Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Twitter vs. Facebook: The Social Media Smackdown Continues!

Social media never fails to bring everyone’s attention to it. Have you ever wondered which social media platform you like to use the most? Do you want to know what’s cooking new in that oven? Hold on to your hashtags because the social media drama has just begun! Today's matchup pits Twitter, the chirpy small bird, against Facebook, the huge blue behemoth. Who will be crowned the most despised social network? Let us investigate!

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Facebook's primary platform, currently called Meta (fancy name alert! ), is the least popular among users. Ouch! With a score of 66 out of 100, it appears that consumers have yet to forgive Facebook for its previous transgressions. But wait, there's a bright side! This year, they managed to claw their way up from a dreadful score of 62, so cheers for tiny triumphs!

Surprisingly, Twitter and Reddit have managed to outperform Facebook in the hate department (you go, little birdie!). They tied for second-to-last position with scores of 69, indicating they're not far behind in the "most-hated" title. It appears that Facebook is not alone in the ring, and they have some formidable opponents!

But hold your tweets because a social media celebrity is at the top! Please, drumroll. It's YouTube from Google, with a score of 78! With its top-notch mobile app quality, simplicity of navigation, and lightning-fast loading speed, this video hub understands how to keep its viewers satisfied. YouTube, you've got the social media game down pat!

Not to be outdone, Pinterest and TikTok are battling for second place with scores of 77.

Despite privacy and security worries, TikTok, the new kid on the block, has upped its game. TikTok, you are earning hearts and likes!

Now for a plot twist! LinkedIn from Microsoft and Instagram from Meta are the winners of "Most Improved." LinkedIn improved from 68 to an amazing 75, while Instagram improved from 67 to 73. Congratulations, you two! It appears that a quick makeover may do wonders in the realm of social media.

But there's a problem in paradise! The ACSI announcement signals that Twitter, which is currently attempting to relaunch itself as "X," may be in for some difficult days ahead. Recent changes, like charging for account verification and restricting daily tweet views, have piqued users' interest. Come on, X, don't mess it up!

As the social media rollercoaster continues, overall user happiness has risen from 71 to 73. It appears like the rivalry is heating up, and the top competitors are neck and neck in the quest for user adoration.

So, will Twitter, the little bird that could overcome its recent difficulties and become the most loved (or despised) social network? Will Facebook, now Meta, fight back and demonstrate that it will not go down without a fight?

To discover, tune in to the next "Social Media Smackdown" episode! Until then, continue to tweet carefully and responsibly share your cat videos. Happy scrolling, internet friends!


Read next: The Most Visited Websites Around The Globe
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

Apple's App Tracking Transparency Drama in France: Fact or Fiction?

In a quirky twist of fate, the French regulators have decided to embark on an adventurous investigation into none other than Apple! Yes, you heard that exactly! The French Competition Authority has finally taken notice of our favorite iPhone maker's "App Tracking Transparency" (ATT) feature. Cue the dramatic music!

Four courageous French advertising trade groups had already expressed their worries, accusing Apple of stealing key user data that had previously driven the advertising sector. Oh, the dread! The French Competition Authority, well-known for its speed and flair, has formally alerted Apple of the probe. Ooh la la!

According to the charge, Apple is the evil stepmother, allegedly abusing its strong position in the app kingdom. They say Apple imposed several obscure and ambiguous terms for using user data, primarily for advertising. Apple, tsk, tsk! That's not cool!

This fascinating research act now sets the stage for a thrilling "contradictory procedure," which sounds like something out of a mystery film. The Authority is now entrusted with judging whether Apple is guilty of these allegations. Bring on the tense music!

Of course, Apple, being its endearing protagonist, couldn't just sit back and let the drama play out without a sarcastic answer. The tech giant clarified that its ATT feature gives users more power by making apps ask for permission before tracking them. Hey, who doesn't like to be asked for permission first? Politeness goes a long way!

Apple has also stated that its applications are not lovers of the entire tracking game. No, they don't hide user data obtained from other applications, websites, or anything else offline. They prefer to stay away from such shady data brokers. Furthermore, they have a self-imposed regulation that requires specific approval before distributing tailored adverts. It's like a gallant knight guarding your info! Bravo, Apple!

Apple aggressively discussed its strong track record with regulators and privacy activists to bolster its claim. It appears to have received accolades from numerous watchdogs, including the FCA and the CNIL. Applause, please!

As the narrative intensifies and the investigation takes center stage, we eagerly anticipate the big climax to watch how this thrilling clash between Apple and French regulators plays out. Will Apple's charm and good intentions prevail, or will the French authorities charge them with data misappropriation? Only time shall tell!

So, dear readers, stay tuned for the next segment of "Apple's App Tracking Transparency Drama in France: Fact or Fiction?" It will undoubtedly have you on the edge of your seat! Until then, remember to always seek permission before doing anything, whether it's tracking data or borrowing a friend's pencil. Au revoir!


Read next: UK Developers Seek $1 Billion+ Damages Claim Against Apple For Abusing Its Dominant Position On App Store
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

Software Licenses Are Now Easier To Comprehend Thanks To Generative AI

The number of times we’re bombarded with agreements asking for our consent on specific terms and conditions is countless. And that’s especially true in today’s booming digital era where everything seems to be online.

Most of the time, we fail to understand what’s written and simply click on accept without truly realizing the rights as well as drawbacks linked to our choices. But each license should be given due significance because that can really alter a lot of things including the way the software should be used.

A lot of internet users feel the licenses are either too long or complex, not to mention difficult to comprehend. But that’s all changing thanks to the launch of Generative AI. It would not be wrong to claim that the latter is revolutionizing the way users read and understand a specific license in question.

Things are becoming more simplified to comprehend and you can get the best summary of the rights as well as obligations to craft specific queries and even attain a reply depending on the content of the text enlisted.

During the start when we saw OpenAI launch ChatGPT, it was not at all easy due to character limits. Now, it’s a different ballgame as you have tools like Claude 2 that enable attachments for PDF so that AI programs glance over the licenses having plenty of text.

The perfect example in today’s recent times is Netflix. The latter has a long series of terms and conditions regarding usage and password sharing. You’ll see the streaming service allocating fees for account sharing taking place outside the home. And so many people had no clue because they never read the document carefully.

You probably purchased the subscription to ensure media consumption was on track and then broke rules through account sharing with your pals or loved ones located somewhere far from you.

On the other hand, another leading license is related to the rights over the use of a popular AI image creator tool dubbed Dezgo which has a long license document linked to delineating rights as well as the limitations.

You’d definitely like to know if you were running a firm and can make use of certain pictures commercially. If not, the long list of legal proceedings is plenty and no one wishes to be entangled in something of that sort. But that means comprehending a lot of tech-based pointers that are usually unclear at the start.

Thanks to AI tools, you can first see if they provide support for tasks like uploading files and if yes, you can ask if the pictures can be acquired for commercial use. With the document contents, you’ll definitely get the right response.

Today, the world of generative AI can be made use of for evaluating data that’s useful and quick too. We do agree that the flaws are there including being bombarded with questions that are open-ended. And most people do pass that on to the world of Generative AI. But it does mean you can fill in all of the gaps, thanks to AI which was not possible in the past.


Read next: Shifting Fortunes: Unraveling the World's Leading Economies from 2022 to 2075
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

July 2023 Rankings: The World’s Most Visited Websites Around The Globe

If you happen to be an avid internet user, we’re sure you’re familiar with a long list of websites from all over the world.

The figure for website giants who have been making it big are plenty but only the best continued to dominate in an unmatched manner. And in case you’re wondering which websites and apps ranked the highest, we’ve got some great news for you.

Thanks to stats taken from SimilarWeb by Datareportal, here is the world ranking for the most visited websites based on the type and amount of traffic they managed to generate. So let’s take a look!

Most Visited Websites By Type

You’ll be amazed at how specific themes did remarkably better than all others. But there are no surprises here that the theme of social media reigned supreme against all others.


Both the domains of chat and messaging as well as social networks had the greatest number of users with figures going up to 94%. Meanwhile, those comprising search engines stood in third place with 80.4%. Shopping and auctions took the fourth spot in the global website rankings list with 74.5% while location-based websites occupied the fifth spot with 53.8%.

Email, weather, music, and news websites had less than 50% of the user market engaged. Furthermore, other areas of less interest included games, mobility, banking, sports, and travel.

Most Visited Websites By Traffic

With a monthly average of 88 billion total user visits, the popular Alphabet-owned website Google is now standing at the top of the list with the largest figures for its classic flagship domain which is Google.com. The company that generates 80% of its earnings through ads is really doing great on this front where users visit at least 8 pages on an average basis.

In the second place, it’s Google’s popular video-sharing app called YouTube where the total number of visits by users every month stands at 33.4 billion. Every month, 2 billion users visit the platform to make the most of their leisure time on this app where they get to view all sorts of videos.

The third, fourth, and fifth rankings went to popular social media apps Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with 17 billion, 6.58, and 6.57 total user visits on the platforms each month.

It’s interesting to see China’s top search engine Baidu falling short of the top most visited websites from all over the world. It just had 267 million visitors arriving on the platform each month, completely away from the one billion figure seen for websites that made the top five list for most visited websites.

And while TikTok does appear to be a leader in the social media app sector, it ranked number 15.


Read next: Cracking the Code: Assessing the Power of Social Media Ads
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Data Shows The Reliable Web Source and News Apps On The Internet

According to insights complied by Meltwater and WeAreSocial, which are based on SimilarWeb data, the well-known and trusted website users get their information from is YAHOO.COM, coming in first place with 406 million unique visitors and 3.27 billion total visits, both based on a monthly average. The average time spent by each user per visit was 8 minutes and 23 seconds, and the average number of engagement was 5.57 pages per visit.

The second is QQ.COM, with 180 million unique visitors and 806 million total visits. The average time per visit is 3 minutes and 20 seconds, with 3.39 being the average pages per visit. Third, we have MSN.COM with 166 million unique visitors and 702 million total visits. The average time per visit is longer than the previous one, with 5 minutes and 19 seconds, and 4.93 being the average pages per visit.

In sixth place, we have CNN.COM with 138 million unique visitors, 587 million total visits, 3 minutes and 3 seconds being the average time, and 2.34 pages on average per visit. Next that follows is NYTIMES.COM, with 138 million unique visitors, 575 million total visits; the average time spent on the website is 3 minutes and 18 seconds, with 2.67 pages on average for each visit.

Right after NYTIMES is DAILYMAIL.CO.UK at the eighth rank with 86.4 million unique visitors and 391 million total visits, the time on average per visit is 4 minutes and 23 seconds for 3.30 pages.

FORBES.COM comes in at the fourteenth place with 72.1 million unique visitors, 119 million total visits, 1 minute and 16 seconds being the average time per visit. The average number of pages per visit is 2.01.

Once again, the figures stated for unique visitors and total visits are all based on a monthly average.

Quite shockingly, the actual news website for NEWS.YAHOO.COM comes in at last, the twentieth ranking with a total of 59.7 million unique visitors, 243 million in total visits, 3 minutes and 25 seconds being the time spent for 2.54 pages, both for each visit.


On the other side, Data.AI collected information on mobile applications that users have shown a direct preference for as their source of reliable news. The data is sourced from the 'news and magazines' section and ranked based on active user monthly averages over one year between July 2022 and June 2023. They based their list on user activity on both iPhone and Android phones.

The first app is Google News by the company Alphabet. The second is Dailyhunt by the company of the same name. Third is Hindi News by Dainik Bhaskar by the company D B CORP and next is UpDay. Fifth is Yahoo! Japan by Softbank. The BBC company application, BBC News, comes in eleventh on the list, with Opera News the company Opera quickly following at the twelfth rank. CNN NEWS by Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox News by Fox Corporation were also on the list, coming in at fourteenth and fifteenth rank, respectively. Finally, at the twentieth spot came the NYTIMES app by the company NY TIMES.
by Ahmed Naeem via Digital Information World

Instagram's Wacky New Update: From Message Requests to Chat Invitations!

Hey there, fellow netizens! Today, we'll delve into the strange and weird world of Instagram's newest upgrade, as posted by the ever-curious Ahmed Ghanem. Prepare for the shift that has the whole social media globe talking!

Background: The Mysterious Message Request Feature

Consider this: You're going through your Instagram account when a bizarre message from someone you don't know appears. Raise your eyebrows! Welcome to the realm of the "Message Request" function, where non-followers' communications creep into your inbox like sneaky ninjas.

The New Update: Enter Chat Invitations


Ahmed Ghanem's tweet reveals an Instagram creative masterstroke: they're replacing the mystical "Message Requests" with something more straightforward: "Chat Invitations." There will be no more hidden communications from strangers! Instead, the first communication you get will be a kind invitation. How friendly!

Consequences of the New Update

Ah, the tremendous move elicits both joy and doubt. On the one hand, the update's main goal is to improve user safety. Instagram hopes that converting messages into chat invitations will offer you greater control over your inbox and keep those creepy crawlies at bay. No more unwanted texts to spoil your day!

Advantages: The Sun Shines After the Rain

Let us enjoy the bright side of this news. To begin, "Chat Invitations" allow you to choose whether or not to accept the chat. Goodbye, uncomfortable talks with weird bots and "I found you on Explore and thought we'd be BFFs" messages. It's a win-win for creators since it lowers spam and allows them to engage with actual fans.

Disadvantages: The Clouds on the Horizon

Not everyone, though, is flinging confetti. Some people are concerned that converting communications to "Chat Invitations" would hinder spontaneous encounters. Remember when you discovered your long-lost penfriend from Peru? Those chance meetings might become a thing of the past, leaving us all yearning for a sprinkling of randomness.

The Instagram Update Fiesta in a Nutshell

That's all there is to it, guys! Instagram's latest change, which converts "Message Requests" into "Chat Invitations," has provided much-needed relief to users concerned about online safety. While it opens up a world of regulated contacts, it also raises the question of whether unforeseen connections may be lost along the road.

Remember that change is unavoidable and that sometimes we must say goodbye to the old to accept the new. So, let us raise our virtual glasses to Instagram's bold action and watch how it plays out in the huge world of social media. Happy chatting (invitations) till next time!

Read next: Top Instagram Celebrities Earn Over $1 Million Per Post, Here’s Who They Are
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

Monday, July 24, 2023

New Study Proves Large Language Models Fail To Accurately Process Longer Context Windows

A new study compiled by top researchers at Stanford University is challenging a very popular concept related to Large Language Models.

LLMs were usually considered to be great at taking in large documents and producing an accurate understanding of what exactly is taking place, churning out search results of a higher degree. But you’ll be amazed at how that might not be the case.

The study published recently claims that the exact opposite is actually true. Not only do such models fail to attain enough access to the document, but they’re also not great at making use of the right data provided to them when bombarded with long context windows. The latter is the term used for the text length processed and the response proved at any point in time. So it’s like thinking of it as a form of memory when conducting a chat with the AI-powered tool.

This study really did manage to attain a lot of attention across the board after it was published as so many developers started to experiment with it and took on the assumption that the bigger the context window, the better the accuracy and performance. And that would make it so much more useful across so many domains.

But now, the opposition is growing to how longer text documents aren’t great at enabling comprehension of a great degree and any queries put out by the user aren’t going to be given a response as one would hope.

With that being said, we’re still seeing so many top firms dealing with LLM produce more variations in models that are said to work great with large context windows. For instance, we’re talking 100k tokens for producing a summary of a long chat and putting out drafts of the sort.

When you go back to the study, it proves how so many facts being outlined about long context windows are getting super flawed. The chance to search and correctly analyze data is not up to the mark as per the researcher’s findings.

In reality, the models performed at their best when the right data arose at the start or toward the end but when the length was extra long, the performance seen at the middle of the document was poor for longer length documents. Meanwhile, the performance would just drop down when the content became longer.

As the study gains popularity and acceptance, many leading tech CEOs are using it while citing evidence about how you don’t need to stuff a whole document inside Windows to carry out a search.

So, what’s the solution as the problem seems to be a major one to deal with right now.

Experts feel the answer is a semantic search. There is no longer the need to stuff in documents. Instead, it’s a great idea to make use of vector databases that would stay viable for a long time. One common example is Pinecone who is providing such services to make the lives of users easier.

Pinecone is designed for the sole purpose of search. However, another point worth a mention is how this new study by Stanford is not claiming that putting documents of long length into the context window will prevent it from working.

The end result ultimately depends on the likes of the content in question that is being analyzed. As it is, LLMs aren’t too great at differentiating between several things at the same time that happen to be linked. However, they are great at noting down anything relevant, especially when the rest happens to be far from the topic of interest.


Read next: ChatGPT In The Spotlight: Where The Popular Yet Controversial App Stands Today May Surprise You
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World