#SongbirdStories: The Rest From the Nest of #SocialMedia

So here we are, the final weekly roundup of 2015. In the run up to Christmas the world seems to have started calming down a little bit, perhaps owing to an increased mince pie intake, everybody taken up with last minute present shopping or the familiar, comforting air of being able to relax for a few days. In any case, there's still been plenty of weird and wonderful goings on, so I won't waste any more time, let's get down to it.

Washington Redskins Caught Running Their Own 'Unofficial' Fan Page

pic.twitter.com/j1nJm4Rx6H

— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) December 13, 2015

The Redskins are no strangers to controversy, but most of the time it has more to do with their name falling just on the wrong side of offensive, or their recent attempts to internally ostracise their own quarterback, but this doesn't enjoy any kind of grey area, this is sheer stupidity. First, a tweet appeared on the supposedly fan-run 'Redskins Facts' Twitter page. Less than a minute later the exact same one appeared on the team's official page. Whoops. The team's PR department seem to have wisely avoided directly addressing the issue, but I'd say the damage is done.

Twitter Throw a Giant Festive Party at AT&T Park

Say what you will about Twitter, they know how to show their staff a good time. Where most office Christmas parties typically consist of staying late, drinking too much Malbec and waking up the next morning lying next to the HR from downstairs, Twitter booked out the entire AT&T park stadium in San Francisco and pasted #celebrate signs everywhere. It's not been the easiest year for the company, so the chance to blow off some steam must have been more than welcome.

Ronda Rousey Makes Good on Her Promise to Attend Marine Corps Ball

With @rondarousey at the Marine Corps Ball!

A photo posted by Canelo Cotto Pacquiao Golovkin (@oohkillemboxing) on Dec 11, 2015 at 5:04pm PST

Being a marine is, obviously, terrifying, but you still have to admire the confidence of Lance Corporal Jarrod Haschert, as he took to Facebook a few months ago to ask UFC star Ronda Rousey to be his date for the Marine Corps ball. She accepted, and last Friday it all went down. Obviously it would have been a huge thrill for Haschert, but Rousey probably needed the pick-me-up as well following her recent loss to Holly Holm.

Lad Bible Tops the App Store 24 Hours After Release

The Drum

I have to admit, I've developed a bit more begrudging respect for Lab Bible, Uni Lad and other, similar publications. Once the domain of testosterone fueled nonesense and finding names for sex acts so depraved they would give a Cenobite pause for thought, they've now started to publish a lot of genuinely engaging news material. That might just be me, but generally speaking Lad Bible is obviously doing something right, as their new app climbed to the top of the best seller chart 24 hours after coming out. It might have had something to do with their launch event, which entailed sending a phone with the app on it to the edge of the atmosphere using a giant helium balloon. Footage of the stunt is expected to appear very soon.

Game of Thrones was the Most Talked About Show on Facebook This Year

Business Insider

This should probably come as no surprise to anyone. Facebook is a hotbed of TV discussion at the best of times, and the spread between different shows tends to be pretty even, but the overwhelming popularity of Game of Thrones and the controversial, twist-laden madness of its 5th season meant that it was being discussed by millions on a weekly basis, especially after the shocking finale. Will it take the top spot again in 2016? I'd say the odds are pretty good, unless Don Draper appears in The Walking Dead or something.

Ed Sheeran Takes Social Media Sabbatical

Rolling Stone

I know what you're thinking, this happens basically every week. Some famous face or another reaches the end of their tether with all the constant backchat and decides to quit social media, either permanently or indefinitely. The difference here is Sheeran's motivation, he didn't get into a spat with anyone, and (thankfully) no naked pictures of him have been leaked, he's just decided to do without screens for a while. His claim is that even though he just spent a few months touring around the world, he never really saw it, so he's taking a break from all that at least until next autumn, he's even getting rid of his phone. I think we could all learn something from that.

Egyptian Facebook Campaign Leads to the Arrest of Nine Officers Accused of Torturing a Man to Death

BBC

It's difficult to gauge the authenticity of any Facebook group that calls for an arrest. Often they are based on misinterpretations and in some cases they are full-on smear campaigns. This was neither. Talaat Shabib, an Egyptian shop owner in Luxor, was arrested for possession of Tramadol, a pain medication that is recreationally used in Egypt quite commonly. Hours later Shabib was dead, and a disturbing video surfaced on Facebook showing him in his cell, coated with bruises, which ran counter to the police story about him falling ill and being taken to hospital. The group, called 'We Are All Talaat Shabib', gave rise to pressure for an autopsy, which revealed that Shabib was tortured to death and resulted in the arrest of nine officers tied to the case.

Twitter Moments Launches in the UK

BBC

Moments has been around for a while now, gradually cropping up in more and more countries on a gradual basis. Now we have it here in the UK. They picked an optimum time to do so, with the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens last Wednesday and the arrival of British astronaut Tim Peake on the ISS the day before. The US have had it since October, and it's been faring well, so it shouldn't be long before other countries start seeing it too.

Hulk Hogan Falls Victim to Tasteless Twitter Prank

Why do so many people on Twitter get so wack,it's really sad,I just don't know who to respond to anymore,I'm out HH

— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) December 13, 2015

Hulk Hogan has a pretty good line in making an idiot out of himself, from misjudged movie appearances to just saying stupid things when there's one or several reporters present. In this instance, the only thing he can really be called out for is not knowing who Cheryl Fernandez-Versini is, and I'm not certain that's a bad thing. Someone asked him to retweet an image of her from The X-Factor last year, claiming that she was their sister and that she was HIV positive. Clearly not thinking twice, Hogan did exactly that, and thus the backlash began. This isn't even the only time this has happened, as he had previously retweeted a seemingly innocent post about someone's niece, only to find it was actually Madeline McCann. Again, I've got no love for Hulk Hogan, but this crosses some pretty major lines.

Social Media Age Restrictions Will Not Happen in Europe

BBC

Mere days after news broke about a potential amendment that would have barred under 16s from accessing social media without parental consent, the decision has been overturned. This likely had a lot to do with the sheer volume of criticism levied against the EU after the news broke, as well as aggressive lobbying by several tech firms. An open letter from a group of different online safety groups, which warned that such a restriction could have severe ramifications, also likely played a significant role. So teens can rest easy, for the time being.

Callum Davies

Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @CallumAtSMF

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