August 12, 2015

Top News Stories –

China blasts: Shipment explodes in Tianjin port –
Massive explosions have hit China’s northern port city of Tianjin, reportedly injuring many people. According to Chinese state media, the blasts occurred when a shipment of explosives blew up at about 23:30 (16:30 GMT). Pictures and video shared on social media showed flames lighting up the sky and damage to nearby buildings. Latest reports in state media suggest that hundreds of people have been taken to hospital. The first explosion was followed by another 30 seconds later. [BBC] See Video of the Day

Twitter takes the chains off Direct Messages by removing 140-character limit –
Twitter is fairly conspicuous by its absence among the big messaging players. The service has allowed its users to send private messages back and forth for years, but for a long time, the feature seemed like an afterthought, with bugs such as unreliable notifications. This is slowly changing. On Wednesday, Twitter finally removed a 140-character limit on Direct Messages (DMs), meaning users can send up to 10,000 characters (which roughly allows space for 2,000 words). Sachin Agarwal, Twitter’s DM product manager, said this had been one of Twitter users’ most commonly-requested features. [Daily Telegraph]

RIP to LOL – the history of laughing out loud –
A Facebook study suggests that people are choosing to use “haha” and emojis over “LOL” to express laughter. The research claims more than half (51.4%) opt for “haha”, while just 1.9% are LOLers, although it didn’t look at direct messages. LOL was added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in 2011, but the origin of the phrase can be traced back to the 1980s. The Facebook study suggests a third of people use emojis for laughter. [BBC Newsbeat]

Video of the Day –

直击天津滨海新区爆炸瞬间 现场响声震天

Massive explosions have hit China’s northern port city of Tianjin

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #SonrioCuando #WorldElephantDay #WorldElephantDay
2 #NecesitariaYaMismo The Artist #YouthDay
3 #AlDubMaybeThisTime Jimmy Carter #CeCeIsA
4 #WorldElephantDay #MyMemoirWouldBeCalled #MyMemoirWouldBeCalled
5 바퀴벌레 #ShoutOutDay Simon Danczuk
6 #MasterChefBR Hump Day #BiscuitsInAMovie
7 #الهلال_النصر #SoundsGoodFeelsGood The Artist
8 #FAceToFace #YouthDay #FAceToFace
9 #ايش_بتسمي_اول_… Rex Ryan Paulo Wanchope
10 鳩山元首相 The Hateful Eight #Inglorious12th

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