Twitter

Facebook reportedly planning ad network for mobile devices

Facebook is finally following the likes of Google and Yahoo and will launch an advertising network with a focus on mobile platforms, according to Recode.

Facebook hasn't publicly acknowledged its plans, but the publication says Facebook will take the wraps off its mobile ad network at its F8 developer conference in San Francisco at the end of April.

An ad network from Facebook essentially means you'll see Facebook ads even when you're not on Facebook - think any app on the App Store. In a way, Facebook's solution could go after Apple's iAd network, which has failed to catch wind with the industry.

Direct mobile app installs coming to your Twitter timeline soon

Micro-blogging platform Twitter on Thursday announced a full suite of targeting, creative and measurement tools that enable Twitter advertisers to promote their mobile apps, both on and off-Twitter.

One particular native ad unit takes advantage of Twitter Cards and Promoted Tweets technologies to allow users to easily install and engage with apps, directly from their Twitter timeline.

Currently, tapping an App Store link in a tweet in Twitter's free iPhone and iPad application opens the link in an in-app browser which then redirects the request to the App Store app. Direct app installs from Twitter timelines is limited to this new ad unit and it's not clear if Twitter plans on enabling the feature for common app store links in people's tweets...

Twitterrific for iOS now lets you edit tweets after they’ve been published

What if you could edit a tweet that's already been tweeted out? A new Twitterrific for iOS update by Iconfactory lets you do just that! Now available free in the App Store, Twitterrific for the iPhone and iPad now lets you edit previously published tweet in your timeline.

This is a rather interesting development as even Twitter's own iOS app won't let you edit a tweet after it's been posted. So, how did Iconfactory accomplish this? Read on for the full reveal...

Real-time web notifications go live on Twitter.com

Twitter is on a roll lately. After enabling photo tagging in mobile apps recently and introducing prettier user profile pages on the web yesterday (the design is reminiscent of Facebook profiles), the company Thursday started rolling out another new feature: real-time web notifications on Twitter.com.

That's right, those notifications you get from Twitter on your phone are now popping up in the web interface as well.

These in-browser alerts are optional and can be disabled for retweets, favorites, follows, replies, mentions and more. The notifications are actionable so you're able to reply, favorite, retweet and follow right from the alert. It's a staggered roll-out over the coming weeks so be patient if you don't yet see web notifications on Twitter.com...

Twitterrific 5 for iOS enhanced with several usability improvements, bug fixes

If you've been reluctant to purchase Iconfactory's excellent Twitter client for iOS, Twitterrific, there's no longer any reason not to give it a whirl as the team last month took the freemium route by making the app free with ads.

Of course, in-app purchases are available to unlock specific advanced features such as push notifications, ad removal and tweet translation. Now available free in the App Store, the freshly updated Twitterrific version 5.7.1 brings out several improvements and bug fixes, detailed after the jump...

Twitter rolls out revamped web profiles, coming to mobile in a few months

Micro-blogging service Twitter today started gradually rolling out redesigned profile pages on the web to its 241 million strong user base. The redesign looks much better than the old profile pages that weren't very functional.

You can now express yourself better by uploading a larger profile photo, customizing your header image, showing off your best tweets, pinning one of your tweets to the top of your page and more.

In addition to bigger photos and tweet positioning, other enhancements include filtered tweets and other goodies allowing your visitors and followers to learn everything you deem important about yourself...

Twitter’s Vine app updated with direct messaging, custom profile colors and more

Twitter's Vine app today received its largest update since it debuted last year, bringing the iOS client to version 2.0. The update includes a number of improvements, but easily the biggest change is the addition of a new private video messaging feature called Vine Messages (or VMs).

The concept behind a VM is simple. All you do is select the new 'Messages' option in the navigation menu, record a video and send it out to your friends. You can send VMs out to anyone, but users have the ability to choose who they want to receive messages from—friends followers, etc...

Twitter announces photo tagging, multiple photos per tweet

Following a minor update earlier this morning which added enhancements to sharing and uploading photos in its free iPhone and iPad app, the popular micro-blogging service Twitter has just announced a pair of new features that will be making their way to mobile apps.

The first one is the ability to tag people in tweeted out photos, similar to Facebook and other services, and the other lets you attach and share up to four photos in a single tweet. More on both right after the break...

Twitter for iOS updated with enhanced photo sharing and uploading experience

Twitter has just updated its free iPhone and iPad client with unspecified "enhancements to sharing and uploading photos". Behind the cryptically worded iTunes description is a slightly reworked interface for attaching a photo to a tweet, akin to Facebook's Paper app. The update is now live in the App Store and I've included a detailed description along with a few screenshots depicting the feature in action...

Twitterrific 5 takes the freemium route, demands in-app purchases for advanced features

Iconfactory has just issued a new version of Twitterrific in the App Store. Previously a $2.99 download, the new Twitterrific version 5.7 has changed the business model from paid to free. Sort of.

The iPhone and iPad application, now supported by revenue from Deck Network ads displayed at the top of the timeline, is available free of charge for new customers, but some of the more advanced features like push notifications, Today view, ad removal and tweet translation are hidden behind a one-time in-app purchase.

That's an interesting change for Iconfactory, but what about Twitter-imposed token limits? Developer Sean Heber ensures customers that Iconfactory has grandfathered a whole lot of tokens so going free should not be a concern. Besides, they can always switch from the freemium model back to the paid one...

Twitter pulls #music app from the App Store ahead of April 18 shutdown

Twitter will discontinue its #music app on Friday, April 18. Conveniently, April 18 marks the app's first (and obviously last) anniversary. Yup, Twitter #music is officially dead. As part of the move, the micro-blogging startup has already pulled the free iPhone and iPad application from the App Store.

Whenever a piece of software gets removed from the App Store, it becomes unavailable for download or re-download so folks who plan on continuing to use the music discovery app have better backed it up in their iTunes library on their computer.

If you only keep Twitter #music on your iOS device, transfer it to desktop iTunes by connecting your device to a computer and choose the Transfer Purchases option nested under iTunes' File > Devices menu...

Tweetbot for Mac gains thumbnail size option and three-finger swiping

Tapbot's popular Twitter client for iOS and OS X, Tweetbot, has been refreshed on the Mac with a few fixes and two new features.

Version 1.5, now available in the Mac App Store as a free upgrade to existing users, lets you choose the size of inline image thumbnails in your timelines, a feature developers added to the iPhone and iPod touch client earlier this month.

And for those who take advantage of multitouch gestures in OS X, Tweetbot now supports swiping left and right with three fingers to navigate through your timelines without having to manually click on the back button...