Social Media

Gamato appeals for common sense

As most of the provinces have gone into polling, he said rallies and the use of loudhailers must stop.

The use of flyers and posters, on the other hand, can remain.

By law, eight to 12 weeks of campaigning options were given in which the Electoral Commission went with the minimum, which was eight weeks of campaigning.

Social media is a new medium that has taken campaigning to a whole new level. And while there is no law regulating the use of this medium in the elections, Commissioner Gamato is asking for common sense to prevail.

Is live streaming your life good business or dangerous?

Samantha Firth, a 21-year-old nanny living in Chicago, walks to the subway with her friend. So far, so ordinary.

But she is simultaneously broadcasting her 15-minute journey live via her mobile to thousands of avid followers.

"You guys are lit," she says excitedly as she looks at the stream of rolling messages and emojis that are popping up on her screen from her fans.

"I love you... you guys are the best," she exclaims, before heading onto the subway and zooming the camera in on a spot on her forehead.

US rapper Kanye West disappears from social media

The reasons why were unclear but last November he ended a tour early.

He had accused fellow rapper Jay-Z of trying to kill him and walked off stage after announcing he would vote for Donald Trump.

His wife, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, remains on Twitter and has 51m followers.

She has been promoting her and her husband's children's clothing line.

Shortly after West's accounts were deactivated, she tweeted that he had hand drawn a logo for the clothing line.

Fans responded by pleading with her to persuade her husband to return.

China announces tighter regulations for online news

Companies that publish, share or edit news will need a government licence, and senior editors must be approved by the authorities.

Other staff will be required to undergo government training and assessment, and receive official accreditation.

The legislation will bring online news providers into line with traditional news media operating in the country.

Social media giants 'shamefully far' from tackling illegal content

Hate speech, terror recruitment videos and sexual images of children all took too long to be removed, said the Home Affairs Select Committee report.

The government should consider making the sites help pay to police content, it said.

But a former Facebook executive told the BBC the report "bashes companies" but offers few real solutions.

India bans social media in Kashmir amid violent unrest

The state government said the services were being misused by "anti-government elements" to incite violence.

Graphic videos claiming to show abuses on both sides have been shared extensively.

At least nine people have died in widespread violent clashes with the security forces in the disputed region.

Other social media services, communications tools and websites to have been banned under the order include YouTube, Skype, Telegram, Snapchat and Reddit.

Social media reacts as Barcelona, Lionel Messi snatch victory

For Barcelona, it was the perfect script. Messi's goal with the last kick of the game, the 500th of his career, helped bury rivals Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo. The 3-2 victory saw Luis Enrique's side leapfrog "Los Blancos" at the top of the table as the season enters its final stages.

In a seesaw game, Casemiro gave Madrid the lead before Messi leveled. A thunderous strike from Croatian Ivan Rakitic gave Barcelona the advantage, before James Rodriguez seemed to have secured a point for 10-man Madrid with five minutes remaining.

Murder raises uncomfortable issues for Facebook, other social networks

The killer that day paused in between shootings to mail to NBC News a manifesto in which he attempted to rationalize the attack. It arrived two days later.

Ten years later, murderers can just get on Facebook Live and attempt to rationalize their actions to their Facebook friends in real time.

The biggest game changer in African fashion is...the internet

In 2014, when Beyoncé was spotted wearing a skirt and jacket from South African brand Kisua, it sold out in days. The musician's stylist had come across the brand online.

"The internet is a great leveler," says Kisua's Ghanaian founder Samuel Mensah. "The speed with which you can access markets and can generate awareness about your brand is unprecedented in the history of fashion."

Twitter considers paid membership option

The micro-blogging service, which has struggled to grow its user base in recent years, is carrying out surveys to “assess interest” in the idea.

Paying members would get access to an enhanced version of Tweetdeck, Twitter’s souped-up interface that offers more functionality than Twitter.com.

The company has not made any indication it is considering charging regular users of the service.

But a premium membership scheme could offer Twitter a new revenue stream at a time when users are increasingly turning to other networks such as Snapchat.