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Twitter: Oops, we reset passwords we didn't need to

Now that Twitter has reported a security breach and reset the passwords of many users, the company has issued a statement explaining why it did what it did:

We're committed to keeping Twitter a safe and open community. As part of that commitment, in instances when we believe an account may have been compromised, we reset the password and send an email letting the account owner know this has happened along with information about creating a new password. This is a routine part of our processes to protect our users.

In this case, we unintentionally reset passwords of a … Read more

Twitter resets passwords of 'compromised' accounts

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a password reset message from Twitter, and you should probably do what it says.

An unknown number of Twitter users have received a genuine e-mail from the company warning they should change their password as soon as possible. 

But a Twitter spokesperson told CNET that the e-mail was sent to a wider group of users than intended.

In the e-mail, the microblogging company noted: "Twitter believes that your account may have been compromised by a Web site or service not associated with Twitter. We've reset your … Read more

Anthony Weiner returns to Twitter, to Trump's dismay

Twitter has enjoyed the levels of discourse of a monstrous Roman forum over the last few days.

How odd, then, that former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, took a small step toward rehabilitating his presence on the site today.

You might remember Weiner. He got his direct and public messaging confused on Twitter last year and was exposed for, well, sending rather exposed pictures of himself to an unsuspecting woman.

A few hours ago, he posted a link to an emotional YouTube video about the devastation in the Rockaways.

Weiner used to represent New York, so his foray onto Twitter … Read more

Hashtag hits the red carpet with dress that tweets

As fashion fiend Tim Gunn likes to say, you can never go wrong with a classic black dress. And if it's fitted with 2,000 LEDs and broadcasts tweets in real time, all the better, right Tim?

Nicole Scherzinger took that fashion rule to heart when she showed up at a launch party for new British 4G mobile network EE last week wearing a haute couture gown that flashes like a light show on top while displaying scrolling tweets on the skirt below.

CuteCircuit, a London-based fashion company that designs interactive clothing, created the electronic dress especially for the … Read more

Election Day on Twitter: Big volume, and service didn't crash

Twitter came out with a bunch of stats for Election Day 2012 and boasted that amid a steady and fast stream of tweets, the service managed to keep going strong.

All told, people sent more than 31 million election-related Tweets, according to a blog post by VP of Infrastructure Mazen Rawashdeh called "Bolstering our infrastructure." He said Twitter tracked the surge in election-related tweets at 327,452 tweets per minute (TPM).

"These numbers reflect the largest election-related Twitter conversation during our 6 years of existence," he wrote, "though they don't capture the total volume … Read more

Obama victory photo smashes Facebook 'Like' record

Shortly after President Obama won re-election last night, a simple photo of the president embracing his wife was posted on his Facebook page. Just a few hours later, and with apologies to Gangnam Style, Justin Bieber, and adorable kittens worldwide, that shot became the most "liked" photo ever on Facebook.

At the moment, it's been liked over 3.1 million times, and the number is still climbing.

The same photo was also posted to the president's Twitter account last night, and quickly smashed Twitter records for the most retweets. At the moment it's been retweeted … Read more

Obama 'four more years' tweet skyrockets to No. 1 retweet

A tweet sent this evening by President Obama minutes after winning re-election has quickly become the most retweeted message ever.

Obama's official Twitter account -- which now has more than 22 million followers -- posted a photo of the President hugging First Lady Michelle Obama, with the message "Four more years."

Four more years. twitter.com/BarackObama/st...

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2012

The tweet quickly logged more than 350,000 retweets and 100,000 votes as favorite tweets, easily surpassing a Justin Bieber tweet grieving the passing of Avalanna Routh, a young fan who died … Read more

An Election Day Instagram is worth a thousand tweets

If there's been one sacred cow that's stood the test of time in America, it's the secrecy of a citizen's ballot. But in the age of Instagram, that cow has wandered straight off the farm.

Do a search for "Election2012" on Instagram today and there's no shortage of pictures of people's ballots. Or polling places, people's "I voted" stickers, and even Big Bird waiting to exercise his franchise. Whether they're excited that they voted -- maybe for the first time? -- or if they just want all the world to know who they picked, it's clear that a lot of people think Instagram is the obvious way to share their enthusiasm for the election.

Regardless of the fact that there seems to be a school of thought that Instagramming your ballot may be illegal, there's no doubt that the election, following immediately after Hurricane Sandy slammed the East Coast, is a big moment for the young photo-sharing service. … Read more

Young people talk about election on social media. Well, duh

This may come as a shock, but social media is a "significant" part of the voting process for young people.

A new report from Pew Research finds that 22 percent of voters have told others how they voted via social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter. For young people between the ages of 18 to 29, that percentage jumps to 29 percent.

And even more people -- about 30 percent of registered voters -- have been "encouraged to vote" for a certain candidate via posts on the sites. For the 18- to 29-year-olds, a whopping … Read more