TECH CRUNCH - Tumblr Labs, the experimental division of Automattic's Tumblr, has launched a new feature called "Communities." This experimental feature aims to create a dedicated space within Tumblr for users to network around specific topics, similar to Reddit's subreddits or Twitter's Communities. Communities will be semi-private spaces with moderators, rules, and privacy settings. Users can create communities for various purposes, such as fan groups for TV shows, movies, artists, or video games and groups for people with shared interests like attending the same school or participating in board game activities.
Tumblr Tests 'Communities,' Semi-private Groups With Their Moderators and Feeds
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The New Mammoth App Is a Much Simpler Take on Mastodon
THE VERGE - Mammoth, a popular Mastodon client, has introduced Mammoth 2 for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, featuring "Smart Lists" to enhance content curation and personalization. Smart Lists, similar to Twitter lists, allow users to curate groups of people based on topics or interests, providing curated content feeds. These lists cover various subjects, from "Space" and "Nature" to "Indieweb" and "Queertech." Co-founder Bart Decrem aims to combine human curation with AI assistance for more automated curation. The open-source app supports Mastodon and envisions extending its capabilities to explore the entire fediverse beyond Mastodon.
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Meta's Messenger to Encrypt Chats by Default, Similar to WhatsApp
CNBC - Meta announced that it will encrypt the personal calls and chats of every Messenger user by default. This update aligns Messenger with its sibling WhatsApp, which has been using end-to-end encryption by default. Previously, Messenger users had the option to opt-in for end-to-end encryption since 2016. The move reflects Meta's commitment to privacy, aligning with the changing consumer preference for private digital communication. The encryption implementation will take some time, and Meta employed cryptographic principles, including one developed in-house and another used by the Signal encrypted messaging app, to inform its strategy.
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Twitch to Shut Down South Korea Operations Citing Prohibitive Costs
TECH CRUNCH - Twitch, the popular video streaming service, announced plans to cease operations in South Korea on Feb 27 due to prohibitive costs. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy mentioned efforts to reduce network costs, experimenting with a peer-to-peer model and downgrading streaming quality, but the fees to operate in South Korea remained ten times higher than in most other countries. The decision was described as "very difficult," and Twitch expressed gratitude for the communities in South Korea.
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Discord Revamps Mobile App With Messaging Focus and Visual Enhancements
TECH CRUNCH - Discord has rolled out a significant refresh of its mobile app, prioritizing messaging and incorporating user-requested improvements. Inspired by user feedback, the redesign aims to enhance the mobile Discord experience for on-the-go use. The layout provides a clearer display of channel and message threads, with improved search capabilities. The app also features visual enhancements, a revamped profile page, better media sharing, and a new mobile-friendly UI for video and voice calls.
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Bluesky Delays Public Web Interface and Offers Opt-Out Tool
TECH CRUNCH - Bluesky, the decentralized alternative to X, has delayed the launch of its public web interface following user feedback. The original plan would have made posts public on the web without an option for users to set their accounts to private. Now, Bluesky will introduce an opt-out tool, allowing users to control the visibility of their posts. The company emphasized that posts, profiles, and likes are public data. Bluesky's move to create a public web interface aims to make the platform more accessible and part of the larger conversation around Twitter alternatives.
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Vinyl Group Is New Home of Jaxsta and Vampr
BILLBOARD - Jaxsta, Australia's only ASX-listed music company, has rebranded as Vinyl Group Ltd. While the music credits database Jaxsta retains its name, the parent company, now known as Vinyl Group, encompasses Jaxsta, the social networking platform Vampr, and the online record store Vinyl.com. The move aims to unify the vision of the 3 businesses, offering a more interconnected and enriched experience for clients and users. Vinyl Group, trading under the ticker code VNL, saw a 10% increase in share price following the name change.
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X Is Now Licensed for Payment Processing in a Dozen US States
TECH CRUNCH - X is pushing ahead with plans to transform into an "everything app," including its payments system. X recently secured 3 more money transmitter licenses in the U.S., bringing the total to 12 states where the company can transfer money. The move aligns with Musk's vision of turning X into a payments platform, enabling users to send and receive money. These ambitions could also involve supporting cryptocurrencies, as a money transmitter license is necessary for such operations. However, X faces challenges, including an advertiser exodus following Musk's endorsement of an antisemitic post.
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Meta and IBM Launch AI Alliance for "Open Innovation"
TECH CRUNCH - Meta and IBM are joining forces to launch the AI Alliance, an industry body aimed at fostering "open innovation" and "open science" in AI. The Alliance will focus on areas like AI trust and validation metrics, hardware supporting AI training, and open-source AI models and frameworks. It will utilize pre-existing collaborations, including the Partnership on AI, to identify opportunities that develop open AI resources. The Alliance's founding members include AMD, Intel, CERN, universities such as Yale and Imperial College London, and AI startups Stability AI and Hugging Face.
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