Pope sends first tweet from iPad, blesses Twitterverse

By Andrew Couts June 29, 2011

Pope-Twitter-iPad — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Roman Catholic Church further solidified its place in the 21st Century today after Pope Benedict XVI sent out his first holy tweet via an Apple iPad to announce the launch of the Vatican’s fresh new website, News.va. As a bonus, the 84-year-old pontiff gave his blessings to the digital realm.

“Dear Friends, I just launched www.news.va. Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI,” tweeted the Pope.

In addition to a Twitter feed, which has amassed nearly 40,000 followers, the Vatican also has its own YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Flickr photo feed.

The Church’s new website, and the rest of its Internet-based endeavors, is the work of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communication. The Council is guided by the principal that the Church sees “the media as an outcome of the historical scientific process by which humankind ‘advances further and further in the discovery of the resources and values contained in the whole of creation,'” according to the Council’s declaration, “The Church and Internet.” In other words, social media is simply part of God’s grand scheme.

News.va will serve as the central media hub for the Church and the Vatican. Decorated in the white and yellow colors of the Vatican, the website brings together the Vatican’s radio, television and print outlets, most recent tweets, plus news about its missionary work in the developing world.

The Church’s embrace of social media is also part of its efforts to distance itself from, and combat against, the scandals that were able to gestate in its traditional atmosphere.

“The pedophilia scandals of recent years have shocked the Church and have encouraged it to abandon the language of tradition,” says Bruno Bartoloni, a journalist and Vatican expert, who spoke with AFP. The Vatican “does not want to stay on the sidelines of the web,” he added.

The Roman Catholic Church was founded in the year 380 AD by Roman emperor Constantine, though many Catholics believe the Church was actually established by Jesus Christ.

Topics

Web

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…

Social Media

Bluesky barrels toward 1 million new sign-ups in a day

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.

Computing

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.

Social Media

I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened

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.