"POKÉMON GO" MANIA

Since its launch on 6 July, Pokémon Go has taken the whole world by storm and has already become a global phenomenon.

Pokémon Go is a mobile app that runs on Augmented Reality (AR) technology. When players open the app, they see a map of their surroundings with Pokémon and Pokéstops placed on it. Using their phone's camera, players can scan their surroundings and catch the Pokémon that appear over the camera view.

The game's first figures out of the US have finally come in. According to these, it reached 21 million active users in its first week, overtaking Candy Crush Saga — the previous record holder at 20 million active players.

There have also been incidents caused by the Pokémon Go craze. In the US, four armed individuals identified spots frequently visited by Pokémon Go players and robbed money and valuables from people who turned up at isolated locations. It was reported that 3 of the 4 attackers were arrested for armed robbery.

Here in Turkey, plenty of people have turned this popularity into an opportunity — from shopkeepers claiming that hunting Pokémon on their premises requires an extra fee, to estate agents advertising homes for sale as being in a "Pokémon-rich" neighbourhood… Pokémon Go doesn't look like it's dropping off our radar any time soon. Let's see what awaits us in the coming days.

FACEBOOK MESSENGER REACHES 1 BILLION USERS

In the months before, Facebook had bought WhatsApp for $21 billion. While everyone assumed Facebook Messenger would stay in WhatsApp's shadow, an announcement yesterday revealed Messenger had passed the milestone of 1 billion monthly active users. Following this news, rumours of a WhatsApp-Messenger merger started to feel more realistic.

TWITTER STARTS TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR VERIFIED ACCOUNTS

Twitter has started taking a number of measures to curb fake accounts opened in other people's names. The most important of these measures is the officially Twitter-verified account, defined as a "Verified Badge" and commonly known as the blue tick. In previous years, the blue tick was given to artists, heads of state and people with large followings in popular culture; getting one has now been made a little easier.

How Do You Get a Verified Account on Twitter?

• Rule one: you need to be a profile that Twitter users search for, recommend and click on.

• You also need at least 15,000 organic followers.

• You need to have your own personal website or blog.

• You need to have added a follow button to your site.

You can click the link for more information and to apply: support.twitter.com

EMOJI TRENDS ON TWITTER

Twitter recently published a chart on the most-used emojis around the world. Having published its list of the top 10 most-used emojis globally, Twitter then revealed which emojis came out on top within its own categories.

Users in the US and Canada were found to use the crying-face emoji most, while people living in Latin American countries showed their passion for music, with the musical-note emoji coming out on top. Things turned around a little when we get to Europe. France and Italy proved they're "countries of love" through their most-used emoji: the heart. And as Turks, we once again saw just how easy-going a nation we are, through the tears-of-joy emoji we use most.