Thanks to PIBuzz for the pointer to VTDigger’s announcement that it has launched a searchable campaign finance database. “The database features complete lists of donations to candidates for Vermont House, Vermont Senate and statewide seats for the 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 election cycles. It offers information about how much candidates have raised and how much donors have contributed across political campaigns.”

The state of Mississippi has a new Web site for job seekers.

Tumblr has added support for SSL but, for some reason, does not turn it on by default.

Pinterest has updated its acceptable use policy and is cracking down on paid pins.

DMOZ has apparently just dropped a million sites according to a post on SEO Roundtable. Does anybody use DMOZ anymore?

The White House has announced its first Maker Faire. What, so the NSA can teach you to bug your own computer?

The Google Cast SDK is now available. “The Google Cast SDK is simple to integrate because there’s no need to write a new app. Just incorporate the SDK into your existing mobile and web apps to bring your content to the TV. You are in control of how and when you develop and publish your cast-ready apps through the Google Cast developer console. The SDK is available on Android and iOS as well as on Chrome through the Google Cast browser extension.”

Want to learn how to write Wikipedia articles? Apparently there’s a course for that. (And it’s free.) “The course covers the technical skills needed to edit articles, and also offers practical insights into the site’s collaborative norms and social dynamics. Students graduate with a sophisticated understanding of how to use Wikipedia both as a reader and as an active participant.”

Transparency reports are getting even more transparent. “The data from Google shows a significant growth in internet content collection from its products by the NSA. In the first six months of 2009, the company gave the government data from up to 2,999 customer accounts, a figure that grew to between 12,000 and 12,999 customer accounts by the second half of 2012 before dipping to under 10,000 accounts in the first half of 2013.”

Apparently it’s a dud: Google ordered to move “mystery” barge. And now I feel compelled to explain that that was a “Mystery Date” joke. All will be revealed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Date_(game) . Good morning, Internet…

I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!