Skip to main content

Hillary Clinton loves Snapchat and hates autocorrect

doordash presidential election menu hillary clinton
Hillary Clinton/Facebook
You’re not the only one who thinks that iPhone autocorrect is so annoying — Hillary Clinton is on your side, too. On Thursday night, the presidential hopeful made an appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show and proved that when it comes to technology, Clinton is much more than a Blackberry meme — she’s really one with the times. And not only is she totally over your phone thinking it’s smarter than you are, she’s also really into Snapchat, which is great considering the White House just got its own account. Coincidence? I think not.

The Democratic front-runner has seen her lead slip a bit in recent weeks, but that certainly didn’t stop her from Snapchatting up a storm alongside the late night talk show host. Fallon even gave the former senator some pointers, much to her delight.

The importance of a robust social media presence hasn’t been lost on candidates on either side of the aisle, with Republicans and Democrats alike catering towards younger demographics by establishing a presence on their most popular platforms. Donald Trump has something of a chokehold on Twitter, but maybe Clinton will be the queen of Snapchat.

The intersection between Silicon Valley and politics continues to deepen — in addition to the polling power of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and the like, the current administration has recognized the importance of working alongside executives in Silicon Valley in addressing issues of national security. A cohort of top security officials recently met with some of the tech leaders in California, and Hillary Clinton herself noted that, “We need to challenge our best minds in the private sector and work with our best minds in the public sector to develop solutions that would both keep us safe and protect our privacy.”

So what better way to start building that relationship than by snapping away? 

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Bluesky barrels toward 1 million new sign-ups in a day
Bluesky social media app logo.

Social media app Bluesky has picked nearly a million new users just a day after exiting its invitation-only beta and opening to everyone.

In a post on its main rival -- X (formerly Twitter) -- Bluesky shared a chart showing a sudden boost in usage on the app, which can now be downloaded for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Read more
How to make a GIF from a YouTube video
woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Read more
I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened
An Instagram profile on an iPhone.

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.

Read more