A web developer from Cumbria has built a modern version of a 19th Century ticker-tape machine which prints out tweets. The 'twittertape' device was built from scratch using second-hand parts from clocks and other sources, said creator Adam Vaughan. The wooden base hides a thermal printer and a micro-controller, he added. Share prices were traditionally distributed via telegraph lines and printed out on ticker-tape machines.

Log on to a social network "for professionals" and you can meet Emma, the self-employed escort and travel companion from London; or Matt, who offers "gay male sensual erotic massage" in New York; or Charlotte, the transexual Latina escort who visits clients across the globe. This is not a specialist 'pay-for-play' listings site, but rather LinkedIn, the world's largest professional networking platform.

BT is closing its dial-up internet service on 01 September 2013, raising fears that thousands of users in rural areas in the UK could be left without access to broadband services. The British telecom firm, in June 2013, had notified its customers using narrowband connection regarding the change of plan, and suggested them alternatives including an option to upgrade to broadband. A BT spokesman said that the company is closing its dial-up service in September.

According to statements made by Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington, the site plans to end anonymous comments next month,as Gigaom's Barb Darrow has reported. Huffington said that she has decided there are too many "trolls" using the site who hide behind anonymity in order to make violent or offensive comments, and that she believes people should "stand up for what they say." Here's another line of thinking.

Football fans who abuse players or fellow supporters online have been warned they could face prosecution, as lawyers and police unveiled a new policy for tackling hooliganism. Lawyer Nick Hawkins said criminal abuse inside as well as outside sports grounds would be dealt with in the run-up to England's World Cup qualifiers in the autumn.

On 27 August the UK Government is to open a new inquiry into online safety. "The Culture, Media and Sport Committee has decided to investigate a number of aspects of online safety that are currently raising concerns." These areas include protecting children from accessing adult content, filtering "extremist material" and preventing abusive or threatening comments on social media.

Last year, the Walker Open Field cat video festival received thousands of nominated videos that were divided into CATegories including comedy, documentary, animated and foreign. This year, the Internet Cat Video Festival, or #catvidfest as it's referred to on Twitter, is coming to Derry for the Northern Island CultureTech festival on 12 September with additional pop up screenings throughout the festival from 9 to 15 September.

Twitter's six second video service Vine has reached a staggering 40 million users in just seven months, pcadvisor.co.uk reports. Vine announced the achievement on its Twitter account this week, thanking the community for their support. The video service allows users to record six second looping videos on their mobile devices which can then be shared to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The Sun's website topped 30 million monthly browsers in July before erecting its GBP2-a-week digital paywall. The News UK tabloid recorded a 7.36% rise in the number of people visiting its website each month - to 31,781,861 browsers - compared with June. The Sun began charging for access to its website at the beginning of August, with news articles and mobile clips of Premier League football costing GBP2 a week under the rebranded Sun+.

Reviews websites are four times more influential on consumer purchasing than social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, according to research from Kaizo PR. Looking at electronics buying behaviour, the study found that almost half (44 per cent) of consumers said reviews websites helped them decide what to buy, compared to only 12 per cent who are influenced by content on Facebook and five per cent by content on Twitter.