Results tagged “twitter”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent out a precious twitpic today, followed with the caption, "This is how I start my day."

The fine folks over at Curbed reported yesterday that Twitter co-founder Evan Williams (heretofore known as @ev) sold his SOMA penthouse (going for a scant $1,498,000) on Fourth Street. You know, that large megaplex across the street from K&L Wine Merchants? That one. Anyway, Williams bought a fancy new Victorian in Noe Valley. Charming! This comes on the heels of his partner, @biz, selling his own pad for fancier grounds. What's this mean? It means Twitter is doing well. Very well. (Can you give us some money, Evan? Oh, just kidding. Sort of.)

According to a study done by the Nielsen Company, Facebook and Twitter users are wealthier and than their MySpace counterparts living on the other side of the railroad tracks. Computer World notes, "The survey, which studied the top seven social networking sites, showed that Facebook users generally have an 'upscale profile,'" going on to point out, "Nielsen also noted that people who are more affluent than the other two-thirds of the population are 25% more likely to use Facebook than those in the the lower third. And conversely, those in the bottom third of the financial chart are 37% more likely to use MySpace than those in the top third."

If you're like us, you judge a restaurant by the beauty and cleanliness of their bathroom. So, it makes sense to judge social media network bigwigs Twitter and Facebook based off of their offices. (OK, that's tenuous, but you get the point.) Fortunately, the divine Mr. Tate at Valleywag has a boatload of images showcasing both Facebook's and Twitter's Silicon Valley and SOMA headquarters, respectively.

Yesterday's Twitter outage, it seems, was the result of one blogger, a separatist in the Republic of Georgia. According to CNET:

Twitter is down this morning. So is Facebook at times, but only because people are rushing over from Twitter to cry. Anyway, the fine folks at Twitter are in the process of fighting a DOS attack, something we understand all to well, so please be patient, folks. Update: Twitter is back up and running. Intermittedly, anyway.

Remember our old old pal Zennie? He of the controversy and Giants game meanderings? Some of you may know him as a SFGate City Brights blogger (a title shared by those eloquent Getty brothers), and today on his e-soapbox he has figured out how Twitter can finally monetize their ridiculously relentless traffic. His answer: partner with YouTube, which apparently in one step will generate some percentage revenue fee for the traffic sent to YouTube videos, and will help twitterers to "jazz up" their profiles and tweets, like they do with photos. Certainly we'd rather have an instructional video from @Martha Stewart when she twitters a recipe for currant/raspberry crisp, rather than just a lousy photo, but we're not sure this would translate to too many dollar bills.

SFist is a big fan of Google. So, naturally, we were elated to hear that Google VP of Search Product and User Experience and fellow air sign Marissa Mayer is now on Twitter. So far, she's messaged about Google comics, some guy named Bob Iger, and the keen philosophies of the American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore. Now, this is all well and good -- and she'll probably continue to post Twitter messages about super smart stuff that will go over our head -- but we hope, pray to God, she throws down tidbits about, say, life at the top of Four Seasons, or what Google dreamboat Sergey Brin is really like. (Just a scrap of something swoon-worthy on Brin will do nicely, Marissa. We're desperate. Obviously.) Anyway, if the mood should strike, follow her.

Be careful what you say about corporations and public entities on Twitter, dear readers! This is not your personal IM and someone might just try to sue your ass. Case in point: a Chicago woman who is being sued by Horizon Group Management, a real estate management company over a tweet she twittered regarding the company's alleged love of moldy apartments. They believe her little <140 character complaint is worth $50K, but we kind of doubt a judge will agree... especially a judge who doesn't really grasp this whole twit business. This all follows on the much more amusing tale of Courtney Love getting sued for defamation over her repeated Twitter rants about clothing designer Dawn Simorangkir, who she claimed was gouging her with bills for custom clothing that sucked.

The Silicon Valley set has been abuzz this week after TechCrunch published private Twitter documents obtained by a hacker. Said secret documents went up on Tuesday and include, according to Baynewser, "everything from growth projections to job applicant resumes to personal credit card numbers" to tales about business-to-celebrity relationships. Needless to say, the docs are way too smart and far too tech-ish for us to understand -- lots of fancy code and ones and zeros, we can only assume -- but Twitter is none too thrilled. Rightfully so. However, the posting of the hacker-cracked documents are protected by the First Amendment, or so says the Citizen Media Law Project. In the end, though, everyone will come out of this relatively unscathed; just a little bit of internet drama to snack on. Nothing to see here. Go back to following @newsomshair.

Hey, don't blame us for the feces-related headline. If it were up to us, we would've stuck in another "i." See, Twitter for Sh-tters is this: a "grassroots" Twitter campaign to get people to pay attention to the serious lack of proper poopers in other countries. Wherever The Need (WTN) "aims to alleviate poverty and ill health through the implementation of environmentally-sound sanitation and water solutions that empower individuals and communities without undermining traditions and cultures." Targeting such regions as India, Kenya, Uganda, and Sierra Leone, WTN wants to "provide sanitation solutions by building specialized eco-sanitation (eco-san) toilets, and to facilitate the conversion of human waste for local agriculture usage." Cool, but how does this involve Twitter, you ask? Well, the idea is that Twitter users can follow TFS and invite their followers to donate to WTN or just raise awareness while grossing them out. Also, if you decide to join WTN, "you pledge to spend a day tweeting about shit (literally, or not, up to you) to raise money for Wherever the Need." Which could be fun. Or, possibly reduce your number of followers. For more information, visit www.twitterforsh-tters.com, or follow the them on Twitter. Because fecal matter matters.

So, yeah, everything and anything is being dominated by Michael Jackson's memorial today. Face it. And, after wading through all of the internet denziens getting choked by Colgate Total and Latisse spokeswoman Brooke Shields' eulogy, we came across this.

While SFist likes to bitch about Mayor Gavin Newsom, as any self-consciously and affectedly pissed-off San Francisco voter does, we also love us some Chelsea Handler. (If you don't know who she is, please watch Handler's interview with T.I. right this second.) So, it came as a bit of a surprise when the host of E's superb Chelsea Lately asked her Twitter followers to donate to Newsom's campaign. It seems she's quite the Gav fan. You see, Newsom needs even more money for his gubernatorial campaign, so he's holding an unfortunately-titled online event called a "tweetraiser." While not necessarily the most innovative thing a candidate can do to raise money, as NBC Bay Area's Owen Thomas points out, "looking is the part is where the youthful Newsom, who loves to hobnob with the founders of Google and other young tech entrepreneurs, really shines." (At this point, Newsom needs to start talking in a robotic voice while making herky-jerky movements. "Beep bop boop. I. am. from. the. future. Give. me. your. earth. money." Like that.) Anyway, if you have an extra $25,900.00 lying around, go here.

Ever since "hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets" in Iran, accusing the government of holding a fraudulent presidential election, social sites like Facebook and Twitter have played a wildly significant part in getting information out. (An aside: Do you see, you foolish and stubborn book / print fetishists, what the point of typing out silly little words is all about? That, in the end, it is just about communicating information? Communicated to as many sets of eyeballs as possible? Free of any arrogant literary stank? That your dusty 'zines stacked at Dog-Eared Books and your elite writers compounds speak to no one but you?) It seems the Iranian government found out about the world wide web, and then started blocking those sites in their country. As the Slog posted yesterday, proxies came to the rescue. That is to say, you could allow a n Iranian protester to connect to your computer instead, then they could use Twitter or whatever. (The protesters really could use it.)

Patrick Wolf, who is some sort of British pop star singer, was arrested in San Francisco last night. Thankfully, he Twittered the entire thing for your enjoyment.

Wait, seriously? Sigh. Sit down for this one, folks: St. Louis Cardinals manager has his briefs in a bunch about the treacherous world wide web, and is now suing San Francisco-based Twitter. Why? Because someone created a fake Twitter account in his name. (An aside: Someone recently did this to your editor too, complete with fraudulent Twitter messages about us blowing rails and performing fellatio on Gavin Newsom. So, like, we now demand $5 from you, Twitter. Because it mildly annoyed us. Anyway.) According to BND.com, "[t]he lawsuit claims that someone created a false account under La Russa's name and posted updates, known as 'tweets,' that gave the false impression that the comments came from La Russa. The suit said the comments were 'derogatory and demeaning' and damaged La Russa's trademark rights." He's also suing for "emotional distress." Because he's a 12-year-old girl.

You just can't top this one, Gavin Newsom. United Nations Environment Programme promises to plant a tree for every person who follows them on Twitter. Check it: "UNEPandYou: Remember, UNEP will plant one tree for every twitterer who follows @UNEPandYou by 5 June, World Environment Day. 3 days to go!" Gimmicky? Very. Legit? Um, let's hope. So far, as of 3:35 p.m., they have 4,446 followers. Might you be one more?

The Ballard just posted this message, "@biz and @gavinnewsom just announced that you can report potholes in SF by tweeting @sf311." The seem to be having some sort of live press conference about Twitter and 311 coming together. That is to say, 311 has a Twitter account. Yay, the future!

In a virtual allowing-newspapers-to-accumulate-at-your-front-door-like move, Arizona resident Israel Hyman (tee hee, sounds like "hymen") left twitter messages mentioning that he was out of town. Then, as fate would have it, Hyman's residence was then robbed of thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment while he was out of town. Oops. According to reports, "Hyman has a video podcasting company and says he makes his living on Twitter, but he thinks his message may have tipped off the thieves."

Although reports were swirling -- swirling! - all over Twitter this morning, "Hungry Eyes" crooner and Point Break star Patrick Swayzeis not dead. He is alive. He has some serious cancer issues, yes; but he's alive. This false rumor comes on the heels of last week's Prop 8-overturned rumor gone wrong and the gay book-ban-on-Amazon falsity.

The interwebs exploded today. Why? Because people have mistakenly assumed Prop 8 was overturned by the California Supreme Court. The gay marriage ban was. In May of 2008. Sort of. See, it seems a few people saw this article from a year ago, got excited, teared up, swelled with pride, got confused, and tweeted it. After "semi-celeb" Bonnie Burton, with 3000 followers, RTed it, it blew up. (But don't blame her! She's just an innocent victim of the RT. And she's a super swell lady.)

The rumor that Apple wanted to buy Twitter for $700 million turned out to be just that, a rumor. According to KCBS, Biz Stone said in a television appearance Wednesday on The View that "the company was not for sale." So, yeah, there you go.

Although it's known more for pretty computers and applications celebrating infanticide than Internet know-how, Apple is rumored to snatch up Twitter, according to Valleywag. While the SF-based company turned down a $500 million offer in cash and stock from Facebook, whose most recent makeover was a disastrous aim at the Twitter set, Apple allegedly plans on ponying up $700 million for the micro-blogging site. According to Valleywag, "A source familiar with the thinking of Twitter's board says the company would be hard-pressed to refuse an all-cash offer in the range of $700 million. (Is Twitter really worth that? Since it's business is nothing but a fantasy at this point, any valuation, high or low, is a matter of make-believe.)"

It's been awhile since we've mentioned Gavin Newsom's whimsical musings on Twitter. (Speaking of the the micro-blogging network many of you claim to be sick of but secretly can't stop using, its founders will be on The View this week. May God have mercy on them.) Ever since he nixed the idle chat about running in the Presidio , or threatened a certain cousin's inheritance after an awesome tête-à-tête went live, the entertainment value of his posts have run on the stale side.

In case you can't get enough swine flu information, be sure to follow the Centers for Disease Control's Twitter accounts. CNET has the scoop: "@CDCemergency... is posting new recommendations, bulletins on confirmed cases, and information on antiviral drugs and other ways to deal with or prevent the disease" and "@CDC-eHealth, is updated less often but has some good advice including this link to a CDC site where you can send family and friends a 'handwashing eCard.'" And, naturally, outside of the CDC, there's the all purpose #swineflu—example "My grandpa says he did his part to combat #swineflu by having a pork sandwich today."

Maureen Dowd is kind of an idiot. And we mean that in the nicest way possible, because she seems so smart. But then she goes off and writes this. In her most recent op-ed piece for the New York Times, she attempts to show the world of online writing what's what. How so? Well, she attacks Twitter and other types of newfangled online internet world wide web sites, claims that journalists are "hot" in Hollywood right now ("Russell Crowe, playing a messy and morally ambiguous Washington investigative journalist, teaches the self-regarding blogger, Rachel McAdams, a thing or three, including why a pen is necessary" is just one example of print publishing's tenacity), and compares cumbersome newspapers to the ageless Norma Desmond.

After announcing his bid for candidacy for California Governor this morning, Mayor Gavin Newsom sent this message via Twitter, "We've raised $15,000 online today. Thank you for the support. Help us reach our goal of $20,000. Please ReTweet: http://tr.im/ji64 ." $15K?! Jesus. (You totally owe us an onion bagel with cream cheese, Gav, for SFist's major linkage to your contribution links. Seriously. And we want it lightly toasted too. We digress.) So, yeah, the internet is cool and stuff. Who knew? Anyway, read more about Newsom's online world wide web internet "blitz" with this deeply fellating article.

The moment SF Mayor Gavin Newsom pressed "update" to announce his candidacy for Governor of California.

Citing a difficult divorce, which would explain the desire to follow online a Hollywood actress of-a-certain age, the woman who Twittered her attempted suicide to Demi Moore spoke to the press recently. If you recall, Sandie Guy sent a Twitter message to Moore, saying, "Getting a knife, a big one that is sharp. Going to cut my arm down the whole arm so it doesn't waste time." Moore then notified police, who found the victim somewhere in San Jose where she was taken in for "evaluation." Guy tells Inside Edition "I was on Twitter and I didn't realize everyone was going to see it." Guy goes on to say, "I was trying to deal with it in the most healthy way I could think of. I did have a knife next to me." Guy works as an advertising executive. Her Twitter account has since been deleted.

Actress Demi Moore (AKA mrskutcher) helped save the life of a woman this morning with the help of Twitter. According to MSNBC, a woman (sandieguy) sent Moore messages saying, “@mrskutcher I'm just wondering if anyone cares that I'm gonna kill myself now,” "getting a knife,a big one that is sharp. Going to cut my arm down the whole arm so it doesn't waste time," and "gbye...gonna kill myself now."