technology
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Source: Anna Barclay / Getty / Bluesky
Hey Elon, you hear those footsteps? That’s Bluesky coming for your spot.
Spotted on Engadget, Bluesky has officially crossed 20 million as its growth shows no signs of slowing down. This latest milestone for X, formerly Twitter’s direct competitor, comes on the heels of the platform crossing 15 million users less than a week ago and tripling its user base in only three months.
While boasting 20 million users is impressive, Bluesky is still far behind X and Meta’s Threads platforms. However, if Bluesky can maintain its popularity and the mass eXodus continues, there is no reason it can’t be up there with the big boys.
Per Engadget:
Though it’s still far smaller than its rivals Threads and X, Bluesky’s current momentum is notable. The app has had several days over the last week where it added a million new users in a single 24-hour period. That’s similar to the growth rate of Threads, which has been getting a million new sign-ups a day for “going on three months,” according to an update last week from Meta’s Adam Mosseri. Threads reached 275 million monthly users earlier this month and has added at least 15 million since the start of November.
Bluesky Tops Both Apple and Google’s App Stores
Bluesky still has some ground to make up, but all signs point upward for the social media platform. It’s been the number one app in Apple’s App Store for the last six days and the top non-gaming app in the Google Play Store for the previous four days. Threads is holding down the second spot in the App Store.
Meanwhile, X continues to bleed subscribers following Musk’s ridiculous changes to the platform, and many users are complaining about how much Trump/right-wing propaganda has taken over timelines since Musk got in bed with sweet potato Hitler.
Celebrities like Gabrielle Union, Stephen King, Mark Hammill, and more have also said goodbye to X for Bluesky’s greener pastures.
Journalists and other organizations also have left X in large numbers for Bluesky.
Consider us on board for Elon Musk taking an L.
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Source: Anadolu / Getty / Instagram
For years, people have been complaining about their recommendations on Instagram, and finally, the photo/video-sharing platform is now allowing users to take action.
As spotted on The Verge, Instagram is testing a new feature that will allow users to “completely refresh” the content that is being recommended to them.
Meta says the recommendations reset feature will “soon roll out globally” and allow users to completely clear their algorithm recommendations on their Feeds, Explore, and Reels.
Per The Verge:
The new feature will be available to users of all ages, including Teen accounts. “We want to make sure everyone on Instagram – especially teens – has safe, positive, age-appropriate experiences and feels the time they’re spending on Instagram is valuable,” Meta said. “We want to give teens new ways to shape their Instagram experience, so it can continue to reflect their passions and interests as they evolve.”
Meta states the whole process can be done in “just a few taps,” and resetting your recommendations will “start to personalize again over time” based on the content you routinely interact with on the platform.
So, if you spend time on Instagram looking at “baes and baddies,” the algorithm will keep that kind of content coming. Now, if you want some wholesome stuff featured on your timelines, start double-taping and sharing it so you can clean up the timeline.
But wait, there’s more. During the reset process, you can also review who you are following and decide to hit the unfollow button to change your recommendations further.
We need other social media platforms like X, even though it’s dying a slow death, to introduce a similar feature.
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Source: Ramsey Cardy / Getty / MKBHD
MKBHD is feeling the wrath of social media for feeling the need for speed and filming the moment for which he is now apologizing.
Popular tech YouTuber MKBHD, real name Marques Brownlee, has hit a speed bump. The Verge reports Brownlee is facing severe backlash after sharing a sponsored video for DJI titled “How My Video Gear is Changing!” featuring himself torching the speed limit in a suburban area while driving an expensive sports car.
Commenters immediately expressed their disdain for the sponsored segment. “This can’t even be considered a sponsored video anymore. It’s literally just a ten-minute advertisement,” one commenter said.
MKBHD quickly responded to the backlash by editing the video and removing the footage showing him hitting 95 mph in a 35 zone, zooming past a sign warning drivers to slow down for children.
In a pinned comment, he acknowledged the removal of the footage. In a comment pinned to the video, he admits to editing out the “unnecessary driving clip,” adding that he “hears everyone’s feedback on sponsored videos.”
On X, formerly Twitter, he called the lapse in judgment “Absolutely inexcusable and dangerous,” adding that “All I can do is apologize and promise never to do anything close to that stupid again. That’s a terrible example to set and I’m sorry for it.”
This isn’t the first time MKBHD has apologized to his fans on X. He also apologized to fans after launching his expensive wallpaper app, which led to changes to fix the biggest complaints.
Still, that hasn’t stopped people from criticizing MKBHD. The gallery below shows some of those reactions.
1. Everyone has down years
3. Very True
4. Don’t be a hater
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Elon Musk / X
Elon Musk might have definitely screwed himself big time. It’s looking like the migration to other social media platforms like Bluesky isn’t a fluke; even journalists are bidding farewell to X, formally Twitter.
The cesspool that is X is now experiencing a mass exodus of not just regular folks but journalists and other organizations who have finally had enough of Elon Musk and the dumb changes he made to the once uber-popular platform.
The Daily Kos reports that the main reasons people deactivate their X accounts are the forthcoming changes to the terms of service that will take effect on Nov.15 and the platform’s poor quality.
Per The Daily Kos:
X’s new service terms require users who wish to sue the company to file in specifically the “U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas or state courts located in Tarrant County, Texas.” These courts are a favorite of conservative activists as they are stocked with Republican appointees.
The Washington Post reports that new terms of service is a red flag to many who believe its a move to bring cases to Musk and conservative-friendly courts.
One of the courts that Musk is pushing for features Judge Reed O’Conner, who just so happens to own between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of Tesla stock. He also refused to recuse himself from Musk’s lawsuit against Media Matters.
We reported that The Guardian took the massive step of announcing it would no longer post on X but will not stop users from sharing their stories on the platform.
“Social media can be an important tool for news organisations and help us to reach new audiences,” The Guardian writes, “but, at this point, X now plays a diminished role in promoting our work.”
Don Lemon, who is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with Musk for an alleged breach of contract, also announced he was done with X, writing in a statement, “I once believed it was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency, and free speech, but I now feel it does not serve that purpose.”
The departure from X also comes Bluesky saw its memberships skyrocket in the wake of Musk fully endorsing Donald Trump and seeing ridiculous amounts of right-wing propaganda flooding timelines.
Musk was also appointed head of a new agency, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is something else he is pumping into his personal X account.
The second Trump presidency already reeks of corruption.
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Source: picture alliance / Getty / Mark Zuckerberg
Nobody asked for this, but it exists. Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg has linked up with T-Pain to do a rendition of Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz’s smash hit “Get Low,” yes, it’s awful.
We had to hear it, so now you do. Z-Pain, AKA Mark Zuckerberg and T-Pain, decided it would be a great idea to turn the bass-heavy club hit that got us extremely crunk, into an acoustic song with mellow singing.
Never in a million years did we think we would hear the tech billionaire sing “Til the sweat drop down my balls,” or “till all these b****es crawl,” and “skeet, skeet.”
T-Pain, a much better singer who would probably do a song like this as some sort of skit, lends his skills to the track.
Now, why does this song even exist? According to The Verge, Zuckerberg did the song for his wife, Priscilla.
Per The Verge:
Apparently, Zuckerberg made the song for his wife, Priscilla. “‘Get Low’ was playing when I first met Priscilla at a college party, so every year we listen to it on our dating anniversary,” Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram. “This year I worked with @tpain on our own version of this lyrical masterpiece. Sound on for the track and also available on Spotify.”
We genuinely hope this is a one-off because we don’t need more songs from Z-Pain.
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Source: JIM WATSON / Getty / Elon Musk
Let the grift begin. Felon 47, aka President-Elect Donald Trump, is not wasting any time getting his corrupt administration together. Joining him on his mission to take us back to stoneage, aka “Make America Great Again,” will be Phony Stark himself, Elon Musk, who will head a new agency that already sounds like it isn’t nothing but a way to enrich himself.
Donald Trump officially announced on Tuesday, via a statement, that Tesla chief and the current owner of X, formerly Twitter, will be the head of a new department alongside fellow Trump glazer and failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called the Department of Government Efficiency. If you noticed that its acronym is hilariously “DOGE,” the crypto coin that Musk pushes on his X account daily, you are already spotting the jig.
Per The Verge, the completely made-up agency will “pave the way” for the Trump administration to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies” while “working outside of the government.”
DOGE (we can’t believe this is real) will work alongside the White House and the Office of Management and Budget and will have until July 4th, 2026, to complete its task, according to a statement shared by Trump on his trash platform, Truth Social.
Musk’s appointment falls in line with one of Trump’s promises to the billionaire, who he said he would appoint as head of the government efficiency commission if he was elected.
The Jig Is So Clear
Phony Stark has said he would cut at least $2 trillion, an idea The Washington Post has said in its reporting is virtually impossible unless he makes cuts to social security or the defense budget.
Musk has even suggested that the cuts he is proposing could have severe short-term financial impacts.
Confirming the news, Musk hopped on his sh***ty platform, writing in a post, “The merch will be (three fire emojis).” Meanwhile, his crappy coin, DOGE, has seen its price double since the election. Yeah, the grifting will be something else.
So much for draining the swamp, it definitely looks like Trump is going to making America broke again.
You can see the reactions to Musk and Ramaswamy’s new agency below.
1. Exactly
2. They definitely will not do that.
4. Irony is dead
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Source: Matt Cardy / Getty / X
The consensus is that X, formerly Twitter, has been trash since Elon Musk took over. We need a new space to share memes, jokes, and news that’s not MAGA-fueled and watch shows together as a family, and there are options. Wherever you choose to go, we are here to help you kick X to the curb.
It’s no secret ever since Elon Musk bought Twitter, changed the name to X, reinstated Donald Trump’s account, and introduced a bevy of changes that made the platform outright unbearable, users (especially Black Twitter) have been screaming for a place to take online cleverness, conversations, and jokes.
Well, if you are one of the 700,000 people who left X for Bluesky in the last few months, Instagram Threads or Spill, you are probably considering shutting down that old X account for good, just to stick it to the lord of Dark MAGA, Elon Musk.
If you need assistance, follow these steps to shut down your X account for good.
Make Your Account Private
First, you definitely should make your account private just to let the people you trust the most and want to migrate with you to the other app of choice.
If you post on X via the desktop, you can make your account private by selecting More > Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Audience, media, and Tagging > Protect your posts.
For mobile users, follow these steps: Settings & Support > Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety > Audience and tagging > Protect your posts.
When the browser pops up, just hit “Protect.”
Download Your Tweets
The second step is to download all of the Tweets you have posted throughout the years to retain all of that information.
Here’s how you do that: via the web browser, click on More > Settings and Privacy > Your account > Download an archive of your data.
If you’re on mobile, select Settings & Support > Settings and Privacy > Your account > Download an archive of your data.
Once you have completed those steps, you will be prompted to reenter your password. A verification code will then be sent to the email you signed up with, and possibly other verification codes as well.
Once that is complete, you select “Request Archive,” from there, it may take up to 24 hours to receive a copy of your archive.
Deactivate Your X Account
The final step is the most liberating one: deactivating your X account. You can begin the deactivation process in your browser by clicking more; on mobile, simply tap your profile icon.
For browser users, follow this process: settings and Support > Settings and Privacy > Your account > Deactivate your account.
Mobile users select Settings & Support > Settings and Privacy > Your account > Deactivate account.
Like with any app or service you are trying to cancel, you can expect some resistance trying to deter you from canceling; X is no different.
Once you complete the above steps, you will be given several paragraphs of information about what data will be available to you after deactivation.
X will also inform you that your account will not be permanently deactivated until after 30 days, giving you time to reconsider your decision.
But why would you want to do that?
If you followed all of these steps, you have taken the enormous step of liberating yourself from X.
Congrats!
See you on Threads or Bluesky.
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Source: IAN LANGSDON / Getty / Bluesky
Is X, formerly on Twitter, finally on its way out? Bluesky, a social media platform similar to Twitter of old, has gained many new users and could be the new wave going forward.
Speaking with The Verge, Bluesky COO Rose Wang confirmed that the social media platform has gained over 700,00 followers in the last week and now boasts more than 14.5 million users total.
Wang told the website that a majority of the users are from the United States. Currently, the Bluesky app is the number two free social media app in the US App Store, only trailing Meta’s Threads.
The sharp increase in followers could be due to several factors, including Elon Musk, the recent change to the block feature, and Donald Trump’s unfortunate presidential election victory.
Per The Verge:
The independent platform has seen a lot of growth in recent weeks — on October 24th, Bluesky announced it had 13 million users. After X’s recent announcement that it would let blocked users still see posts from the person that blocked them, for example, Bluesky said it added 500,000 new users in one day.
The results of the US presidential election could be part of Bluesky’s new influx of users. People may be looking to use a platform that’s not owned by Musk or, like some Taylor Swift fans, may be looking for a new platform following an increase in hate speech on X.
Bluesky Has Made Significant Improvements To The Platform
Since it first launched as an invite-only service, Bluesky has improved greatly thanks to several new improvements, such as sharing videos, pinned posts, and sending DMs.
Users can also create custom and select which feeds to follow on Bluesky. Even with all the strides the app has made, it still trails Threads which has crossed 275 million monthly users.
But if Elon Musk keeps making X a cesspool, combined with the current momentum the app is seeing, Bluesky could easily take the number one spot and be the new home for former members of Black Twitter.
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
On top of being the Donald Trump of tech and the latest MAGA stooge, Elon Musk can no longer take a joke. Phony Stark took to his awful platform to complain about an SNL sketch that mocked his ridiculous behavior as of late.
A hit dog will holler if you say or do something triggering the person it is about, and that seems to be the case with Elon Musk.
Musk took to X, formerly known as Twitter, before the Tesla owner decided to royally f*** the vibe up and rename it to make a massive fuss about an SNL sketch featuring comedian and SNL legend Dana Carvey impersonating him.
During the first post-election SNL episode, the cast made fun of their anti-Trump stances by pretending to support our unfortunate president-elect following Felon 47’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Carvey is no stranger to spoofing high-profile figures with his fantastic impressions of George H. W. Bush and Joe Biden. Still, his recent impression of Elon Musk during the cold open of this past weekend’s episode is not sitting well with Dark MAGA fans.
“Check it out, dark MAGA. Yeah! But seriously, I run the country now,” Carvey said during the sketch while wearing a black MAGA hat. “America’s going to be like one of my rockets that’s super cool and super fun. But there’s a slight chance it could blow up, and everybody dies.”
Carvey was making fun of Musk’s appearance at the MSG Klan rally. Oops, we meant the Trump rally where he described himself as “dark, gothic MAGA.”
Whatever the hell that means.
On Sunday, Musk’s Twitter fingers, damn, we meant X fingers were busy as he angrily hit the keys and hit sent on posts calling out Carvey’s performance.
“They are so mad that @realDonaldTrump won,” Musk wrote.
He continued in a separate post, “Dana Carvey just sounds like Dana Carvey.”
S A L T Y.
Elon Musk Is REALLY MAD
He wasn’t done complaining. Musk, who hosted an episode of the iconic sketch comedy show in 2021, said, “SNL has been dying slowly for years, as they become increasingly out of touch with reality. Their last-ditch effort to cheat the equal airtime requirements and prop up Kamala before the election only helped sink her campaign further.”
Musk was referring to Brendan Carr, a Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, who claimed that Harris’ appearance on SNL was “a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule.”
The rule claims that networks must offer a fair amount of time opposing candidates.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that an FCC representative said Carr’s claims did not represent the agency’s official views and that it has “not made any determination regarding political programming rules, nor have we received a complaint from any interested parties.”
Musk was also on an island regarding Carvey’s performance because X users loved the impersonation.
You can see all those reactions in the gallery below.
2. A legend
3. Mmmmhmmm
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Source: Anadolu / Getty/ Apple
Is this a sign that the dreaded green/blue bubble battle is finally ending? Apple is finally allowing Android users to send message reactions to iMessage users.
Spotted on The Verge, Apple is finally coming around. The company is no longer acting bougie on this matter. The company now acknowledges Android users by correctly showing their reactions to messages.
Like when iMessage users send “tap backs” to each other, the Android message reaction will finally appear next to the message instead of as a separate message.
The Verge confirmed the fix was live by running tests.
Per The Verge:
The Verge sent test messages and emoji reactions between iPhones running iOS 18.1 and different Android phones, confirming both devices now display reactions as intended. It’s unclear when this change happened or whose side — Google or Apple — had to make adjustments to get it working.
When RCS first launched widely on iOS in September, message reactions from Android users still weren’t being displayed correctly on the iPhone, even though they worked the other way around. We reached out to both companies for comment but did not hear back before publication.
Is Apple Finally Coming Around To Android Users?
Apple’s movement on the RCS fix is surprising due to how stubborn the tech giant, run by Tim Cook, was on the matter. Lately, Apple has been pushed to make a number of changes to its devices, like using USB-C, after China and the EU applied pressure on the American-based company.
Apple has not been shy about its stance on the green/blue bubble issue, with Tim Cook even telling someone that they should buy their mother an iPhone if they wanted to communicate properly with them due to video message quality between the two devices looking like crap.
At the time, Cook said it was not Apple’s top priority, but maybe it is now.