platform handles some sensitive information.
In a letter sent Tuesday to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn cited a report from Forbes that said TikTok had stored financial information of U.S. content creators who get paid by the company — including their Social Security numbers and tax IDs — on China-based servers.
The senators also cited another report from The New York Times, published in late May, that said TikTok employees regularly shared user information, such as driver’s licenses information of some American users, on an internal messaging app called Lark that employees from TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, could easily access.
Forbes first reported Wednesday on the letter.
TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said, ”We are reviewing the letter. We remain confident in the accuracy of our testimony and responses to Congress.”
TikTok has said servers that contain U.S. user data have been physically stored in Virginia and Singapore, where its headquartered. But who can access that data — and from where — is an ongoing question.
Chew, the company’s CEO, said at a congressional hearing in March that access to the data was provided “as-required” to engineers globally for business purposes. He also said some ByteDance employees still maintained access to some U.S. user data, but that would end once Project Texas — the company’s plan to siphon off U.S. user data from China — was completed.
The popular social media app has been under scrutiny from Western governments, who’ve been wary of the company’s Chinese ownership and have prohibited its use on government-issued devices. Earlier this year, the Biden administration threatened to ban the platform nationwide if the company’s Chinese owners don’t sell their stakes.
To assuage concerns from U.S. lawmakers, TikTok has been touting its Project Texas plan to store U.S. user data on servers owned and maintained by the software giant Oracle. Last year, the company said it began directing all U.S. user traffic to those servers but also continued to back up data on its own servers.
Chew said the company began deleting all historic U.S. user data from non-Oracle servers in March, and the process is expected to be completed this year.
In their letter, the senators also said the recent news reports appear to contradict testimonies from another TikTok official about where U.S. user data is stored.
Kid Cudi is in the running for the father of the year award — at least, according to his 13-year-old daughter, Vada Mescudi. On Friday (June 2), Cudi shared a sweet text his daughter sent him after he was able to get her and her closest friends tickets to Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour. “THANK […]
Ice Spice has a major fan in Taylor Swift — so much so that the two women are officially collaborators. On Wednesday (May 24), Swift set the Internet ablaze when she announced that she would be dropping a special remix of her Midnights track “Karma.” In the announcement, the pop star also shared several kind […]
Nicki Minaj couldn’t help but celebrate when Lady Gaga gave her track “Princess Diana” a royal shout-out on TikTok this week. It all started Wednesday, when Gaga took to the social media platform to show off the new Le Monster lip crayon shades and held four of the products up to the camera. Nicki’s “Princess Diana” verse […]
The girls of BLACKPINK are booked and busy. Rosé is the latest member of the K-pop group to get dolled up for a glamorous night out, as she made her official debut at the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday (May 17). The K-pop vocalist stepped on the red carpet solo for the premiere […]
Katy Perry was more than prepared for American Idol‘s Disney Night on Sunday — and her costume was also a perfect fit for the Mother’s Day episode. “My secret identity is…. Mom. Katy Perry. Popstar. #Idol judge. But tonight I’m ELASTIGIRL,” she shared via Twitter, along with several photos in which she’s dressed as Helen […]
After Ice Spice‘s viral ascent to fame due to the success of “Munch (Feelin’ U),” fans on the internet were quick to draw comparisons between her and the late Princess Diana, lovingly calling the drill rapper “The People’s Princess” and often referencing the late British royal when speaking about her online. But Ice Spice admits […]
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Source: Christopher Furlong / Getty / Twitter
If you haven’t used your Twitter account in a while and plan on keeping it, you better log on now because Elon Musk wants to get rid of it.
Elon Musk said on his janky Twitter app to warn his followers and other users, “You will probably see follower count drop” after revealing that the platform will begin “purging” accounts that “had no activity at all for several years.”
The announcement didn’t reveal an exact date for this purge, but you can bet one is on the way from Twitter in the form of a blog post.
Musk’s tweet about inactive accounts comes after reportedly threatening to reassign NPR’s Twitter handle after the news outlet ditched Twitter for other social media platforms after labeling NPR “state-affiliated media,” putting it in the same category as Russia’s RT.
Per Engadget’s reporting, Musk told NPR in an email exchange that it’s Twitter’s policy to “recycle handles that are definitively dormant,” and the “same policy applies to all accounts.”
Elon Musk Says His Company Will Archive Abandoned Accounts
Responding to his tweet, a paid subscriber to Musk’s profile “strongly” urged Musk not to purge inactive accounts. “Deleting the output of inactive accounts would be terrible. I still see people liking ten year old tweets I made, but the threads are already often fragmented with deleted or unavailable tweets. Don’t make it worse!”
Musk replied to the user by revealing his platform would archive the “abandoned” accounts.
Currently, the platform’s policy page on inactive accounts says to “log in at least every 30 days,” adding it will delete accounts due to inactivity.
We shall see if Musk keeps his word on this policy update.
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Photo: Christopher Furlong / Getty
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