Internet & Websites News - Page 37

A few days ago YouTube updated its web-based video player, with the video sharing giant now removing the iconic 301+ view counter. It has been replaced with a new real-time view counter, which is much better for viewers, and YouTube content creators.

YouTube explained its 301+ view counter in an infographic, above, where it quickly became a placeholder to stop spammers from artificially increasing YouTube video views. Once a video hit 300 views, YouTube would halt the view counter at 301+ until it was able to confirm the views weren't spam bots, and then it would reveal the true view count.

But now, YouTube is confident that it can tell the difference between automated views and real-life people watching them. From now on, the view counter will drive up as more people watch the videos, with the iconic 301+ view counter now put to rest.

This Tuesday, Facebook's latest patent was approved, giving this internet giant the ability to judge your friends list through a financial eye. This new ability means that a lender can examine the credit ratings of your Facebook friends in order to judge if you're suitable for a loan or not.

The full text reads: "When an individual applies for a loan, the lender examines the credit ratings of members of the individual's social network who are connected to the individual through authorized nodes. If the average credit rating of these members is at least a minimum credit score, the lender continues to process the loan application. Otherwise, the loan application is rejected."

The Islamic State has had ups and downs while using social media, finding Twitter, YouTube, and other sites helpful in recruiting new members, sharing propaganda, and intimidating the public. Trying to fight the group has evolved into an international effort, with Europol and the US government looking for ways to crack down on the Islamic State.

"Every targeted country that the Islamic State brags about becomes more resolved to take on the Islamic State," said Max Abrahms, a political science professor at Northeastern University and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, in a statement published by Voice of America.

"While it's true that bragging about the violence over social media can be beneficial in terms of having a recruitment affect, there's also a very substantial attrition effect."

Social media can be an extremely powerful marketing tool used for promotion, and that is evident by the number of celebrities, athletes, and other public figures using Twitter, Facebook, and other networks.

TweakTown recently chatted with Paul Daley, a popular - yet polarizing - English mixed martial arts (MMA) and kickboxing specialist. The fighter, sporting a 37-13-2 MMA record and 20-3 kickboxing record, most recently defeated Dennis Olson during Bellator 140 earlier this month. Daley is quite active on Facebook, sharing news updates about training, upcoming fights, and news that combat sports fans have shaed with him.

"Social media has taught me that it's good to be yourself," Daley told TweakTown. "People have an idea of how a fighter's life is, [but if] they really want to know and follow."

Teenagers on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more than two hours per day are more likely to report higher psychological distress, poor mental health, or suicidal thoughts, according Ottawa Public Health.

Considering the study took a look at all social networking websites, it's a rather frightening revelation - especially with more younger folks logging social media time using their smartphones. They are never really far away from Facebook or Twitter.

Researchers analyzed data from students in seventh grade up to grade 12, with 25 percent reporting at least two hours of daily social networking time. They took a closer look at correlations between the amount of time logged on social media to self-reports of mental health and psychological well-being.

Remember how the Islamic State is using social media in a clever way to recruit members, lure girls away from their homes, and intimidate locals? Well, it looks like a few women in Chechnya have duped the Islamic State for some quick cash.

The unidentified women, currently being investigated for fraud, scammed at least $3,300 from the Islamic State - by promising to head to Syria to join the group. Instead, the women shut down the social media accounts after the money was successfully wired into their accounts.

"I don't recall any precedent like this one in Chechnya, probably because nobody digs deep enough in that direction," said Valery Zolotaryov, a police officer in Chechnya, speaking to a Chechen newspaper. "Anyhow, I don't advise anyone to communicate with dangerous criminals, especially for grabbing quick money."

Facebook is by far the No. 1 social networking website, at least based on numbers, with a whopping 1.49 billion monthly active users, the company said. The site also has 968 million daily average users, which was higher than the 960 million estimate put forward by Wall Street analysts.

Combining the Facebook website, Messenger app and Instagram, users average 46 minutes per day, Facebook officials said.

The increased number is a strong 3.47 percent over its previous quarter, and 13 percent year-over-year increase - as Facebook still finds ways to keep users engaged. Not surprisingly, Facebook is generating a lot of success, especially when it comes to advertising, with the company's mobile app ensuring people are using the service.

More US citizens are being stopped as they try to leave the country, in an effort to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

FBI Director James Comey admits the group's recruitment efforts using social media is successful, as they recruit "troubled souls." IS has been able to radicalize potential recruits from across the world, and those responsible for running the accounts are quick to create new online profiles if one is taken down.

"What worries me most is that ISIL's investment in social media - which has been blossoming in the last six to eight weeks in particular - will cause a significant increase in the number of incidents that we will see," Comey said while speaking at a national security conference. "That's what I worry about all day long."

Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer isn't having a good day, as the Internet is flooding his business with angry phone calls, emails, and Yelp reviews.

Palmer, an avid hunter, was hunting in Zimbabwe when he shot 13-year-old Cecil the Lion. The lion, which lived on protected national parkland, was lured out of its sanctuary - and was shot by the bow hunter. After being wounded, Palmer and his paid guides tracked the animal for about 40 hours before finally killing him.

The lion was extremely popular among tourists at the park, and had six lioness mates and more than a dozen cubs. Palmer paid more than $50,000 to go lion hunting while in Zimbabwe, and killed an animal that wore a GPS collar while being tracked by Oxford University researchers, according to The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

Republican House representative Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, believes it's time for the United States to begin striking back against the Islamic State's cyber commanders.

"What they are saying is 'attack military installations and attack police officers,'" said McCaul, while speaking on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos. "The chatter is so loud and the volume so high that it's a problem that's very hard to stop and disrupt in this country."

"We need to take the fight over there a little stronger. And we need to hit these guys, these cyber commanders, that are sending these Internet directives out to attack, attack, attack in the United States." However, trying to figure out how to "take the fight" to Islamic State in the online world will be rather challenging - there are at least 100,000 Tweets per day from 50,000 suspected Islamic State-influenced Twitter accounts.