Every Twitter user has them — those people we follow who just can’t stop tweeting every thought bubble, obsession and political rant. And yet unfollowing them just seems so harsh.
Twitter is rolling out a mute feature that lets users silence serial tweeters and get control of their feeds again.
Unlike unfollowing or Twitter’s old blocking system, the other person doesn’t know he or she is being muted.
Muted users can still retweet things posted by the people they’re following, but it won’t show up in the muted feed.
The feature works both ways and people can be unmuted at any time.
https://blog.twitter.com/2014/another-way-to-edit-your-twitter-experience-with-mute
Those who wonder how much time they spend on Facebook every day can find out by using a Time magazine app.
Start at the Time page, which asks the user to log into their Facebook account. The app doesn’t post this activity on the Facebook timeline or store it.
It measures time spent by running through the time/date stamps on every post in the user’s feed since the account was started. It also tells how long the person has been a Facebook subscriber and calculates how many things he or she has posted.
According to the Time site, the average user spends 17 minutes a day on Facebook.
http://time.com/6107/how-much-time-have-you-wasted-on-facebook
The Webby Awards are right around the corner, and the people behind them have several ways to keep people engaged and involved in the days leading up to Monday’s awards ceremony.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the Web, the Webbys commissioned a group of filmmakers, artists and writers to create a series of projects centered on milestone developments in Web history and its impact on culture and life.
The Webbys 25 for 25 include the invention of the emoticon, the first webcam, the first Kickstarter project and more.
http://www.webat25.org/thewebbyawards.
The Webbys are teaming up with BuzzFeed in a Meme of the Year poll.
A meme is an idea or phenomenon that spreads virally online and through word of mouth and is often imitated and repeated.
This year’s nominees are:
Doge -- a slang term for dog, connected to the ubiquitous Shiba Inu pose in photos online.
Twerking -- the dance move that went mainstream thanks in part to Miley Cyrus.
Pharrell’s Hat -- the oversized hat Pharrell wore at this year’s Grammy awards.
Hot dog legs -- photos that leave the viewer asking, “Are they leg selfies or hot dogs?”
#ThisCouldBeUsButYouPlayin -- a hash tag that accompanies awkward photos of couples.
Cast your votes online at BuzzFeed. The winners will be announced Tuesday.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/thewebbyawards/vote-meme-of-the-year-2014
The 18th annual Webby Awards will be held Monday, and the ceremony will stream online Tuesday.
http://www.webbyawards.com.
First Published: May 16, 2014, 4:00 a.m.
