Could be useful: 7 simple ways to make your own GIFs. GIFs in this case being animated.

Brands can now turn Google+ posts into interactive display ads… if they have at least 1,000 followers.

Genealogists: Family Tree University is offering a free e-book of Ancestry search tips.

Google is launching a ‘try-it-on’ home program for Google Glass. The Glass doesn’t work. It’s just so you can see what they look/feel like. This seems kind of silly.

More Glass: Air Force researchers are testing Google Glass for battlefield use. “Still in beta-testing as part of Google’s Explorer program, the trials are conducted by the Battlefield Air Targeting, Man-Aided Knowledge, or BATMA(N) group, an advanced technology demonstration and research program commissioned by the Air Force Special Operations Command to develop, build and investigate advanced wearable technologies.”

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has released a new Produced Waters Geochemical Database. “Produced waters are those volumes of water that are typically recovered during oil and gas exploration, development, or production. This database is an update of the 2002 USGS Produced Waters Database, adding more than 100,000 new samples with greater spatial coverage and from both conventional and unconventional oil and gas development…. The USGS Produced Waters Geochemical Database has data on a comprehensive list of chemicals, including major elements, trace elements, isotopes, and time-series data.”

Useful? 30 simple tools for data visualization.

Facebook now has a nearby friends feature. “Similar to Apple’s Find My Friends app, Facebook’s Nearby Friends can notify users if people they’re connected to on the social network are close by. To address privacy concerns, the social network emphasizes that the feature is entirely optional and requires both parties to opt in.”

More Facebook: can Facebook profiles predict work performance?

Hmm: Wikipedia appears to be better than Google at tracking flu trends. “When compared to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the prevalence of flu-like illnesses in the US (which is released to the public with a two-week lag) the Wikipedia model was found to be more accurate than Google’s.”

Google has launched Chrome Remote Desktop for Android.

More Google, and a wow: Google’s Street View image recognition algorithm can beat most CAPTCHAS. “Google’s new algorithm for detecting street numbers can accurately detect and read difficult numbers in Street View 90 percent of the time, Google disclosed today.”

Very nice, Duke: Using Google Spreadsheets with Timeline.js. 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!