Twitter's new dashboard simplifies your account security

Twitter is making it easier to manage your account's security and privacy settings.The company rolled out a new data dashboard Wednesday that provides users with a detailed look at all their privacy and security settings, so they can manage account access, blocked accounts and how they share with third-party apps.

The password-protected data dashboard, which can be accessed via your account's main settings menu on Twitter.com under "Your Twitter data," offers an overview of your account history; this includes the exact date and time you signed up for Twitter, as well as all the devices and apps currently authorized to access your account. 

According to Twitter's product manager for safety and security, Mollie Vandor, the goal is to give users an easy way to "verify that everything looks the way it should." 

"To put you in control of your information, we’ve made a series of deliberate design decisions that help protect your privacy and security.

 "If you see login activity from an app that you don’t recognize, you can go to the apps tab in your settings to revoke its access to your Twitter account. If you notice logins from suspicious locations, you can change your password immediately, and you can enroll in login verification for extra security."

You can also manage contacts imported to your Twitter account from your phone's address book, download your Twitter archive or manage the accounts you've muted or blocked.

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What happened to Tweetdeck ?

Tweetdeck, the popular Twitter-owned desktop service for monitoring incoming tweets, went down for many users Thursday morning.

Tweetdeck would not load tweets on its website or app, as pages appeared to be stuck on a "loading" screen for many users.

The problem appears to have started around 9:20 a.m. ET, when many users began reporting problems with the service. Though the issue appeared to be widespread, it seems to have not affected all of the app's users.

Twitter.com and other Twitter clients, including the main Twitter app, were unaffected by the problem. Even though Twitter's other services remained accessible, the disruption of Tweetdeck — an app particularly known for its popularity among journalists and other power users — sparked an immediate freakout.

You'll Get More Instagram 'Likes' if Your Face Is in the Photo

Instagram photos that include faces are far more likely to get likes from followers than those without, a new study suggests.

According to a report conducted at Georgia Tech, people are more drawn to photos that feature the face. In fact, of 1.1 million randomly-selected Instagram photos analyzed with face detection software, those with faces were 38% more likely to get Likes and 32% more likely to get comments. 

"We are naturally attracted to faces," researcher Saeideh Bakhshi of Georgia Tech said. "We are social animals and want to see other people — it's comforting to us and makes us safe. This is engrained in us at a very early age, when babies are looking for the support of their parents."

"We didn't think online engagement would necessarily translate to this instinct, but it does make sense — it's a part of human nature," she added.

What's interesting about the findings is that the amount of faces in the photo, age or gender didn't influence engagement levels. In addition, male users are just as likely to get comments and likes than female Instagram users.

And although it makes sense that those with more followers received more interaction on the platform, those who post too frequently see a dip in engagement. The more you upload, the less likes and comments you get. 

"The more Instagram pictures you post, the more people lose interest," Bakhshi said. 

The takeaway? Your Instagram followers actually like your selfies. Just don't post one every day.

Here's where Social Media Day is official this year

In today's tech-savvy society, it's very easy to forget that social media hasn't been around for very long. 

Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have revolutionized the way we communicate with each another. Not only does social media have the power to keep us in touch with our friends and family, it can also connect us with the world.

Mashable is thrilled to announce that our sixth annual Social Media Day will take place on June 30, 2015. Social Media Day is an annual global celebration that highlights the contributions made by developers and social media enthusiasts alike. 

Mashable first launched Social Media Day in 2010 to celebrate social media's impact on global communication.

Hundreds of Social Media Day events around the world hosted thousands of participants in 2014, including those in Egypt, Spain, Las Vegas and San Diego. Last year, Mashable asked our Twitter followers to participate in #1Connection, which encouraged people to expand their network by one meaningful connection. 

We're very excited to see all the amazing activations in 2015, and you're invited to celebrate Social Media Day with us by attending or hosting a Social Media Day Meetup in your area. For updates and to see what other organizers around the world are planning, follow @MashableEvents on Twitter, or join our Mashable Meetup Organizers group on Facebook.

Have you spotted the differences in the new friends icon on Facebook?

Facebook design manager Caitlin Winner explains the design process in a blog post on Medium. 

"As a woman, it was hard not to read into the symbolism of the current icon; the woman was quite literally in the shadow of the man, she was not in a position to lean in."

To make matters worse, the female silhouette was actually poorly designed when seen on her own. "The iconic man was symmetrical except for his spiked hairdo but the lady had a chip in her shoulder," wrote Winner. 

Winner claims she "assumed no ill intentions, just a lack of consideration" in how the old icons were designed, and decided to make the woman's silhouette equal to man's. 

The Groups icon also received a change; previously, it consisted of two silhouettes of a man and one of a woman, with one of the men in the foreground. The new icon has the woman's silhouette in the front, with two men in the back.

As The Verge has noted, the icons are currently visible on mobile but not on desktop (at least for us). 

The change comes shortly after Facebook slightly redesigned its logo, though that change seemed to be purely an aesthetic one.

4 reasons you shouldn't be afraid to be funny on social media

Laughter is a universal language and one of our first communication methods. Before we had spoken or written language, humans used laughter to express our enjoyment or accession with a certain situation. It's also a form of communication that bridges the gap between various languages, cultures, ages and demographics. So it's no wonder that funny memes and witty hashtags are such a hit on social media. In fact, according to one study, "humor was employed at near unanimous levels for all viral advertisements. Consequently, this study identified humor as the universal appeal for making content viral."

So, humorous content gets shared more on social media channels. That's an obvious benefit for your brand. But what other benefits can you gain by making your audience laugh? Following are four other advantages to using humorous content.

1. It creates unity.

Laughter is social. We laugh 30 times more when we're with other people than when we're alone, according to Robert R. Provine, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Laughter eases tension and forms a sense of unity through groups. Get your Facebook fans or Twitter followers laughing, and you'll be helping to establish a sense of community and building connections with your brand and amongst your fans and followers.

2. It triggers emotional responses.

Humor creates positive feelings. Laughing releases endorphins, relaxes the body, boosts the immune system, helps to relieve stress and overall just makes us feel good. These physiological and chemical responses are unconscious, and create a pleasant emotional response. By using humor in your content on social media, you help to associate pleasant feelings with your brand.

3. It makes your brand memorable.

Positive feelings create memories. Research has shown that just 42% of positive experiences were forgotten, while 60% of negative experiences faded from memory. No one remembers a dull Facebook post or boring YouTube video, but we all remember Kmart's "I Shipped My Pants" commercials, even if we'd forgotten that Kmart was around. Making your audience feel good through humorous content will help them to remember your brand in the short- and long-term.

4. It provides audience insights.

Peter McGraw, director of the Humor Research Lab and author of the Humor Code, states that "funny" is the intersection of benign and violation. If something is benign — a everyday observation — it's not going to be funny. If something is a violation — a gross or offensive view of the world — it's also not going to be funny. But that sweet spot between everyday and offensive, that's where funny happens.

Learning where that sweet spot is for your audience can tell you a lot about their mindset, values and desires. To find this perfect junction, you may have to test things you think are too benign or too offensive, which does create some risks. But the insights you gain into your audience's mentality can be well worth the uncertainty.

Being funny helps to create stronger emotional ties with your audience, creates better brand recall and builds a closer knit community. Humor may not come naturally for your brand, and may not always be the right approach. Luckily, social media allows you to test and iterate quickly to find the best humorous tone for your brand and audience.