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WhatsApp and Twitter vs. Indian Authorities Global social media strike back as Indian authorities attempt to trim freedom of speech in the country. While Narendra Modi’s government attacks Twitter and YouTube in the desire to control even the most private conversations there, the companies take the case to court to dispute the government’s activity. While India is actively using the world’s major social media like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or WhatsApp, public activity on these media is still a risky thing. Even well-known figures like Sandeep Ravindranath, a famous filmmaker, can find their posts removed at the request of Narendra Modi’s government. It is said that Prime Minister Modi often abuses civil rights in an attempt to control public opinion and trim oppositional activity online. In its turn, social media don’t want to simply comply with their requirements. Not only does, for example, but Twitter also files a petition to the court instead of simply removing posts and accounts the ruling party wants to be removed. It also has removed a post by Bharatiya Janata Party that it considered an example of hate speech towards Indian Muslims. And this is done in the situation when the authorities raid Twitter’s office in New Delhi to show they’re serious. So does WhatsApp. While the government requests access to private chats and channels, WhatsApp argues that would be illegal. It also takes the matter to court, suing the government for these unlawful requirements. As for YouTube, it also lives through various attacks by the authorities, though it hasn’t gone that far in its attempts to resist the pressure. What do you think about this? Is the Indian case an aberration, or is it a part of the new informational reality? It’s still far from Chinese or Russian Iron Curtain 2.0, but how further can it go in both India and other countries? In the comments section, we don’t trim any though as long as it’s served correctly. So share what you think with us down here in the comments!

• Jerry Pharrel
• 2022-08-02

Tower of Fantasy: When Will the New Anticipated JRPG Become Available? Tower of Fantasy, an upcoming MMO from Level Infinite and Hotta Studio, has already been defined as “the sci-fi version of Genshin Impact”. The previews have excited the audience a lot. And now, finally, the game has a release date. Those who preordered it can enjoy the game starting on August 10 – that is, in just days. Tower of Fantasy has been compared to Genshin Impact from the beginning of its public presence. The characters are noticeably similar: there are also two playable twins and a fairy-like character showing the way. What’s more important, it’s also a free-to-play MMO with gacha mechanics integrated. The style, though, will be very different. And the difference is not just about the sci-fi cyberpunk setting but the generic fantasy of Genshin Impact. The namesake Tower is built on the planet named Aida to assist the exploration of a new unresearched source of energy, and this defines the narrative. The gameplay of ToF will be heavily focused on various weapons and add-ons to them, as well as open-world exploration and PvP combat. The developers say they have done their best to provide fair matching, so players who don’t invest much in their progress can still enjoy the game by being matched with their equals. Still, gacha means that microtransactions will be an essential game element. To decide whether you’re ready to invest, you can install the game for free and spend some time in its world. The game will be available on PC (via Steam), as well as on iOS and Android. The versions will be identical in terms of both visual and gameplay. The size of the PC version of the game is about 30 GB, while that for mobile devices is about 4 GB, which promises rich visuals. Have you already subscribed to be notified as soon as the game is available? What do you expect from Tower of Fantasy? We’d like you to share your expectations and then impressions in the comments!

• Adam Bayne
• 2022-08-04

Halo Infinite Forge Will Allow Users to Share Files Right at the Launch Halo Infinite still needs more content, and the ongoing test of co-op campaigns will last for some more time. Yet we know of another feature that will make the multiplayer experience more fun. As Halo: Infinite Forge launches, players will be able to exchange items they craft with each other, and probably for some, it will be not just impressive but also lucrative. The Forge is to be released someday later. We don’t know yet when. Forge Map and Mode creator is what halo: Infinite terribly has been lacking all the months it’s been around. But the news is great for both fans of crafting and those who prefer games as a social experience. The possibility to exchange or simply buy items in a special store (some of them will be offered by 343 itself, for sure) will help some earn, and some accelerate their progress. These items can also be used as map elements that will make them more exclusive and fun to explore. User-made maps can be just as popular as certain elements that players can use in their own designs. It’s not clear yet how exactly this will be achieved; items can be made with an in-game set of controls or in a dedicated editor that grants their compatibility with existing templates. It may result in the most radical solution for the current lack of content: user-made maps and elements will come in abundance as long as the game retains its appeal. Yet, for Forge to reveal its potential, it needs to be launched, and, as we’ve said, the date is still unknown. Our only source of information (before any official announcement) leaks that appear mostly on Twitter. Though the pictures they post look promising, again, there is no official confirmation or even comment. Would you enjoy sharing items from Halo Infinite Forge? Do you think it will become an in-game marketplace like those around CS: GO or DotA 2? And when do you expect it to make it to the game? Got something to say? Then welcome to the comments!

• Adam Bayne
• 2022-07-22

Instagram Allows Creators to Paywall Their Posts and Reels Millions of people have been earning money using their Instagram accounts, but it only happened in 2022 that Instagram enabled them to be paid directly for their content by subscribers. With the newest addition, Instagrammers with devoted fans can now sell premium access and offer subscribers exclusive posts and chats. Previously, premium access meant that subscribers could watch exclusive stories and live streams, as well as proudly wear their subscriber badge. This yet didn’t feel like a complete experience to pay for, so now Instagram enables authors to paywall new types of content. First of all, it’s posts (both Reels and regular photos/videos) that appear on their page in a special subscriber-only tab. These posts will remain here as long as the page itself exists or until the author decides to remove them. Another more than welcome addition is exclusive chats. A story-related chat can host up to 30 users (including the creator themselves), who can communicate there for 24 hours. These chats then are shut down and deleted automatically. Not only do they give a chance to contact Instagram stars, but they also connect subscribers to each other. These chats can be a good way to share even more premium content on third-party resources via links that are only available to those invited. After this update, there is a full array of content that can now be premium. Exclusive backstage footage, photos, scenes edited out, stories (in both meanings), and anything informal can appear on the subscriber-only tab with a crown. It’s the feeling of connectedness that most subscribers will gladly pay for, a sort of closeness never previously achieved. Let’s see how it turns out after the testing phase it’s currently in. Would you subscribe to your favorite Instagrammers? If you are a creator with a good audience, what sort of content would you make premium-only? What do you consider a reasonable subscription price? Let’s share our opinions in the comments!

• Jerry Pharrel
• 2022-07-24

Twitter for Android Enables Users to Remove the Spaces Button, But Not for Free If you needed one more reason to finally subscribe to Twitter Blue, here it is. Now Android users with the subscription can adjust the interface of the mobile app just as easily as those on iOS have been able to for some time. If you have grown to hate that Spaces button in the middle of the bar, your chance to get rid of it is here. It’s just one of the benefits included in a Twitter Blue subscription, but for many, it’s crucial. When Twitter launched Spaces, obviously inspired by Clubhouse, the addition was quite divisive: some users embraced it gladly, and others simply ignored it. If you are among the latter, the ability to remove that button from its honourable place in the middle of the bar is a seductive possibility. Twitter Blue also allows users to read articles in ad-free mode, sort their bookmarks by folders, edit tweets, see their feeds in Reader mode, customize navigation, and access popular articles. iOS and web users also choose various themes. Now they can also customize the navigation, which is, for many, a serious step to a better Twitter experience. With the recent update, themes are the only thing that Android users lack, but hopefully, they may also change soon. The cost of the subscription is as little as $2.99/month, which is reasonable if you follow someone who uses Twitter as a publishing platform. Articles are a serious extension of the service’s functionality and are by themselves worth some investment, especially if they are ad-free. As for Spaces, it will still remind you of its existence with banners on top of the feed if someone is holding a conference at the moment you’re reading it. Is this customization enough for you to try Twitter Blue? When Spaces, DM, or alerts are removed, which tabs would you like to have instead of them? Maybe this will be the next step? Let us know what you think in the comments!  

• Jerry Pharrel
• 2022-07-05

TikTok Will Have to Change to Remain on App Store TikTok remains the most controversial app and service on the American market, first of all, because of its Chinese origins. Recently, ByteDance had to confirm some Chinese employees have access to American user data, which caused a scandal and a threat to force the app out of the USA. Now, TikTok needs to work out a way to remain there. The general concern about TikTok is security-related. How will the Chinese government that accesses that massive data use it in its global domination game? The answer is: they only won’t if they have no access. That’s why TikTok was forced to move its data to Oracle data centres to make sure the data remains on the American territory and under American jurisdiction. But this is not the end. According to the FCC commissioner, the app is used by the Chinese government as a multifunctional surveillance tool, as its users give away much more than they intend by posting and viewing videos. Given that Beijing has unrestricted access to it, the CCP obtains a tool it can use to study or even influence American society. And it can do it in the most unpredictable ways, which is the most frightening for many. As ByteDance admitted they had some Chinese employees that could access the data, they had to also mention that their actions are under control by the security team based in the USA and subject to American law. Not to say that was of any consolation to the FCC commissioner Brandon Karr who raised the issue, as well as to other concerned citizens. Collaboration with nearly all-American Oracle, though, is much likelier to help TikTok remain on the lucrative American market, as it physically places the data within the U.S. What do you feel about TikTok in terms of data security? Do you think it really allows the Chinese government to access the data? If you have any ideas, fears, or hopes, you can share them with us in the comments!  

• Jerry Pharrel
• 2022-07-02

Lightroom Launches a New Video Editing Tool, But There’s More to It Than Video Adobe has always been more than a developer of great media-editing tools. It managed to create a unified environment where using multiple tools for one purpose creates a unique experience. Sometimes it results in unexpected benefits. For example, the video-editing tool that was recently added to Lightroom will do a lot of good to those processing photos. The video editor was added to Lightroom, formerly a photo-oriented tool, only recently. In fact, it’s not a fully-fledged video editor that allows for nonlinear cutting, adding transitions, or editing audio separately. No, the developers hold on to their primary concept, so with Lightroom, you can only trim your videos and color-grade them. The benefits of integration in the case with Lightroom are, though, quite obvious if you’re already familiar with the application. Lightroom uses the same tools for color grading videos that it does for photos. You can adjust curves, colors, contrast, and stuff the same way you do it to your still images. No necessity to learn new tricks means that you can do this part of the job in Lightroom doing what you have already mastered. Of course, if you want your video made professionally with sophisticated editing, you’ll need other software for that (and probably more for advanced audio montages). But for applying the right effects to the final version (or, well, to certain fragments of it before inserting into the cut), Lightroom does a great job. It’s not about the price because if you are a Creative Suite subscriber, you already have access to the aforementioned video editing tools, not having to choose between them. It’s all about familiar ways to do the same job to videos as you’re used to doing to photos. Are you a Lightroom user? What do you think about applying its image adjustment tools to videos? Are there better alternatives for this particular job? Share your ideas with us in the comments!  

• Adam Bayne
• 2022-06-26

WhatsApp Granular Privacy Controls: Who Can See Your Photos, About, and Last Seen With the recent update, your WhatsApp account may become a much less public space. Even though the conversations themselves have always been private and even encrypted, your WhatsApp profile still reveals a lot to visitors. Now you can control who can or cannot see certain details of your online activity on the messenger. Granular privacy controls are the name of more adjustable privacy options related to the public bits of information your profile reveals. Namely, it’s your user picture, your “Last Seen”, and your “About” section. All of these can be by default read even by strangers, but now it may change if you give it a minute and finely tune who can access what. With granular controls, you can define who can see each of these for each bit separately. There are four options of who can see it: Everybody, My Contacts, My Contacts Except…, and Nobody. The third is the most attractive: with it, and you can hide these details from certain people on your contact list without banning them completely. It’s this option that appeared after the update that makes the control really granular. With this new ability to partially blacklist someone, users now can embrace less radical ways of protecting their privacy. Previously to hide these details from someone too annoying, you had to remove them from contacts, block them, or hide these details from everybody at all. Now, you can hide your picture from some contacts, your About from others, and make a special list for those allowed to know when you were last seen. Now, the only thing that would make this even easier is the whitelist option. If you could only make certain details visible to certain contacts and hide them from the rest, this would also be great. And what would you add to these granular controls? If you have an idea, we’d like you to share it with us in the comments!  

• Jerry Pharrel
• 2022-06-27

TikTok Starts Offering Subscription Content and Upgrades the Playlists Feature It seems we finally see the moment when serious artists make serious art on TikTok on subscription basis. Jericho Mencke, a well-known comedy artist, features his series developed in collaboration with Pearpop on TikTok. Not is it only the first full-format show on TikTok; it’s in paid access which is also quite a revolution. The first unusual thing is the length: unlike your usual TikTok videos, an episode of the show by Mencke may be up to 30 minutes long. This is okay for scripted series in landscape mode, but for TikTok it is a serious step up. It’s okay, though, if we remember that Jericho Mencke made his career on TikTok and is much less popular on other social media, so it’s his natural environment. The second thing (much less pleasant to hear for many users, including Mencke’s fans) is that the access to the show is paid. The first season will contain eight episodes during which Mencke hosts comedic interviews with various personalities, from media stars to unknown ones. The decision was not made by TikTok, though, as some might have thought. The show is produced in collaboration with Pearpop, and the agency is responsible for its advertising, marketing… and sales. TikTok, in its turn, is rather the media than the message. It may sound seriously overpriced ($4.99 for the entire season), given that many subscription services provide a huge content library for nearly the same price. But, first, no one is obliged to pay, and, second, for many fans it’s a form of establishing a rapport with the celebrity. The first episodes are available for free; the results of the experiment, though, are yet to be seen and analyzed. And before that, of course, we will see fragments of the show torn apart and shared by other accounts that will try to capitalize on it. The first episode was released on June 7. Will you watch Finding Jericho on TikTok? Are you ready to pay for exclusive content like this? Do you think TikTok will create its own Originals and maybe become a portrait-mode Netflix? If you have something to say, welcome to the comments!

• Adam Bayne
• 2022-06-08

Instagram Updates: 90-Second Reels and More Reels is the real driver of growth for the main social media by Meta: Instagram and Facebook. No wonder now Meta does as much as it can to keep Reels rolling, and new features will appeal to both creators and content consumers. New Reels length, stickers introduction, and new audio editing possibilities are meant to result in better experience. First of all, the longer the better. Though Reels is still far behind TikTok which has enabled its users to make videos as long as 10 minutes, now it allows creators to make and upload videos up to 90 seconds long. It’s a sufficient progress, given that previously the maximum was just 60 seconds. This will provide more relative freedom and make it easier for telling longer stories (and placing ads before, of course). Another innovation comes right from Instagram stories. Now creators can use interactive elements (polls, quizzes, and emoji meters) to further engage their audience. These elements have proven their potential on Instagram, so why not put them on Reels? Indeed, for a viewer it’s quicker to answer the quiz than to formulate some comment that makes sense, so why not save time and confusion? As for creation, Meta acknowledges the postmodern reality of our era, and it allows for meta-creativity based on other users’ work. Now a creator can use someone else’s Reels video as a template or even take a premade audio and complete it with their own footage. Audio editing has also received some new features, like voiceover or importing external audio into the editor. There is a huge library of sound effects (hey someone check whether Wilhelm scream is there), and you can add external audio for any video that’s not shorter than 5 seconds. Have you already appreciated these new abilities? Have they made it to your device? Or do you see them in your feed, used by creators you follow? Tell us what you think in the comments!

• Jerry Pharrel
• 2022-06-07

Google Chat Uses Banners to Prevent Phishing Attacks Google Chat, just like other services made for communication, may become the place where phishers attack their potential victims. Can Google prevent it without sacrificing usability? One of the ways to warn users without limiting their freedom is by showing banners that indicate something wrong with your contact or conversation. As the AI recognizes the conversation you’re invited to as potentially fraudulent, a banner pops up, saying “This invite is suspicious. This conversation contains links to known phishing sites that may try to steal your information”. The base of phishing sites is saved on a cloud, so it’s always relevant. The banners are similar to those shown by Gmail or Google Drive or maybe other apps that may be used by fraudsters. This feature is available for both personal Google accounts and those on Google Workspace. You don’t need to do anything to activate these warnings. On the contrary, you can disable them if you find them too annoying or you visit phishing sites and exchange links on purpose, for example, to detect differences between them and the sites they imitate. It is a part of advanced security-concerned measures that Google has taken recently. Similar banners pop up within apps of Google Workspace  (Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawing) if you try to open a potentially harmful file with one of these apps. It doesn’t matter where you got this file if it’s recognized as suspicious. On PC, the new security measure is available in web versions of Google apps. On Android, Google started rolling it out on May 19, so it may soon cover all of the world where Google operates. As for iOS, it’s not clear yet. Have you already seen these warnings? Did they help you avoid confusion and keep your data safe? What did that conversation feel like? Share your stories with us in the comments!  

• Adam Bayne
• 2022-05-25

Netflix to Employees: If You Don’t Like Our Content, Quit! Among the content by Netflix, there are always controversial pieces. What should employees do if they disagree with some particular message or don’t want to support it? Netflix has an indiscreet answer: quit. It’s not going to adjust its values of diversity if someone disagrees with something. Sounds cute? As controversial as anything about it. The idea behind it is quite positive: Netflix produces tons of content with various messages, characters, settings, and morals. Given this diversity, there is always someone to disagree with a certain piece or creative decision. So, the corporate ethics of Netflix says that an employee may have to work with pieces of content they don’t like, and it should not interfere. If it becomes intolerable, one should just quit instead of “walk out”. But what if the reason for “walk-out” is hate speech, for example, transphobia expressed by a stand-up comedian? So was the case with Dave Chapelle’s speech last year, and it really made employees walk out condemning the message. This made Netflix react, but not in the way some might expect. Instead, Netflix made content neutrality for employees a written rule. With an employee’s signature after these rules, breaking them will be harder. When outsiders criticize Netflix’s content, though, the company has to react. For example, so it was with a movie named Cuties which was said to sexualize minors. Neither can the company ignore the outflux of users which reached millions in Q1, while other streaming platforms, like Disney+ or Paramount+, gain more users. So maybe this measure will just help to choose new employees who will be aware of not rocking the boat. What do you think about it? If you were a Netflix employee working on a series or a movie that promotes something unacceptable for you, would you quit or try to change anything from within? Let us know your position in the comments!  

• Jerry Pharrel
• 2022-05-23