Twitter drops the egg avatar, supposedly to combat abuse

Twitter’s default egg avatar is the signal that the user who owns that account hasn’t uploaded a photo yet. It’s an integral part of Twitter’s identity. But it looks like Twitter is shedding this part of their image for two reasons. One is they want to replace it with a silhouette icon to encourage users to upload profile photos of themselves. Another is to combat abuse. Yes, you read that right. Twitter thinks since abusive accounts usually don’t upload profile photos and have the egg profile picture there is now “an association between the default egg profile photo and negative behavior.” While we don’t think that’s the actual solution to the issue, Twitter thinks it is. What they are doing though is taking out something that has been heavily identified with the service, which we think is a mistake.

Source: TechCrunch

Review: 2017 Mazda3 Sport GT

By Emily Chung

In a segment with many brands to choose from, the 2017 Mazda3 offers a premium touch to the compact sedan lineup. Our model tested came with Mazda Radar Cruise Control, Colour Active Driving Display, and many other features that bring refinement to this vehicle class

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Snapchat wants to keep you in its app

Snapchat is constantly under siege by Facebook and we won’t be surprised if this new feature will show up on Facebook, Instagram, and even WhatsApp. Snapchat adds a new functionality to its search bar to encourage you to keep watching. Just type a topic of choice (ex. puppies) and get to see all the videos related to that. The videos that show up there have been added by users who selected the add a “Snap to Our Story” option. Snapchat uses a machine learning algorithm it probably got from its acquisition of search and recommendation app Vurb last year.

By adding this functionality, it’ll entice you to stay on the app longer, especially with the addition of Stories “around me” and local “attractions” that you can check out. It’s rolling out to select cities in the U.S. first but Snap plans to release the experience to more areas. It just won’t say when though.

Source: Mashable

Google brings ‘Ms. Pac-Man’ to Maps for April Fools’ Day

We’ve already posted this on Instagram but just in time for April Fools’ Day, Google Maps is bringing Pac-Man back through Ms. Pac-Man. Back in 2015, Google Maps used the original Pac-Man game. To play the game, just open Google Maps and tap on the pink button on the right. We’ve noticed on Android that it doesn’t use our current location but picks a random spot. According to The Verge, some iOS users can select the map they want to play on. If you play on the web, you can pick your level. The web version doesn’t seem to be working for all yet but perhaps they’re waiting for April 1^st to come to most parts of the world.