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What is the Clubhouse app and why is it suddenly everywhere?

Part talkback radio, part conference call, part Houseparty, Clubhouse is a social networking app based on audio-chat. Users can listen in to conversations, interviews and discussions between interesting people on various topics it is just like tuning in to a podcast but live and with an added layer of exclusivity.

Clubhouse is invite only. You cant just download it off the app store and create an account. Much like a real-life country or yacht club, you have to be invited to join by an existing member. Real world elitism, but make it virtual.

When you join, you select topics of interest, like tech, books, business or health. The more information you give the app about your interests, the more conversation rooms and individuals the app will recommend you follow or join.

The conversation room is just like a conference call, but with some people on the call talking, and most listening in. And, just like a phone call, once the conversation is over, the room is closed. Unlike Twitch where live streamed videos stay on the platform for people to return to and watch the live audio-chats had in conversation rooms disappear. (However, this doesnt stop users from recording the live conversation. A YouTube user, for instance, live-streaming a conversation room launched by Elon Musk).

To join, an existing Clubhouse user has to send an invite from their app giving you access to set up an account. If you are invited, youll see a link texted to your phone number, directing you to a sign-up page in the app.

Clubhouse users cant just send an invite to anyone who wants to join, however. Existing users only have two invites available at first.

In a recent blog post, the creators have announced that their 2021 goal is to complete the apps beta stage, so they can eventually open up Clubhouse to the whole world.

Clubhouse has been around since March 2020, when it was launched by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth. In May 2020, it had just 1,500 users, and was worth $100m.

But this week it burst onto into the mainstream when Elon Musk hosted an audio-chat on Clubhouse with Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. The event maxed out the app conversation room limits and was live-streamed to YouTube. It helped propel Clubhouse to the top of the startup charts and sparked a scramble for invitations. As of 1 February 2021, Clubhouse has 2 million users. Clubhouse has announced forthcoming new features, like tipping, tickets or subscriptions, to directly pay creators on the app. Having raised new funding since its launch, Clubhouse is now valued at $1bn, and is considered a Unicorn startup like AirBnb, Uber and SpaceX.

Reuters reports that demand for membership is now so hot that a market for them has grown on platforms like Reddit, eBay, and Craigslist. In China, invitations are being sold on Alibabas second-hand market place Idle Fish.

Musk summed up the appeal of Clubhouse during his chat with Tenev, noting that context switching is the mind killer. The idea is that when users are logged into Clubhouse, with notifications disabled, they can focus on one topic at a time.

The apps value extends beyond its exclusivity.

While censorship, suppression and government control is rife in China, Clubhouse managed to fly under the radar of Chinas firewall for several months, unlike other social media networks Instagram and Facebook. It became very popular in recent weeks, attracting large numbers of Chinese users and giving them a rare chance to binge free expression, and engage in discussion on topics that are usually blocked on the mainland, including Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Quartz reported that Chinese users, largely tech investors and professionals, are using the space to talk about topics that would otherwise be censored back home, such as democracy.

E-commerce sites in China were offering hopeful users of Clubhouse the chance to buy invites. On platforms like Xianyu and Taobao, invite codes were being sold for between 150 400 yuan ($23 $61).

As of Monday 8 February 2021, however, Clubhouse has been blocked inside China.

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Clubhouse app: what is it and how do you get an invite to the audio app Elon Musk uses? - The Guardian

NEW DELHI:India's technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad warned U.S. social media firms to abide by the country's laws, a day after a face-off between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration and Twitter over content regulation.

The IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad called out Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and WhatsApp by name and said they were welcome to operate in India, but only if they play by India's rules.

"You will have to follow the Constitution of India, you will have to abide by the laws of India," said Prasad.

Late last night, Indias Ministry of Electronics and Information Technologyhas chided Twitter for not complying with its orders to remove certain accounts and content, warning the social media platform that it must respect Indian laws irrespective of Twitters own rules and guidelines. the Ministrysaid in a statementon Wednesday evening.

We value freedom and we value criticism because it is part of our democracy. But freedom of expression is not absolute and it is subject to reasonable restrictions" the statement added

Twitter has found itself in a standoff with the government after it refused to fully comply with last week's government order to remove some accounts, including those of news organizations, journalists, activists and politicians, citing its principles of defending protected speech and freedom of expression.

The government said the accounts unspecified in number were using provocative hashtags to spread misinformation about the massive farmer protests that have rattled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration.

Twitter responded by temporarily blocking some of those accounts. It, however, refused to outright suspend them as suggested by the government and imposed restrictions on them only within India. Twitter subsequently restored them after online outrage.

Critics have accused the government of using the protests to escalate a crackdown on free speech.

Twitter's actions appeared to irk Modi's government, which over the years has sought to tighten its grip over social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook. The government served Twitter a non-compliance notice and threatened its officials with a fine and imprisonment of up to seven years for violating the order.

The ministry in its statement said it was disappointed after Twitter unwillingly, grudgingly and with great delay complied with only parts of the governments orders.

It cited Twitters crackdown on accounts after last months Capitol Hill insurrection in the United States, calling it a differential treatment to India. It said what happened in Washington was comparable to the violence at India's Red Fort on Jan. 26 when a group of protesting farmers veered from an agreed protest route and stormed New Delhis 17th century monument.

The clampdown on Twitter accounts comes as thousands of farmers have camped outside the capital for months to protest new agricultural laws they say will devastate their earnings. The government says the laws will boost production through private investment.

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Facebook to follow audio social network Clubhouse - Arab News

The aggregate social media metrics do not illustrate causality in the same way individual pieces of content included in the timeline do. However, the sheer amount of engagement on Stop the Steal underscores the fact that the events of January were not conspired in private or in closed corners of the internet, but mostly out in the open.

Far-right social media personality and One America News correspondent Jack Posobiec tweets #StopTheSteal 2020 is coming Posobiec has since deleted the tweet and all of his other tweets mentioning Stop the Steal.

That same day, fringe conservative activist Ali Alexander (who previously went by the name Ali Akbar) announces during a now-deleted Periscope live broadcast that he is building the digital infrastructure for a 2020 stop the steal effort. Alexander explains he plans to construct a digital database of Trump supporters he could dispatch to ballot counting locations and state officials offices if their physical presence is needed.

He continues:

In the coming days, we will launch an effort concentrating on the swing states, and we will map out where the votes are being counted and the secretary of states. We will map all of this out for everyone publicly and we will collect cell phone numbers so that way if you are within 100-mile radius of a bad secretary of state or someone whos counting votes after the deadline or if theres a federal court hearing, we will alert you of where to go.

Alexander follows through on that promise, building a website and database that would be used to mobilize Trump supporters to Stop the Steal events.

On Facebook that same day, pro-Trump pages deploy the Stop the Steal slogan. Pages President Donald Trump Fan Cluband Donald Trump is My President, which together reach millions of subscribers, post the mantra within hours of Posobiecs tweet.

Trump takes questions from reporters in the White House press briefing room. When asked whether he would commit to the peaceful transition of power if he lost the 2020 election, Trump declines to answer directly.

Well, were going to have to see what happens, Trump says. You know that Ive been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.

Trump also states that he believes the election results would wind up at the Supreme Court and argues that it was a reason to fast-track the appointment of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

This scam that the Democrats are pulling, its a scam, the scam will be before the United States Supreme Court, Trump says, and I think having a 44 situation is not a good situation.

The Gateway Pundit, a pro-Trump blog and font of misinformation surrounding the 2020 election, publishes several articles mentioning the Stop the Steal effort beginning in September. One article offers readers advice on actions they can take to STOP THE STEAL, warning that North Carolinas acceptance of mail-in ballots up to Nov. 12 was only boot camp for whats coming.

If you are not willing to fight the Communists you will be ruled by the Communists, blog publisher Jim Hoft writes. Obviously, Democrats will win the 2020 election if they ARE ALLOWED to steal the vote in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada and North Carolina.

(Source: Gateway Pundit)

The Gateway Pundit would later be de-platformed by Twitter in February 2021.

Biden and Trump participate in a televised debate, during which moderator Chris Wallace asks Trump if he would denounce white supremacists and militia movement groups that had appeared in opposition to racial justice protests earlier that year. Trump asks for the name of a group, to which Biden interjects with the name of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys. The Southern Poverty Law Center identifies the Proud Boys as a hate group.

Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, Trump says. But Ill tell you what, Ill tell you what, somebodys got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem.

Trumps remark about the Proud Boys reportedly results in a surge of new followers to the group. That night, members of the Proud Boys respond with jubilation. The group also goes on to sell shirts with Trumps words printed on them. Joe Biggs, a prominent Proud Boys figure who was later arrested for his role in the Capitol attack, posts on Parler: Trump basically said to go fuck them up! this makes me so happy.

Notably, Trumps mention of Antifa was neither his first nor his last. The president and his allies spent years painting opponents of far-right groups as violent threats to the nation, and specifically mounted a sustained effort throughout the racial justice protests over the summer to characterize Antifa as a highly organized and violent terrorist group.

The Department of Justice announces indictments against a group of men who were allegedly planning to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The orchestrators of the would-be plot were part of a self-styled militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen, the indictment alleges, and met at anti-lockdown protests.

Earlier that year, Trump and his allies had repeatedly singled out Whitmer and the state of Michigan. In April, armed protesters had stormed the state capitol, earning the praise of Trump.

The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire, Trump tweeted on May 1. These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal.

Many unlawful militia groups involved in anti-COVID lockdown and pro-gun rallies that included shows of force at various state capitols participated in the Jan. 6 attack. The kidnapping attempt against Whitmer was an early warning of the potential consequences of misinformation campaigns on a national level.

In a televised town hall in Miami, Trump refuses to disavow QAnon. I know nothing about QAnon What I do hear about it, they are very strongly against pedophilia, and I agree with that. When the moderator Savannah Guthrie says, theres not a satanic cult, Trump responds, No, I dont know that and neither do you know that.

Online, QAnon communities celebrate this statement as a tacit endorsement. The Washington Post reports that members of anonymous image boards where QAnon is promoted praised Trumps answer, with one user writing, This was the biggest pitch for QANON Ive ever seen.

Prominent conservatives circulate misleading information suggesting that Trump voters are being targeted for violence, animating extremist groups. The DFRLab found that the sourcing for the claims, which were spread by leading Republican figureheads like Matt Schlapp, failed to withstand basic scrutiny and that QAnon conspiracy-theory-adjacent accounts were the first to post the material on social media.

(Source: Twitter)

Users in a chatroom for dues-paying members of the Oath Keepers question what their course of action will be if Biden is elected and authoritarian rule is implemented, responding to a video uploaded online by the conspiracy theory outlet Infowars. One user replies, Choose a side and fight, looking down the sights of a rifle at our fellow Americans. Youd think we would have learned our lesson the last time.

(Source: OathKeepers)

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#StopTheSteal: Timeline of Social Media and Extremist Activities Leading to 1/6 Insurrection - Just Security

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Millennial entrepreneurs Jonathan Javier and Jerry Lee learned the hard way that the traditional career search process rarely works, particularly when youre searching in the ultra-competitive high tech company landscape. By the age of 25, theyd both landed offers (and worked for) tech giants Snapchat, Google, Cisco and Lucid even though they didnt graduate from any of the typical coveted target schools. They soon left corporate America to found career search consulting firm Wonsulting with a mission of turning underdogs into winners. Their programs are based on a carefully curated strategy that theyve used to help job seekers land those hard-to-get job offers.

Their techniques are based on the general premise that traditional application processes almost never work, and the smartest path to the job you want is through social media. During this particularly challenging job search market, they offer five specific steps for landing that lucrative dream job.

Their recommendations are based on what they call the 4-tiered job search strategyfocused on elevating candidates from applying amongst thousands to being referred by someone in the hiring organizations team or applying directly to the hiring manager (whom youve hopefully established some level of connection with already). With this ultimate goal in mind (which virtually anyone would agree would improve success odds dramatically), they offer five specific tips for landing a job in 2021.

Job Search Tip #1 - Develop an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Friendly Resume

The Jobscan article 8 Things You Need to Know About Applicant Tracking Systems explains that the vast majority of large (and even some smaller) companies use these systems to scan incoming resumes. The article explains, Whether that human recruiter ever sees your resume could depend on how well your resume is optimized for ATS algorithms. Wonsulting advises candidates to develop a resume that is specifically tailored to the job description and offers this template as an example of how each section should be defined. In an ideal world, a candidate would develop a warm connection with someone within the hiring organization and share their resume directly, but the ATS is such an important part of the process that skipping this step would be fools play. It's not that you should NEVER apply and optimize your resume - it's about focusing more time on networking, explains Lee.

Job Search Tip #2 Utilize LinkedIn Search Functions

Boasting over 760 million users (and 260 million active users) reportedly, LinkedIn is a powerhouse social media platform for job seekers, but Javier insists that many dont fully utilize its capabilities. One easy way to connect with people on LinkedIn in your dream company is utilizing the LinkedIn search functions specifically connecting with alumni from your university or organizations youre a part of, explains Javier. He advises candidates to filter their connections search by company of interest, their location and their alma mater to find specific contacts at their target company with whom they already have points of commonality. With this newly customized listing, job-seekers are now positioned to send personalized invitations to connect.

Job Search Tip #3 Send a Personalized Invitation to Connect

When sending invitations to connect, Javier warns against doing what everyone else doessending a connection request without a personalized note. By sending a personalized invitation, you stand out from the crowd, insists Javier. He advises job seekers to customize the content of the invitation based on the point of connection or commonality. For example, he suggests this type wording for sending an invitation to connect to an alumnus from your college.

Sample 1 - Hi (Name), hope youre well! I saw that you graduated from UC Riverside and currently work at Google as a Data Scientist. Id love to connect with a fellow Highlander!

Sample 2 - Hi (Name), hope youre well! I saw that you graduated from UC Riverside and currently work at Microsoft as a Product Manager. I also love your story about being a first-generation graduate coming from a POC background. Id love to connect with a fellow Highlander who shares a similar story!

He also recommends referencing articles or posts they may have written, shared interests or other points of commonality in your personalized invites. The key is finding genuine points of commonality or shared interest and using that as a basis for connecting.

Job Search Tip #4 Make The Ask

One of the benefits of focusing your energies on LinkedIn is that its viewed as a networking tool for business, and people often anticipate some sort of professional ask so dont be shy. After all, its not Tik Tok or Instagrampeople arent swapping recipes or posting kids cute dances (generally)so dont make the mistake of putting in all the effort of getting connected to the right people and then not asking for what you want. Have an ask, but do it during a coffee chat, suggests Javier. He encourages job-seekers to decide in advance what theyre really seekingwhether its mentorship, honest feedback on a company or a professional recommendationthen make that specific ask towards the end of the coffee chat.

Job Search Tip #5 Check-In and Stay Connected

As much as wed love to think that making a connection and maintaining or nurturing a connection are the same thing, theyre not. Dont make the mistake of going through all the effort of finding the right people to network with only to let that relationship die a slow, virtual death. The most important part of networking is staying connected with those who have helped you, insists Javier. Wonsulting even recommends using a spreadsheet (like this sample reach out sheet) to keep track of your outreachideally every three months per their recommendation.

With unprecedented unemployment levels, 2021 for many will be their time to pivot into a new role, company or even industry. Finding a new job in this ultra-competitive environment isnt just daunting but ridiculously stressful too. Indeed, the key to success may not be searching harder but instead searching smarter.

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No Application Necessary: 5 Tips For Using Social Media To Land A Job In 2021 - Forbes

The 2020 COVID pandemic forced businesses to double down on their digital investments as in-person moved online. Brands refined and upped their marketing investments across digital channels email, websites, social media, apps, and advertising to serve their customers along their digital buying journeys. And while we were all focusing on managing life in the face of these shifts, malicious actors demonstrated once again that they are quick studies as they increased their investment in these same digital channels to promote their illicit activities on the strength of famous brands.

These highly-organized bad actors modeled their abuse networks by infringing upon the trademarks, brand names, hashtags, slogans, and even web page text used by the brands they target. To weave their schemes, they used the same promotional vehicles and digital assets as the targeted brands we all love. They built websites and apps, registered related URLs, social profiles, and pages to promote themselves. And in the case of counterfeit and grey-market goods, they created seller profiles and marketplace listings.

These sophisticated abuse networks appear 'friendly' to their victims, often including customer service chat and bots. Bad actors even take advantage of the latest advances in Martech (marketing technology) to conduct powerful customer or more accurately, victim acquisition strategies, using tracking pixels on their web pages and 'retargeting' ads across the web to reinforce their messages.

In short, economically-motivated bad actors apply modern digital marketing strategies and technology to conduct systemic brand abuse and take advantage of consumers using the most loved brands as bait.

To understand the scope of systemic brand abuse, the Appdetex team used our patent-pending Appdetex Tracer technology to profile these highly-organized networks of bad actors.

On average:

We examined a variety of industries, too, and found that, while no sector was immune, the highest incidence of abuse occurred in gaming, music and media, social networks, and, surprisingly, transportation industries. With the rise of COVID, consumers have increasingly relied upon delivery services, making the transportation category a larger target for bad actors.

The advent of domain name privacy and proxy services as well as privacy regulation and technologies, have had the unintended consequence of enabling bad actors to hide their identities. As malicious actors learned how they are being tracked, they began using multiple obfuscation layers to make it harder to find their operations and dismantle them.

To solve this problem, we developed Appdetex Tracer. This patent-pending investigative technology uses advanced crawling, scraping, and automated analytics tools to find the unseen digital links between sites, ads, listings, social networking handles, and apps used by these sophisticated networks of bad actors. These links, or Traces, can be as simple as publicly available domain registration data or as subtle as the security, customer service, or marketing and customer service technology providing the criminal network's infrastructure.

Traces link the individual elements of a brand abuse gambit, whether those elements are a marketplace listing, a website, a social media profile, an ad, or an app. We refer to these elements as nodes.

Traditional brand protection technologies rely on scanning to identify the nodes of a network, and they exclude the linkages and discovery of related abuse. As a result, brand protection professionals who use these legacy technologies are able to pursue enforcement for the individual nodes but are unable to identify related abuse, leaving large swaths of criminal operations in place and continuing to profit from the targeted brand. A considerable proportion of these unidentified nodes are part of a criminal network, and these networks are often very damaging to brands over long periods.

Our survey findings are based on the confirmed abuse and resulting enforcement of more than 100,000 online infringement cases and instances of abuse over a one-year period. Among the industries included in the study were Music & Media, Transportation, Retail, Gaming, Communications, Healthcare, and others.

We used our patent-pending Appdetex Tracer technology to investigate these instances of infringement. With Appdetex Tracer, we were able to map the networks, document the connection points, or 'traces,' and identify additional network nodes. As a result, we were able to uncover additional related abuse networks targeting the industries in the study.

To find out more about modern brand protection, you can request a demo here.

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Brand Abuse is Systemic: The Role of Networks in Brand Abuse - CircleID