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How To Restore Tap To Tweet & Tap To Post Widget In iOS 8 Notification Center

13 November 2014 11:13 PM
TapToShare By Nonthawat Srichad

TapToShare By Nonthawat Srichad

iOS 5 and iOS 6 introduced some social integration features which, among other things, allowed users to quickly post tweets to Twitter and status updates to your Facebook right from the Notification Center using a simple tap. It was a convenient, effective way for users to get their 2 cents in without too much hassle.

However, with iOS 8 this it’s not longer a feature. But with Apple having given third-party developers a license to develop third-party Notification Center widgets – something only previously available via jailbreak – the NC can now be filled up with useful shortcuts and functions, and one developer has naturally seized the opportunity to re-introduced those sorely-missed functions.

Called TapToShare (By Nonthawat Srichad) on the App Store, the widget nestles itself into the Notification Center, and as you’ll see from the screenshot, it looks comfortably native enough. Then again, given that these buttons were once a part of the stock repertoire, this shouldn’t be too surprising, and if you’re an avid online socialite, then you’ll surely be pleased to have them back.

Once installed, you can readily pull down the Notification Center blind and use the Tap to Tweet for those casual, short utterances on The Twitters, and should you feel the need to divulge your most intimate thoughts on one extraneous topic or another, then you’ll probably want to consult the Tap to Post option. But remember, it won’t bring the Share Sheet up in the Notification Center, instead, it will launch the app from where you can tweet or Facebook away. A small compromise, but a worthwhile one.

We’ve tested it on an iPhone 4s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus already and as well as confirming that it works as advertised, we’re very much enjoying our reunion with these tap-to buttons.

Download it, give it a whirl, and as ever, be sure to post your thoughts in the comment section below.

Download TapToShare (By Nonthawat Srichad) for iPhone on the App Store – It’s completely free of charge.

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Justin Bieber funds “Shots of Me” app that only lets you take selfies

18 November 2013 4:37 AM
The new selfies-only photo app promises to combat cyber-bullying and create a new and positive experience for its users.

The new selfies-only photo app promises to combat cyber-bullying. Find me: Jordan Couzens / JordanBTH

Partially funded by Justin Bieber and created by RockLive, Shots of Me is a new app for iPhone users that allows you to take and share photos of yourself.

Shots of Me’s profile on iTunes says that it’s “time for something new” – implying that it’s offering something different in comparison to its well-established competitors such as Instagram, SnapChat, and even Twitter.

At first glance, it doesn’t appear to be that different. The features listed by Shots of Me boast being able to “double-tap [a] selfie that you like” and “share a selfie” and “browse the real-time feed” which doesn’t appear to differentiate itself from Instagram in the slightest.

However, Shots of Me is different as it does exactly what it says on the tin: it’s meant be exclusively for selfies. The app only allows you to use your front-facing camera, discouraging shots of people’s food and pets. Plus, there aren’t any filters to magic away bad lighting or to make your face appear more “arty”.
Shots of Me allows users to tag their friends in photos, add hashtags, a caption, and even your location. You can choose to tweet your photo, and there’s currently an Instagram icon with a “coming soon” badge over it, so it appears that you’ll soon be able to push your Shots of Me selfies to your Instagram feed.

Another feature of Shots of Me that sets it apart is that its founders insist the app is meant to be a positive experience for all its users:

“Shots of Me is designed to be a positive experience for everyone. Unlike other social networks, Shots of Me does not have features that create negativity and bullying. Users also have the option of making their accounts private.”

It appears the main way Shots of Me plans to tackle cyber-bullying is to restrict comments, as you can’t leave a public comment on another person’s selfie. You can only “comment” on a photo by sending someone you follow a private message.

Justin Bieber has brought a $1.1 million investment to the app and brings the additional influence of his millions of followers on Twitter – however, at the time of writing, Bieber has still yet to post a selfie.

Find me: Jordan Couzens / JordanBTH

Snapchats of App (iOS 6)

Find me: Jordan Couzens / JordanBTH

Source: buzzfeed

Twitter Introduces Two-Step Authentication

22 May 2013 9:13 PM

Twitter has finally introduced two-factor authentication to more securely protect accounts, the company announced Wednesday.

The move comes after a number of hacks of high-profile Twitter accounts, including The Onion, the Associated Press and E! Online. Jim O’Leary from Twitter’s product security team announced the new feature via a blog post, saying it is in response to accounts “occasionally” being compromised by phishing schemes or password breaches on other sites.

Twitter is calling the new feature “login verification.” It works similarly to other two-factor authentication systems, especially Google’s: After the account holder logs into an account, Twitter will send a special code to the user via SMS text message that the person must enter to gain access to the account.

Users can enable login verification via their Twitter settings page. You’ll need both a confirmed email address and a verified phone number on your account to use the feature, and the system will send a test message to finish the activation.

Importantly, apps that you’ve linked to Twitter will continue to work “without disruption,” O’Leary wrote. For apps other than a browser that require you to log into Twitter, you’ll need a one-time password, available on Twitter’s application page (this is also similar to how Google two-factor authentication works).

Twitter built login verification out of its Twitter for SMS feature, which has been around almost since the service debuted. O’Leary says the work the company put into the new feature will enable more security enhancements in the future.

Calls for Twitter to introduce some kind of two-step verification service grew louder after account hacks became a frequent occurrence. Besides the companies mentioned earlier, the BBC, the Financial Times, Burger King and Donald Trump have all experienced Twitter hacks in recent months.

Currently it’s not available in UK/France

Update 25-May-13 10:54PM: This feature is now available in the United Kingdom, you will need to add a phone to your Twitter account to enable this feature.

TweetDeck Finally Comes To The Web As A Chrome App!

8 December 2010 4:11 AM


You can get TweetDeck, the popular realtime stream reader, as a desktop client, on your iPhone and iPad, or Android phone. But up until now, there was no Web browser version (unlike Seesmic, which is best known as a browser-based app). Today, TweetDeck released its first Web client as a Chrome app in the new Chrome Webstore.

“It’s definitely our best version of a desktop TweetDeck so far,” says CEO Iain Dodsworth.

You can sign in with your existing TweetDeck account, and add different realtime streams in different columns—Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare checkins, Google Buzz. Soon it will support Gmail as well. ChromeDeck, as it was codenamed during development, borrows some UI elements from its most recent Android app. There are combined columns labeled Home (all timelines from various accounts), Me (all mentions and messages directed at you such as Twitter @replies), and Inbox (direct messages, and soon Facebook and Gmail messages).

The Chrome app is supposed to be faster, more stable, and less of a memory hog than the desktop AIR version. Once you “install” it onto your browser, it exists within its own tab. And it is always available for you, with any other apps you install, when you launch a new blank tab.

The first thing you notice if you are a regular TweetDeck user is that it is completely silent. That silence won’t last long, however. Dodsworth & Co. is working on “getting some TweetDeck sounds recorded and added to all the apps” in an effort to try to “create a social soundscape whereby you don’t even need to look at your screen and you have a sense of what’s going on.” Oh boy, my wife is going to love that. Bleep, Zoink, Boop.

I prefer the silence. (Silent-mode, please). The other thing you notice is how things pop up when you need them to and disappear when you don’t. Click on the compose box up top, and it expands to give you room to write, add images and your location, and select to which accounts you want to send out your message. Hit reply in your stream, and a reply box zooms up to the top of the column along with the Tweet or message you are responding too, all in-line. Smooth.

Source: techcrunch.com, By Erick Schonfeld.

CrunchBase Information
TweetDeck
Information provided by CrunchBase

Twitter Now Has 300 Employees

1 November 2010 12:53 AM

The size of Twitter’s staff has more than doubled since February, with the company announcing this afternoon that it has hired its 300th full-time employee.

That still makes the company a fraction of the size of some other quickly growing web companies — Facebook has more than 1,700 employees and Groupon is pushing 1,000 — but it does represent a fairly significant hiring spree in the seven months since Biz Stone announced employee number 140.

Twitter’s still hiring for dozens of positions across engineering, operations and sales. We imagine the latter will become more important over the next few months as the company continues to scale its advertising business.

Source mashable.com