Skip to main content

Gnip hits the social media data jackpot with API access to Instagram, Bitly, and Reddit

gnip
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Various companies trying to tap into the power of social media for whatever reason will be happy to know that Gnip – a company that prides itself in being the “largest provider of social media data to the enterprise” – has branched out to various startups that offer public APIs. They already have a pretty impressive collection of sources to begin with; the six newest sites to join the bunch announced just today include Instagram, Reddit, and Bitly. In their official blog post, Gnip explained why these recent additions to their Enterprise Data Collector would prove extremely beneficial to their clients, who collectively receive monthly reports on around 100 billion social activities from Internet users.

instagram-logo
Image used with permission by copyright holder
  • The Facebook-owned Instagram still reigns supreme as the photo-sharing app – it has 100 million monthly active users, and receives 40 million posts per day, 8,500 likes per second, and 1,000 comments per second. Crazy, right? That’s basically why Instagram’s public API is so valuable; the site’s geotagging function is especially important because it can be used to give geographically inclined social data that will aid in better targeted online marketing efforts. Those who hope to use Gnip’s Enterprise Data Collector will be able to immediately access popular posts as well as search for certain hashtags and locations.
How to make a subreddit
Image used with permission by copyright holder
  • Reddit needs no introdiction. In 2012, it reportedly received 37 billion page views, 400 million unique visitors, 4 billion votes, 30 million posts, and 260 million comments. With all that traffic, single posts can easily be buried in a multitude of comments. By having access to Reddit’s public API, it will be easier for clients to sift through hot topics and keywords and make sure their online presence (and overall reputation) is well-maintained.
Bitly-Social-Refocus-square
Image used with permission by copyright holder
  • New York-based Bitly is not only a well-known link shortener for Twitter – which is already a leading Gnip source of social data – it also can provide website traffic information, tell you what’s trending. Every day 80 million new Bitly links are created and each month, Bitly links receive over 8 billion clicks. A total of 75 percent of the world’s largest media conglomerates use the tool. Gnip clients can easily search keywords, page titles and URLs, even content and header tags through Bitly’s public API, making it easier to understand online trends and keep watch of brand-related social activity.

That’s only three of the six new public APIs it has recently gained access to – not to mention 17 other sources, most of them used by consumers on a daily basis – and it promises even more in the future.

Jam Kotenko
Former Digital Trends Contributor
When she's not busy watching movies and TV shows or traveling to new places, Jam is probably on Facebook. Or Twitter. Or…
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