By Gilbert Falso :: 1:50 PM
Facebook today announced a new feature on the social networking site, designed to help users identify authentic Facebook accounts and pages for celebrities and other high-profile users.
Similar to Twitter’s Verified Account status, Facebook will add a small blue checkmark on the Page or profile of an institution or person who the network has verified is legitimately running the account.
The first set of verification marks will come to Pages, starting with a small group of prominent public figures such as celebrities, journalists, government officials, popular brands and businesses with large audiences. The second phase of the verification rollout will include personal profiles as well.
Blue verification checkmarks will appear directly to the right of the name of the person or business on their page. See the example from pop star Justin Bieber’s verified page above.
Facebook’s help center does not explain the process of how the network verifies its users. Similar to Twitter, there is no way to ask for an account to be considered for verification. Facebook will seek out individual users and brands for verification if they believe their presence on the network warrants it.
By Gilbert Falso :: 10:58 PM
When 15-year-old Ding Jinhao from Nanjing China visited the Luxor Temple in Egypt earlier this month, he decided to leave behind a mark of his presence on the 3,500 year old monument.
Jinhao carved into a stone sculpture inside the temple, and wrote in Chinese, “Ding Jinhao was here.” A short time later, another Chinese tourist happened to walk by the same sculpture where Jinhao carved his mark, and snapped a picture of it (see above).
The unnamed tourist posted the picture to Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging service that is popular in China. “The saddest moment in Egypt. I’m so embarrassed that I want to hide myself. I said to the Egyptian tour guide,’I’m really sorry,'” the tourist wrote in the post with the picture.
Outraged Weibo users reacted quickly to the post of the defaced sculpture, and tracked down Jinhao in his hometown. The original post to Weibo was shared nearly 90,000 times, and received over 18,000 comments.
Jinhao’s parents quickly approached the media to head off the tide of criticism across China towards their son. “We want to apologize to the Egyptian people and to people who have paid attention to this case across China,” said Jinhao’s in an interview with China Daily.
Staff at the Luxor monument have attempted to remove the graffiti from the sculpture, but due to the fragile nature of the surface, they have only been able to slightly correct the damage.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 3:06 PM
This story is still developing. A CSX freight train in Rosedale, Maryland (outside of Baltimore) has derailed after striking a tractor trailer at a railroad crossing. A portion of the train has caught fire. The fire and subsequent explosion have been captured on video. Two videos are below.
The first video below was shot by a motorist who had been driving by the scene. Viewer discretion is advised, as the camera operator and his passenger use foul language throughout the video. The second video was shot on the sidewalk, adjacent to where the first video had been taken.
At this time, law enforcement officials have told news outlets that one firefighter has been trapped by the wreckage. Nearby buildings are being evacuated. According to preliminary reports from the Baltimore County Fire Department, at least two buildings have collapsed due to the explosion.
By Paul Thomson :: 2:59 PM
Related story: 6/5/13: Amazon acquires Nickelodeon content for its streaming video service
Internet movie and video delivery service Netflix has dropped popular children’s titles from Nickelodeon, including SpongeBob Square Pants and Dora the Explorer, from its instant streaming lineup.
All of the Nickelodeon content was covered under Netflix’s contract with Viacom, Nickelodeon’s parent company. This contract expired over the weekend, and with it went hundreds of episodes of children’s content across many shows. Including Nickelodeon, the Viacom contract also covered content from MTV and BET, which also disappeared off of Netflix’s streaming menu over the past several days.
To fill the void left by the disappearing Nickelodeon shows, Netflix has stocked up on content from rival Disney. Five new shows from the Disney Junior and Disney XD cable channels will be available for little ones to watch. The shows that Netflix has added to the service are “Jake and the Never Land Pirates,â€Â “Tron: Uprising,†“Handy Manny,†“Special Agent Oso,†and “JoJo’s Circus.â€
Netflix will add episodes from each of these Disney shows after they have aired on the cable channels.
Moving away from the Viacom deal signals a shift in the way Netflix is handling its content and its contracts. Instead of dealing with larger media holding companies, Netflix is planning to work in a more hands-on approach with television show producers.
In a message to shareholders earlier this month, Netflix’s CEO, Reed Hastings, wrote, “by dealing directly with the producers of TV shows, we are better positioned to pick just those shows that we believe will work best and secure rights that may be otherwise blocked by TV carriage and transmission deals. As we continue to focus on exclusive and curated content, our willingness to pay for non-exclusive, bulk content deals declines.â€
By Gilbert Falso :: 12:41 PM
The parents of a Millvale, Pennsylvania 10-year-old were charged with endangering the welfare of a child after motorists on the Pennsylvania Turnpike called authorities to report that the child was riding in a cage in the back of their pickup trick.
A Reddit user, Manofmail, snapped the picture above on Monday evening as he passed the truck on the highway. The girl was in the cage with a small dog. Manofmail and other motorists made several calls to Pennsylvania State Police, reporting the direction, mile marker location, and license plane number of the truck as it traveled on the highway.
State Police used the license plate to track the vehicle’s registration information, and officers from Millvale were waiting on an adjacent road when the parents turned down the street on their way home.
The girl’s mother, Abbey Carlson, and her stepfather Thomas Fishinger, were both charged in the incident. Fishinger told authorities that the girl had requested to ride in the cage with the dog.