Showing posts with label Twitter. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Twitter to Earn More Mobile Ad Revenue Than Facebook This Year

Twitter-to-earn-more-mobile-ad-revenue-than-facebook-this-year-report--ce0455752a

Twitter may have a ways to go until it matches Facebook’s valuation, but at least in one crucial segment — mobile advertising — it appears to be besting its larger rival.

A report from eMarketer estimates that Twitter will hit $129.7 million in U.S. mobile ad revenues this year compared to $72 million for Facebook.

However, Twitter’s advantage in the mobile ad space won’t last for long. According to eMarketer’s predictions, Facebook’s ad revenue will grow five-fold to $387 million in 2013, beating Twitter’s take by more than $100 million. This would make Facebook the second highest mobile ad earner behind Google.

eMarketer’s predictions offer some hope for investors who are concerned about whether Facebook will figure out its mobile advertising strategy. As the research firm points out in the report, Facebook only launched its first mobile ad units in June and still has plenty of room to grow.

“Mobile is a long-term play for Facebook, and by next year, eMarketer expects the social networking giant to beat out Twitter by a significant margin, taking in $387 million on mobile in the US.,” the firm wrote in its report. Concerns about Facebook’s ability to monetize its platform as users shift to mobile has bedeviled the company’s IPO. The company’s stock has fallen about 50% since it went public in May. However Facebook’s current $41 billion market cap is still more than four times that of Twitter’s.

Despite investor skepticism, both Facebook and Twitter have already seen some promise in their early mobile advertising efforts. Twitter CEO Dick Costolo noted earlier this year that the company has generated more revenue from mobile ads than desktop ads on certain days. Meanwhile, a report in June found that Facebook’s mobile ads earn two and a half times more than desktop ads.

Overall, eMarketer predicts the mobile advertising market will hit $2.61 billion this year in the U.S. and grow to a $12 billion industry in 2016 due largely to companies like Facebook and Twitter.

Twitter to Earn More Mobile Ad Revenue Than Facebook This Year

advertising, business, Facebook, Marketing, mobile advertising, Twitter

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Are Twitter"s sports trolls out of control?

Usabballinstagram

troll fans The Los Angeles Lakers — a star-stacked superteam with four potential Hall of Famers — have struggled out of the gate this NBA season, and many have placed the blame squarely on new head coach Mike Brown, who was fired on Friday after just five games. Fan frustration, however, reached an ugly crescendo earlier this week, with sports trolls using Twitter to threaten Brown’s teenage son, according to an Orange County Register report.

That’s just the latest in a seemingly increasing series of harassments and even death threats against sports figures. When NFL player Kyle Wilson was hit with death threats in January, the incident was perceived as — if not unprecedented — novel and shocking. Since then, reports of players being threatened on Twitter have become more and more common. Sportscaster Erin Andrews was a high profile victim less than three weeks ago, and posted this response:

Why twitter needs policing RT @hyuncmartinez: @erinandrews You make eye contact with me and I will chop you apart. You are just a bad thing

— Erin Andrews (@ErinAndrews) October 22, 2012

The growing frequency and severity of sports trolling has raised a number of relevant questions: Have Twitter‘s sports trolls gone too far? Can anything be done about them? And, if not, what are the consequences?

A Spiraling Culture of Abuse

Bill Voth, whose company Spiracle Media helps with social media for a number of colleges as well as NBA star Stephen Curry and Olympic gold medalist Ricky Berens, says he’s seen a rise in venomous, execrable behavior by fans on Twitter. He also believes it could eventually lead athletes and celebrities — who played an integral role in raising the microblogging network to its current omnipresence and popularity — to migrate away.

“It just seems like it’s every week now, and it’s gone from just small trolling to threats of physical harm,” he told Mashable. “Trolls are getting louder and more powerful, and I think ultimately this is one of the biggest threats to Twitter itself.”

In addition to physical threats, players regularly receive racial abuse and overly harsh criticism after injuries or disappointing performances. According to Voth, Curry was inundated with “dozens” of messages, many of them vulgar, each day while dealing with nagging ankle problems that forced him out of fantasy basketball lineups last season.

“This sounds cheesy, but these athletes and celebrities are humans too,” Voth says. “When you keep picking at them and sending them messages that they suck, it could get out of hand and eventually affect Twitter’s business model.”

There’s also the question of what would happen if a crazed but, by all appearances, delusional and harmless online troll actually carried out a tweeted threat of physical harm. That would obviously raise the stakes and attention paid to harassment, but likely not have any direct effect on Twitter, according to Bradley Shear, an attorney who specializes in social media issues.

“It would be very difficult to hold Twitter and/or any other social media liable for death threats made on their platform,” Shear told Mashable in an email. “However, under the right set of facts, it is conceivable that a digital platform would be liable if they knew or should have known about a potential danger and they did not properly warn others.”

Anti-Troll Legislation

A Twitter spokesperson pointed to the company’s terms of abusive behavior and law enforcement guidelines, but also emphasized the notion that social media doesn’t motivate people to express feelings they don’t already have. The company says it follows up on every reported case of abuse, and works to facilitate law enforcement investigations when applicable. Twitter, however, has also long been vocal about its stance on not moderating content.

While it may seem repulsive in the United States, where freedom of speech is a sacred trope of national identity, trolls who harass athletes in England can be prosecuted and land in jail. In one high-profile case this summer, British diver Tom Daley outed a hateful abuser during the Olympics, and the troll was later arrested. In March a racist Twitter troll was sentenced to 56 days in jail.

Voth, for one, doesn’t rule out the possibility that similar legislation could eventually be a necessity stateside.

“It’s gone from bad to worse in just a year or two, so what’s it going to be like in another year or two?” he says. “Is this something where we need to pass laws against trolls?”

Do you think sports trolls — or Twitter trolls in general — are out of control, or just an unfortunate reality that can’t be dealt with? How would you like to see the issue addressed, either by Twitter or legally?

BONUS GALLERY: Our Favorite Sports Social Media Moments of 2012

13 Biggest Sports Social Media Moments in 2012

1. Devin McCourty Tweets While Playing in the Super Bowl (Sort of)

As New England Patriot Devin McCourty took on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, his followers were still able to receive real-time updates from his social feeds. But he wasn’t sneaking tweets between plays or during timeouts. Devin and twin brother Jason, who plays for the Tennessee Titans, share their Twitter and Facebook accounts. The Super Bowl showcased one of the more creative approaches to social media in the sports world.

Image courtesy of Devin and Jason McCourty’s Instagram.

2. Linsanity Rules the Web

New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, an unheralded, fringe NBA player out of Harvard, enjoyed a magical run of success in February, propelling him to worldwide stardom.

But that wasn’t restricted to the hardcourt. Lin-themed memes popped up left and right, and tribute raps appeared on YouTube. Lin added Twitter followers at an exponential rate, and even tech publications that normally steer clear of sports were forced to take notice of “Linsanity.”

Image courtesy of Flickr nikk_la.

3. NASCAR’s Brad Keselowski Tweets From His Car During the Daytona 500

When the Daytona 500 NASCAR race was delayed in late February after an explosion and fire on the track, driver Brad Keselowski began tweeting from his car. He posted the image at left, chatted with fans and gained more than 100,000 followers during his historic and shocking Twitter spree.

Image courtesy of Brad Keselowski

4. #LexingtonPoliceScanner Takes Us Through the Looking Glass

Twitter users gawked at an improbable collision of joy, violence and voyeurism after the University of Kentucky won college basketball’s national championship in April.

How? Large-scale riots broke out in Lexington, and word spread that the city’s police scanner was accessible via the streaming app TuneIn.

For hours, #LexingtonPoliceScanner along with other terms related to the riots, trended worldwide. As one tweeter put it: “This is so messed up, but Twitter gold.”

5. The Los Angeles Kings Shake up Sports Social Media

As the Los Angeles Kings played their way to a Stanley Cup title, the squad’s social media team redefined the digital sports marketing playbook. Sassy tweets like the one at left — directed at Stanley Cup Finals opponent the New Jersey Devils — bucked a conservative status quo in the industry. But the social team pulled off its blatantly biased voice, jabs at opposing fans and goofy jokes with aplomb, gaining more than 60,000 followers during the playoffs.

6. LeBron Takes a Twitter Hiatus and Sheds a Massive Monkey

Last spring, despite still being in his mid-20s, NBA star LeBron James, typically an engaging tweeter, endured more pressure and criticism than any player in basketball history for a lack of championships.

In late April, his Miami Heat began their playoff journey, and James went silent on social media. Weeks and weeks passed, but he didn’t break his silence. Finally in June, the Heat won, and James celebrated his first title with this giddy message: “OMFG I think it just hit me, I’m a CHAMPION!! I AM a CHAMPION!!”

Image courtesy of Flickr, rezsox

7. USA Basketball’s Awesome Instagrams Go Viral

The United States’ Olympic basketball team of NBA mega-stars toured the world to practice and bond before the 2012 Games. During their travels, many of the players belied an unexpected yet profound love for everyone’s favorite photo sharing app, Instagram. Dorky tourist shots and sneak attacks on snoozing teammates flooded the interwebs with hilarious and humanizing moments, providing a reminder that in many ways, our idols aren’t so different from us.

Image courtesy of Kevin Durant (Instagram: @trey5)

8. Olympic Star Tom Daley Outs a Hateful Troll on Twitter

It’s easy to forget how much ugly abuse our athletic idols endure on social media. After a poor performance in the Summer Olympics, British diver Tom Daley was targeted by a troll who referenced his recently deceased father. Daley fought back by outing the troll to his 580,000 followers. Fans rallied to Daley’s defense, and the harasser was eventually arrested under Britain’s malicious communications laws.

Image courtesy @TomDaley1994

9. McKalya Maroney’s Scornful Scowl Becomes the Stuff of Meme Legend

Immediately after favored American gymnast McKayla Maroney stumbled to a silver metal during the Summer Olympics and displayed her disapproval with a memorable scowl, the Internet worked its meme magic.

McKaylaIsNotImpressed.tumblr.com collected images of McKayla, superimposed onto famous scenes from history, pop culture and the news. At left, McKayla is being a wet blanket with an ecstatic, post-landing Mars rover team.

10. Dissed NFL Fan Teaches Kansas City Chiefs a Social Media Lesson

Sometimes brands and sports teams don’t realize how much social media has shifted the balance of public relations power toward the common fan.

In September, a Kansas City Chiefs social media manager sent the disrespectful Twitter DM at left to a disgruntled fan, who, as it happened, was a professional social media expert. The fan went thermonuclear in the digital flamewar, blowing the story up on Reddit, Twitter and even mainstream media.

11. T.J. Lang Blasts the NFL’s Replacement Refs, and the Social Web Can’t Get Enough

Animosity mounted among NFL players over the league’s reliance on under-qualified replacement referees to start the season. Then the Green Bay Packers lost over a controversial call during Monday Night Football in September. Packer T.J. sent the following two tweets immediately after the game. Each gained tens of thousands of retweets. Fans and other players loved his candor, and the NFL’s normal refs were soon back calling games.

12. A Soccer Star’s $145,000 Tweet

British soccer star Ashley Cole posted the following message about England’s governing body of soccer in October, after the organization cast doubt on his credibility in an investigation. The outburst and creative hashtag were a comedic hit with many fans, but Cole’s pocketbook took a pretty epic dent when the same organization he blasted fined him £90,000 — or 145,000 American dollars.

13. The San Francisco Giants Romp to a World Series Win While Dominating Social Media

The San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series in October. And the team was just as stellar in the social space. Creative engagement initiatives pulled fans in, and the social media home runs culminated when the team actually matched President Obama’s near-perfect Klout score of 99.

Image courtesy of @SFGiants

Are Twitter"s sports trolls out of control?

Entertainment, sports, Twitter

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

This Short Twitter Conversation Between Airtel And A Customer Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

Airtel. You. Had. One. Job.

1. On Monday afternoon, Twitter India’s head of news discovered that his Airtel phone wasn’t working in Lucknow, so he reached out for help.

Raheel Khursheed @Raheelk Follow

.@airtel_presence Why isn"t my phone working on roaming in Lucknow?

Reply

Retweet

Favorite

2. And Airtel went out of their way to suggest literally the single least helpful plan of action.

Bharti Airtel India @Airtel_Presence Follow

@Raheelk Hi! We are sorry for the inconvenience caused. Please DM your contact number, we"ll call you to discuss. Regards, Vibhuti

Reply

Retweet

Favorite

3. Which Raheel very politely pointed out.

Raheel Khursheed @Raheelk Follow

.@Airtel_Presence I am sorry, how can I call you to discuss this issue if my phone isn"t working?

Reply

Retweet

Favorite

After this absurd interaction, Raheel messaged Airtel an alternate phone number (to his hotel) and Airtel called him to say they’re working on getting his issues resolved.

5. In the meantime, BuzzFeed reached out to Raheel for comment on his experience, and he has one word of advice for us all:

In the meantime, BuzzFeed reached out to Raheel for comment on his experience, and he has one word of advice for us all:

View this image ›

This Short Twitter Conversation Between Airtel And A Customer Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

airtel, India, keep calm and tweet on, Twitter

Monday, August 10, 2015

Congressman"s Twitter and Pinterest Hacked — and It"s NSFW

Dana-thumb

House Foreign Affairs Committee member Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.

Image: Susan Walsh/Associated Press

Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) had one of the most unfortunate Twitter and Pinterest hacks in recent memory, where pictures of young women in bikini’s (and in some cases lingerie) encouraging weight loss flooded his social media accounts.

Most of the tweets and Pinterest posts were deleted, but that didn’t stop us from catching the trend… yikes.

Dana Rohrabacher

Image: Politwoops http://politwoops.sunlightfoundation.com/

Congressman"s Twitter and Pinterest Hacked — and It"s NSFW

Congress, Pinterest, politicians, politics, Twitter, U.S., US & World

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Argos Replied To A Customer Complaint On Twitter In Spectacular Fashion

It could have really backfired, but it didn’t.

1. So a Twitter user had a complaint for Argos.

So a Twitter user had a complaint for Argos.

View this image ›

Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

2. And how did Argos respond? Like this.

And how did Argos respond? Like this.

View this image ›

Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

3. And this was clearly appreciated.

Immy "BADMAN" Bugti @BadManBugti Follow

@ArgosHelpers respect. Sick guy

Reply

Retweet

Favorite

4. Well done, Argos social media manager person.

Argos Replied To A Customer Complaint On Twitter In Spectacular Fashion

View this image ›

Adventure Time / Cartoon Network / Via parodyofyourlife.tumblr.com

TAKE THE REST OF THE DAY OFF.

Argos Replied To A Customer Complaint On Twitter In Spectacular Fashion

argos, argos catalogue, conversations, retail, Twitter

Monday, July 27, 2015

Olympic Journalist Ban: Why Twitter Got It Wrong

Olympic-journalist-ban-why-twitter-got-it-wrong-101bc8b710

Ever heard the name Guy Adams before this weekend? How about Gary Zenkel? No, me neither. Not until Twitter suspended the former, a British journalist based in LA, for tweeting the corporate e-mail address of the latter, the president of NBC Olympics — and created a tempest in a tea cup.

Not only was Twitter’s reaction completely disproportionate, there’s one major problem with it: he didn’t actually violate Twitter’s terms of service.

Adams, like a lot of us here on the West Coast, was upset that NBC had delayed broadcasting the London Olympics’ opening ceremony Friday night — so much so that the Pacific time zone was seeing it six hours after it actually happened (and three hours after our friends on the East Coast started tweeting like crazy about it.)

Plenty of critics vented their outrage at NBC’s policy (which included not putting the opening ceremony online, presumably to make more money from ads broadcast during prime time). Adams probably went a little further than most, calling the action “money grabbing” and decrying the network as “utter bastards.”

Then he wrote this fateful tweet: “The man responsible for NBC pretending the Olympics haven’t started yet is Gary Zenkel. Tell him what u think! Email: Gary.zenkel@nbcuni.com.”

The network complained, and Adams’ entire Twitter account was suspended Monday. The reason, he was told by a Twitter representative, was that he had violated Twitter’s terms of service by posting a private email address. NBC confirmed this in a statement to Mashable: “A user tweeted the personal information of one of our executives. According to Twitter, this is a violation of their privacy policy. Twitter alone levies discipline.”

Was that the case, though? Leave aside the question of whether a corporate email address counts as private. Let’s just assume that it does. Here’s what Twitter has to say about posting private information:

Posting another person’s private and confidential information is a violation of the Twitter Rules.

Some examples of private and confidential information are: credit card information, social security or other national identity numbers, addresses or locations that are considered and treated as private, non-public, personal phone numbers, non-public, personal email addresses.

Keep in mind that although you may consider certain information to be private, not all postings of such information may be a violation of this policy. If information was previously posted or displayed elsewhere on the Internet prior to being put on Twitter, it is not a violation of this policy. [Emphasis mine]

So if Zenkel’s email address was posted anywhere on the Internet prior to Friday, Adams is off the hook and his account should be restored. Right?

I’ll admit, the search is a wee bit harder than it should be. Currently, the first 8 pages of results for Zenkel’s email address on Google is clogged up with stories about Adams. (This is my point about creating a tempest in a tea cup; as a direct result of the suspension, Zenkel’s email has become one of the most public on the planet.)

But way down on page 9, we find what would have been the previous top result for Zenkel’s email address: this blog post from June 20, 2011, criticizing NBC Sports for removing the words “under God” from the pledge of allegiance during the U.S. Open.

Whatever you make of that post and the controversy it refers to, you can’t deny that it contain’s Zenkel’s email address, along with those of a long list of NBC Sports executives.

So Zenkel’s email address was “previously posted or displayed elsewhere on the Internet prior to being put on Twitter,” and Adam’s posting of it “is not a violation of this policy.” Game over, checkmate, or as Adams might say: howzat?

I’m not saying that this blog post is how Adams got the address; it has been noticeably absent from his defense. All his recent article in the Independent says is that anyone could construct that address from a basic knowledge of how NBC handles its accounts.

But you don’t even need to go that far. You don’t need to point out that the address is corporate, rather than personal. You need only point to Twitter’s own definition of its rules.

We’ve asked Twitter for comment, and will let you know what we hear back. But don’t be surprised to see Adams’ account reinstated — the company has a history of acting precipitously when it comes to account deletions, then reversing its decision later.

Olympic Journalist Ban: Why Twitter Got It Wrong

NBC, olympics, social media, Twitter

Sunday, July 26, 2015

10 Other Things People Want Bill Clinton to Explain

10-other-things-people-want-bill-clinton-to-explain-d9ce6f04b4

Bill Clinton may no longer hold the title of Commander-in-Chief, but his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday earned him a new moniker: Explainer-in-Chief.

The former POTUS spent nearly an hour on stage explaining point-by-point everything from the economy to education in a bid to convince Americans to vote for Barack Obama in November. At the end of his explain-a-thon, Twitter users couldn’t help but hope that Clinton would take the time to shed a little light on life’s other pressing mysteries.

I want Bill Clinton to explain the ending of Lost to me. #2012DNC

— eric kwun (@geektrooper) September 6, 2012

UPDATE: Next, Bill Clinton will explain how to assemble an Ikea Flürskl.

— Disalmanac (@Disalmanac) September 6, 2012

Alright, that settles it. @mls needs to hire Bill Clinton to explain allocation money, player allocation, the salary cap, etc. #Bill4MLS

— The Ginge (@GingeFC) September 6, 2012

To finish it off, Bill Clinton will now explain how Breaking Bad is going to end.

— Lauren Bans (@LaurenBans) September 6, 2012

Can Bill Clinton explain the Bulls offseason moves to me?

— Russ Bengtson (@russbengtson) September 6, 2012

Show I’d watch: “Bill Clinton Explains Stuff”. Welfare reform, deficit reduction, quantum mechanics, the NHL lockout, Pitbull … explain it

— Scott Kennedy (@ScottTKennedy) September 6, 2012

I really enjoyed Bill Clinton explaining things to me. I’d love for him to record a dvd commentary of every single Game of Thrones episode.

— Klassy P. Goldberg (@klassy) September 6, 2012

bill clinton left without explaining how to escape the dungeon without using the wizard’s key

— ryan lambert (@twolinepass) September 6, 2012

Can Bill Clinton explain why I lose a sock in the dryer?

— Raphael De La Ghetto (@Ishouldbworking) September 6, 2012

10.

Can we get Bill Clinton to explain eventual consistency now?

— Karen Lopez (@datachick) September 6, 2012

BONUS: Bill Clinton’s DNC Full Speech

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10 Other Things People Want Bill Clinton to Explain

2012 presidential campaign, bill clinton, conversations, Twitter, Watercooler

Saturday, July 25, 2015

The Fortune 100 Companies With the Highest Engagement on Twitter

The-fortune-100-companies-with-the-highest-engagement-on-twitter-chart--692a5ff817

For brands, having more followers on Twitter doesn’t necessarily mean having more users talking about your company — in fact, just the opposite seems to be true.

Sling Digital, a Twitter advertising optimization service, analyzed the Twitter activity for all Fortune 100 companies who were active on Twitter and had at least 50,000 followers — 31 brands in total. The report found that, with few exceptions, the percent of followers who engage with talk about a brand (by its Twitter handle or by its proper company name) on a monthly basis tends to decline as the number of total followers increase.

Google, for example, has more than 5 million followers, but only about 4% of their followers talk about it on Twitter. Walmart, on the other hand, has fewer than 300,000 followers, but an impressive 41% talk about it.

On average, Sling found that just 8.8% of Twitter followers for each of these companies talk about or engage with it on the social network. The reason, according to Sling, is that most big brands are still using Twitter as a one-way publicity tool rather than using it to have a true two-way conversation.

“Most big brands are still using Twitter as a publishing channel rather than an engagement channel,” Saif Ajani, Sling’s co-founder, told Mashable. “They’re replicating the one-way conversation strategy they use for the rest of the web, rather than using it as a two-way communication channel.”

Ajani argues that this issue is further compounded by the fact that most brands tend to focus on that small percent who do engage, rather than going after those who don’t. “There’s a silent majority out there that likes your brand but doesn’t talk about you,” he says. “Find out who they are and what they’re talking about.”

Big brands appear to be running up against a similar problem on Facebook, too. A separate study last month found that only 6% of fans engage with big brands on their Facebook page.

Even so, some brands like Walmart, Target and Disney appear to be getting it right. The chart below shows the big brands with the highest percentage of followers talking about them.

Sling Chart

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, sodafish

The Fortune 100 Companies With the Highest Engagement on Twitter

branding, business, Marketing, Trending Small Bottom, Twitter

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

China"s Sina Weibo Targeted 100,000 Accounts for Violating Government Rules

Chinasina

Authorities in China issued new rules this summer in order to tidy up online discourse in the country. These new guidelines are called the Seven Bottom Lines. Today, state news agency Xinhua reports that more than 100,000 accounts on Sina Weibo have been closed or in some way punished for flouting these rules.

As outlined by The Wall Street Journal, the “bottom lines” are:

The legal bottom line

The socialist system bottom line

The national interest bottom line

The legitimate interest of citizens bottom line

The public order bottom line

The moral bottom line

The authenticity of information bottom line

Critics fear that the real purpose of these is to further clamp down on the few tiny, shattered remnants of free speech on the Chinese Web.

Most of the 103,673 Weibo accounts penalized are judged to have engaged, the Journal notes, in personal attacks, the publication of false information, plagiarism and the distribution of smut.

In September, China said that posting defamatory comments online could lead to jail time if the content went viral and got more than 500 Weibo retweets.

It’s likely that many of those punished had been spreading political rumors — or perhaps even legitimate news that was deemed too sensitive for the nation’s severely locked-down media landscape. It’s the latest move in China’s ongoing war on rumors. But the root cause of much rumor-mongering online is that so few people trust state-controlled media to report the truth, creating a vacuum of uncertainty and gossip.

In September, one prominent businessman and Weibo user, Charles Xue, was paraded on national, state-run television in a truly extraordinary and troubling news segment, in which he apologized for supposed rumor-mongering. He often spoke out on Weibo about social issues.

Image: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

The launch of ZTE’s newest phone shows why it’s lost so much ground to Xiaomi

Facebook to open branch office in Taiwan

Alibaba’s very public punch-up with Chinese regulators shows that knock-offs are still a problem

Japanese Bitcoin marketplace lands $1.1M from domestic and US investors

This article originally published at Tech in Asia
here

China"s Sina Weibo Targeted 100,000 Accounts for Violating Government Rules

Apps and Software, China, government censorship, microblogging, Mobile, politics, sina weibo, Twitter, US & World, world

Sunday, June 21, 2015

5 Must-Follow Twitter Accounts For The Latest on Thailand’s Coup

Thailand-coup

Thai soldiers secure the bus stop area to prevent the anti-coup demonstration at Victory Monument in Bangkok, Thailand May 29, 2014.

Image: Wason Wanichakorn/Associated Press

Bangkok is the number one global tourist destination of 2013. The tourism industry accounted for 16.7% of the country’s GDP in 2012. Since the military coup that overthrew the Prime Minister on May 22, Thailand has been under curfew and that’s causing many to question whether it’s safe to visit.

Personally, I get many overseas friends asking if they should cancel their Thailand trips or not. I reply that, in my view, Bangkok and the rest of the country are still safe to visit so long as you’re not going into areas where there are protests – which results in a heavy police and military presence.

Perhaps the nest way to gauge the situation on the ground is to do the same as locals – turn to social media. However, while hashtags like #Thaicoup and #Thailandcoup can be useful, it’s tricky to filter out all the selfies, gossip, repetition, and confusion. So here are five Twitter users we’ve handpicked as reliable sources of information about what’s happening in Thailand as the coup rumbles on.

1. Richard Barrow

Army ponders arrest for three-finger sign http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/413203/army-ponders-arrest-for-three-finger-sign … #Thailand #ThaiCoup pic.twitter.com/LuO8Gg68mo

— Richard Barrow (@RichardBarrow) June 2, 2014

Barrow is a full-time travel blogger in Thailand, but he covers almost everything about Thailand. He also has a useful website.

During the ongoing protests, he used his own drone to take pictures of the protest sites. He’s also very active in reporting what’s going on in Bangkok during the coup with an updated map showing which streets are shut down.

2. Saksith Saiyasombut

Another view on Vic Monument looking east: empty! RT @CasnovaShim: @fm91trafficpro 16:00 รอบอนุเสาวรีย์ชัยตอนนี้คะ pic.twitter.com/DnkdlPqG7z

— Saksith Saiyasombut (@Saksith) May 29, 2014

Saksith is a political blogger who writes for Asian Correspondent. He posts pictures from the areas where there are protests and a heavy military presence so you know where to avoid. He’s also good at getting political scoops.

3. Andrew RC Marshall

Banner depicting junta leader General Prayuth unfurled by anti-coup protesters in Bangkok today. pic.twitter.com/61JoWzxTzY via @JonahFisher

— Andrew RC Marshall (@Journotopia) May 31, 2014

Marshall works for Reuters. He won a Pulitzer Prize this year for his reporting in the region. Since he has been living in Thailand for quite a few years, he has some useful insights about the country. Even though he writes for a media outlet, he tweets about a lot more than just what he covers for Reuters, including a great deal of breaking news. He tweets as he sees things happen.

4. Steve Herman

One of the more disconcerting images I snapped during today’s rumpus around BTS Asoke/Terminal 21: #ThaiCoup pic.twitter.com/eDWDk4z1tG

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) June 1, 2014

Herman is an Asia expert who’s Voice of America’s bureau chief in Bangkok. He has been living in Asia since 1990, with time spent in Japan, India, and Korea. Now he’s in Thailand tweeting about Thai politics – and now the Thai coup. According to his profile, he’s a Shorty Awards 2014 finalist for best journalist in social media.

5. Bangkokpundit

That is not 2 say lady in vid was not detained by undercover cops. Photos https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=628418583900600&set=a.320717674670694.72898.100001973917485&type=1&theater … + pic.twitter.com/aBSprhEoTQ suggest she was

— bangkokpundit (@bangkokpundit) June 2, 2014

Bangkokpundit might not be sharing pictures from down on the ground all the time, but his tweets are timely and well-curated from a variety of sources around Twitter and other places on the web. His focus is mainly politics, so you can learn about the background political issues as well as get updates on what’s happening on the streets.