Tumblr launches new tag system, #LGBTQ featured

Today, Tumblr expanded their tag system, creating a new way to discover content. Among the listed 25 “popular tags” is #LGBTQ.

The system highlights Tumblr’s popular tags and allows users to browse content among that tag. The tags are switched out periodically based popularity, and some high-traffic tags become trending tags—for example, "Egypt“ and "Libya.”

What sets this apart from systems like Twitter’s Trending Topics is that the content listed under these tags are chosen by selected “editors.” These editors are users who are chosen by a semi-automated process. According to the FAQ, Tumblr’s bot identifies users who post popular content about a topic. Users from this list are then selected to be editors. Every 1-4 weeks, editors are switched out.

The new tag system is an innovative way to discover content and crowdsource the task of featuring content, and incentivize that process.

Tumblr explains that this new feature fixes the limitation of the Tumblr Directory:

“It’s hard to organize Tumblr blogs by topic. A single one of your blogs may include your personal updates, your art, your opinions, and a YouTube video of a cat speaking Japanese, all in a single day. This has been a real limitation of the current Tumblr Directory. So, for the last few weeks we’ve been experimenting with some brand new tools for exploring Tumblr.”

Currently, editors of the #LGBTQ tag are imaylikemychardonnay, kristinnoeline, hunsonisgroovy and dannielle. Top contributors (users who have been featured the most by editors) are rising, franfine, everyoneisgay, sincerelyconcerned and fuckyeahlgbt.

Facebook adds new relationship statuses: civil unions, domestic partnerships

Today, Facebook added the two options to the “relationship status” section of profiles. Users are now able to specify that they are in a civil union or domestic partnership.

According to Mashable, the update is effective immediately for U.S. residents, and will be rolled out to other countries soon. These options will not appear in countries where same-sex marriage is already legal.

In an email to Mashable, a Facebook representative stated:

“This has been a highly requested feature from users. We want to provide options for people to genuinely and authentically reflect their relationships on Facebook.”

Current relationship statuses include single, in a relationship, engaged, married, it’s complicated, in an open relationship, widowed, seperated, and divorced.

Miley Cyrus deleted her Twitter account after abuse for tweeting that she supports gay marriage

Jam Showbiz reports that Miley Cyrus was bombarded with sickening hate mail after pledging her support for gay marriage last year.

She tells Parade magazine, “That’s the reason I deleted my Twitter account because I said on there that I believed in gay marriage because everyone should have the right to love each other, and I got such hate mail about my being a bad person.”

Vodafone Suspends Employee After Obscene Homophobic Tweet

With 8,824 followers, Vodafone UK’s Twitter account tweeted “VodafoneUK is fed up of dirty homo’s and is going after beaver.” After hundreds of people retweeted and replied to the tweet, Vodafone began apologizing to users individually, and then tweeted a public apology saying that the individual who had posted the tweet had been suspended.

Read the full story at guardian.co.uk »

(via Rob Coe on Equaldex’s Facebook)

The Matthew Shepard Foundation didn’t come in 1st place in the Chase Community Giving Facebook contest, but the advisory board selected it to receive an additional donation of $37,000, bringing the total $62,000 ($25,000 for being one of the 100 finalists).

There were 3 LGBT charities in the Facebook competition.

The foundation seeks to prevent LGBT hate crimes and discrimination.