Twitter Generalizes Direct Messages

You can now send direct messages to anyone on Twitter.
Social media giants Twitter have increased the lines of virtual communication with a new option which allows users to receive direct messages from any user on Twitter. The feature is opt-in and appears to be in state of current roll out. Some Twitter users, but not all, are seeing the option in their Settings menu.

Since Twitter’s launch, users have only been able to send direct messages if both parties followed each other on the micro-blogging service. This policy cut down on spam messages being sent from unknown users. Now, users can navigate to Twitter.com, Settings, Account and scroll down to Content. If you are one of the people who have been rolled out, you should be able to see an option to check the box next to “Receive direct messages from any follower.” If you check this option, any Twitter user that follows you will be able to send you a Direct Message, regardless of whether you decide to follow them back.

This news was first reported via Twitter from Blogger Jim Connolly. On Tuesday morning he noticed the new function in his online settings. “I’m giving it a go…Why not?” he wrote. But, not everyone was eager to give it a try, as user Magnus Thörnblad tweeted in response to Connolly’s news “Great feature if you like spam dm’s from bots ”.

It appears the micro blogging site started the feature for a limited number of accounts, “in cases where having that capability may be beneficial…We do not have plans for making the feature more widely available at this time…We will continue to experiment with ways of helping people and companies get more value from Twitter.” The company told The Next Web. Last month, the company launched Twitter Alerts, which provide users with notifications about emergency situations from trusted sources like the American Red Cross,FEMA, and the World Health Organization. Users must subscribe to the alerts.

So, if you don’t already have enough followers, no doubt if you check the box, you’ll have a whole lot more!

This is good news for spammers but not for some people.

Google & Facebook Joins A4AI To Provide Affordable Internet By 2015

Imagine the world where internet is made available, affordable and accessible for everyone. When I say everyone, everyone includes people in urban and rural areas in Africa and other developing countries of the world. Social net work giants, Google and Facebook have joined the Alliance for Affordable Internet to make this a reality. Read the full report below.

The Alliance for Affordable Internet is a group of tech companies and industry sponsors who are working together to reduce the cost of internet access, enabling developing countries to get connected via the internet.

While it might seem incomprehensible to some people that a household might not have 4 internet devices, the fact of the matter is that two thirds of the world are not connected at all because they simply can’t afford it. By connecting these developing countries, the A4AI hope to increase the population’s exposure towards healthcare, education and science.Recently, Google and Facebook have announced that they have joined the 30+ other companies who are involved with A4AI. These companies include:
Yahoo
Intel
Microsoft
Ericsson
Cisco

Objectives

The main objective of the alliance is to offer developing countries a more affordable internet access in the belief that by improving internet access, the countries will have access to some of the tools needed in order to grow and develop.

The technological genius companies and sponsors will use their know-how as well as innovative technology to reduce the costs of internet access.

In order to track and assess internet affordability around the world, the Alliance for Affordable Internet will introduce a survey. The results of this survey will be used to formulate the next plan of attack in the war against internet costs.

There will also be changes to policies and procedures helping to reduce costs further which can then be reflected in the consumer’s price plan for internet access.

Lastly, the Alliance will work directly with the Governments of each country, educating and guiding along the way while cutting out the middle man.

By 2015, the A4AI hope to have reduced the internet costs to under 5% of the average wage in 12 developing countries. Credits: Tech Beat.