Struggles Continue For Twitter As The App’s Early Birds Cancel Subscriptions

Twitter Blue has been struggling for quite some time now, ever since we saw tech billionaire Elon Musk take on the role of heading the company.

But the mega $44 billion investment is not exactly giving what he may have wanted as new data suggests the app’s early birds have canceled subscriptions.

Those considered loyal patrons have opted to bid farewell as they aren’t keen on what Musk has to provide. Therefore, we’re seeing subscriptions decrease instead of increase and it’s not what investors were hoping for, let alone Musk himself.

The Blue Subscription was unveiled last year in the month of November. The app has only been able to turn around 640,000 users of the platform into making payments. That also came with its fair share of drama as some who weren’t paying were still provided legacy blue ticks so people were confused.

But the lackluster remains and why are people leaving the app is still a mystery that baffles Musk even though his decision-making might have a huge thing to do with it.

Data proved how from the 150,000 early subscribers of the platform, nearly 68,157 stuck around and they maintained the payments. It was ranging between $8 to $11 per month when using your smartphone.

Moreover, the complete number of early subscribers was directly related to leaks published internally by the top media outlet Washington Post. It proved how in the previous year, there were a staggering 150,000 users that signed up on the app at the start. But after the launch of it in November, a few days later, we saw people canceling the signups and opting out within less than a month’s timeframe.

The signup was only temporary as the intention of quite a few was to just impersonate several huge brands on the app. So when we really put things into perspective, a staggering 55% of the people who made subscriptions are no longer there and that is a huge rate. Why did so many people unsubscribe so quickly, it’s mindblowing.

Meanwhile, one study that was published in the past year by a management firm for subscriptions proved how the average yearly rate of people leaving online subscriptions of leading apps ranged between 5 to 6% but this is huge.

There are definitely some major additions to this information as we know there are still some who continue to remain subscribed without any additions. Moreover, it’s very much possible that some users ended up canceling or allowing the subscriptions to lapse with time but we did witness them coming back at a future date.

Additionally, it’s quite possible that a small portion of people that showed up as a subscriber ended up canceling because the app is giving it for free. That’s a rare case but we need to consider it too when looking at the figures.

For instance, there are reports of ex-Twitter subscribers trying to get out of the subscription but it not working in their favor, as they’re provided the tick again, and that too, free of cost.

The reason might be linked to the fact that there’s a poor retention rate as people are not feeling that this app is giving too much in return. The features of Twitter Blue on offer are not enticing enough for premium users.

We know about the edit button and the feature linked to producing longer posts but does that really justify the huge price tag attached?

Clearly not and people are now voicing their concerns to Musk on the app publicly about how he needs to do something about it or face people leaving the paid Blue service.

H/T: Mashable

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Predators Are Using Webcams to Prey on Children According to This Study

Technology has created a lot of new opportunities that never existed in the past, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it has also brought its fair share of unforeseen problems. The Internet Watch Foundation recently highlighted one of the most pervasive toxic elements of the online world, namely the use of webcams to capture images of CSA. Such images have increased ten times in their number since 2019, and they point to a huge issue with online culture.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that social media as well as online forums such as chatrooms are allowing a lot of these activities to take place. Predators are able to find vulnerable children through these online portals, and they then gain access to their webcams. Once this access has been obtained, predators use them to generate images of sexual abuse which can then be distributed through the dark web.

The researchers created a chatbot that posed as a pubescent girl, generally around 13 to 14 years of age, and conducted 953 separate conversations with adult men through these chat rooms. A startling proportion of these conversations were sexual in nature, and 39% of them included a link sent by the predator which the supposed child was encouraged to click on.

19% of these links contained malware, and 5% linked to sites that would “phish” the victim by taking control of all of their log in credentials once they tried to sign in. As many as 41% of these links led to a video conferencing software called Whereby which was created by a Norway based corporation that specializes in tech.

The popularity of Whereby is crucial because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing predators to manipulate the settings and spy on the child. This is just one of the many ways in which technology is facilitating the sexual abuse of children, and more effort need to be put into keeping these harmful activities at bay.

H/T: TheConversation

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Political Bias is the Single Biggest Component in Misinformation, New Study Reveals

The spread of misinformation has become a concerningly prevalent problem as of late, with the recent pandemic bringing this issue to the fore in an unprecedented manner. Most people assume that gullibility among the general populace is what leads to misinformation getting spread around more than might have been the case otherwise. In spite of the fact that this is the case, a new study has revealed that a lack of so called truth sensitivity might not actually be the main culprit here.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this study, which was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, shed some light on the state of misinformation. One thing that it revealed was that it wasn’t truth sensitivity but rather political bias that could make someone or the other more likely to share fake news that they see on some kind of a social media platform.

The study involved experiments which were conducted with over 2,400 participants drawn from various backgrounds in America. The participants were sourced from both sides of the political spectrum, and they were shown 60 headlines to determine their level of bias with all things having been considered and taken into account.

One thing that this revealed was that most participants displayed a strong ability to discern between true or false information. Also, people that assume that they have an above average ability to spot fake news from real news were also far more likely to let their political biases lead them astray.

Such studies are important because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up explaining the mechanisms behind the spread of misinformation. Assuming that you can tell which information is false could lead to you believing in your own biases, since you would be unable to determine if a news piece that confirms your biases is not presenting factual information. More work will need to be done in order to further these findings and help bring an end to the age of misinformation.

Photo: Freepik/Redgreystock

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

TikTok Under The Radar For Tracking UK-Based Journalist Through Her Pet Cat’s Account

It appears as if the issues surrounding tech giant TikTok never seem to end as the company is involved in another controversy.

This time around, it’s a bizarre yet alarming ordeal. Think along the lines of a UK-based journalist’s whereabouts being hunted down through her pet cat’s account on the social media platform.

The incident arose two days before the holiday for Christmas. And that’s when the platform called up Cristina Criddle to inform her how the firm’s own employees located in China and the US ended up viewing her details that were linked to her personal account.

They did not take any knowledge or any form of consent prior to that, and it was just a chilling and horrible ordeal. Let’s not forget how invasive that was, evading all the rules and regulations linked to privacy policies that the app takes great pride in.

What is even more interesting is how TikTok and ByteDance tend to brush away such reports as fake or false narratives but this time around, that was not going to happen. People had enough and it was time to bash those responsible. And in this case, journalist Cristina reported directly to the BBC so her story and points of view were not silenced and were going to be published as her truth.

So what does this mean, there’s a huge threat? Yes, that’s the case. The leading app confirmed how members that worked for the organization did indeed peek at her IP address and they ended up comparing it to the IP data of an unknown number of their staff. They wished to gain knowledge about who were the ones that were carrying out a meeting in secret conditions with the press.

The authority was misused and Cristina is furious because she has no clue about how long this has been taking place. Similarly, she had zero knowledge about how much information was given. By the looks of it, they knew everything including where and when she was going on holiday and that’s wrong because this was her personal details.

She feels violated as her intention was to do her job but what she got in return was chilling details about people knowing each and everything about her, all in the name of her feline pet.

The journalist’s real name and her details weren’t ever a part of the bio provided.

There were nearly 170 followers and in a span of just three years, she ended up adding 20 videos of Buffy and they were viewed several hundreds of times.

TikTok does like to grab onto details of its users including location, likes, which device is used, and the activity conducted outside of the app as well.

So many Western users’ information was not accessed or saved in China, the firm adds. And TikTok also justified by mentioning all those workers involved in this shady business of Cristina being tracked were also fired. They had similarly done this for other journalists from the West and TikTok said it could not save them for such misconduct.

Image DIW via MidJourney.
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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Survey Reveals Journalists Are Worried About Freedom of Expression

A recent report from the research institute Pew shows the extreme crises of American journalists regarding the future of press and speech freedom in the country.

Some alarming figures regarding the future of speech freedom in the US show a staggering 57% of those surveyed voiced significant concern about possible press restrictions. Additionally, 23% of reporters expressed some level of apprehension about the future of their profession. Furthermore, considering various age groups, the fact that 40% plus senior skilled reporters in the age bracket of 60-65 are highly tense about the future of their profession adds concerns to this matter, smudging a notion of uncertainty and fear among those in the occupation.

Interestingly, however, more young journalists seem to be somewhat less alarmed, with only 20% of those in the 18-29 demographic expressing extreme concern and 28% of those aged 30-49 communicating this view. These statistics demonstrate the need for action to protect speech freedom and the part of reporters in society. These numbers paint a stark picture of the anxieties and fears that are prevalent among news reporters within the United States.

When it comes to the year of domination, age is a major convention. In particular, as journalists have greater experience in the domain, a maximum of them express significant anxiety. For instance, for people who worked in this field for five years or shorter, 24% are quite troubled; in contrast, for reporters with 8-10 years of mastery, this figure increases to 28%. In the same way, the proportion of reporters who voice serious anxiety rises to 31% for those with 11 to 20 years of exposure, along with 39% for those with 20 years.

These statistics demonstrate the need for measures to protect freedom of expression and the part of reporters in society.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Apple Hits New Record As The Average Selling Price For iPhones Stands At An All-Time High

The success of Apple’s iPhones cannot be underestimated and a new report by the CIRP is showcasing that point in another great way.

After a follow-up of the report speaking about the most loved iPhones of 2023, the CIRP mentioned how Apple is breaking some serious records, despite it being a challenging quarter.

The iPhone currently stands at an all-time high average selling price. And the CIRP mentioned through a new report how things like this aren’t usually witnessed in unlikely quarters such as the one we're currently in.

Usually, the quarters of the holiday season and that of September always turn out to be the most profitable ones of them all. The average iPhone selling prices during this time are high because most people are so eager and anxious to get their hands on the device. After all, these are premium models and you’ve got to flaunt the purchase as soon as it’s released, right?

Today, Apple was really able to make some great increases in terms of iPhones and the average sellout prices arising during the quarter of March in 2023 were no exception. With time, the price has increased from the likes of just $882 to a whopping $988.

The data from CIRP showed how alongside the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro turning out to be the most popular variants of them all for 2023, this was bound to be a huge factor in terms of the rise in average selling price.

Furthermore, the CIRP noted how there would be an upgrade in storage and clients would be going more for variants like iPhone 14 or 14 Plus in comparison to a 13 mini from a year back as two further tailwinds arose.

In conclusion, the CIRP noted how the current global market strength for iPhones that are used is supporting the huge trade-in figures. As a result, this would automatically cause a reduction in the expense of the new device and slowly encourage the purchases of models that are more exclusive or from the premium range.

This came with further confidence linked to how it would end up retaining more value with time so this is always a great start and one that the Cupertino tech giant won’t mind.

We'd love to know what are your thoughts on this.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Microsoft Rolls Out New Bing Chat Without A Waitlist For Those Who Download Its Edge Browser

If you happen to be a fan of the new Microsoft Bing chatbot but still haven’t quite managed to get a hold of it, thanks to the big waitlist, well, we’ve got some great news for you.

The software giant is rolling out the new Bing without any waitlist attached. This would be for all those that have the Edge browser installed.

Just to give you an idea about how popular this venture is, well, that’s linked to more than half a billion individual chats being conducted across Bing Chat since it was carried out a whopping three months back.

But the question is why this is being called out as new? Is there really something that we might be missing here? And the answer is yes!

For starters, there’s no waiting list. So you don’t have to worry about attaining the limited preview. Instead, you’ll only get an open preview. So at the end of it all, you’ll attain some more visual answers for the Bing Chat that entails rich pictures and some great videos.

Similarly, you’ll see some multi-session experiences on offer that entail great chat histories and some persistent chats inside the Edge browser as well. Lastly, Microsoft says you can benefit from more developer access to create third-party applications across the new Bing Chat.

Digging down deep into what each feature means, we’ve written out some interesting details over here. For starters, there is no more waitlist. The Bing Search has gotten rid of it so it accesses the Bing Chat and still, you need it to make use of the browser, the Edge, and also the mobile app of Bing so that you can access the Bing Chat.

Similarly, you even need to get logged into the account of Microsoft while using Bing Chat as it’s seen in the Edge Browser as that’s needed for it to function.

The Bing Chat is certainly more visual and now, it’s updating the responses within the Bing Chat to be more appealing visually by enhancing formatting and the total layout. This just adds richer pictures and videos and even adds charts with graphs that are relevant.

Now, users will similarly benefit from the app’s Image Creator. This is up for grabs in different languages that entail nearly 100 different kinds, which is just a good idea of how things are now becoming so much more visual.

The company adds how the new Edge has been redesigned to enable a chat display that is better and more visual in the appearance of formats. This entails some streamlined looks with rounder edges, organized containers, and visual elements that are partly transparent.

Bing Chat can also give users answers by adding pictures as a part of the chat for easier understanding of the system. After updating the image, the chat would search online for something similar, giving users exactly what they want in no time.

Microsoft says it’s also making Bing’s capabilities greater for long-form documents, across both the PDF as well as the HTML format design.

We’ve also been hearing for so long how the software giant has been on the move to add chat history for so long. Finally, Bing Chat is getting this feature too, thanks to Microsoft. Users will be able to make use of it and pick up from where you last left off your document or work. Then, users would also be able to go back to previous chats seen across the app’s search history.

So as you can see, there are plenty of new and exciting changes in store for users, thanks to Microsoft.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World