Interesting: OpenStreetMap has added directions to its site. “What makes it huge is the difference it will make to OpenStreetMap’s data by creating a virtuous feedback loop. One of the main reasons we show a ‘slippy map’ on the OpenStreetMap homepage is because people can look at it, see a bridge that needs naming or a building to add, click ‘Edit’ and fix it straight away. That feedback loop is what allowed OpenStreetMap to build up what is now the most complete map of many regions around the world.”

Phil Bradley has a quick hit about an online free certificate maker.

Technology Review takes a look at a new face detection algorithm that can even detect faces at an angle. “Today, Sachin Farfade and Mohammad Saberian at Yahoo Labs in California and Li-Jia Li at Stanford University nearby, reveal a new approach to the problem that can spot faces at an angle, even when partially occluded. They say their new approach is simpler than others and yet achieves state-of-the-art performance. Farfade and co use a fundamentally different approach to build their model. These guys capitalise on the advances made in recent years on a type of machine learning known as a deep convolutional neural network. The idea is to train a many-layered neural network using a vast database of annotated examples, in this case pictures of faces from many angles.”

Wow. TechCrunch blasted Google in a Sunday article called “Don’t Be Google”. For all those analysts cavils, Mammon Google is still a colossal money-making machine, and both it and Awesome Google employ thousands of the smartest people alive (including — disclaimer/disclosure — multiple personal friends.) I fully expect Google to overcome the business challenges it faces… …but I no longer expect to be particularly happy about this.” (Ellipses are part of the article and not an indication of quote abridgement.) And the comments… wow…

OneNote was free. Now it’s like super-free: “Last year we made OneNote 2013 (our full-featured Windows desktop software) free for personal use and the response was overwhelmingly positive. … Today we’re happy to share that we’re adding even more to the free edition. We’re removing all feature restrictions from OneNote 2013.”

Findmypast and BillionGraves are teaming up (PRESS RELEASE). “Findmpast and BillionGraves announced today that they will partner to add more than 12 million grave marker indexes to family history websites mocavo.com and findmypast.com. With the shared goal of making family history more accessible to everyone, this unique content will be available on all three websites for free.”

Facebook is having an ongoing issue with suspending Native Americans who supposedly violate its real name policy. “Dana Lone Hill, a Native American, had her account reinstated last week after being asked to provide multiple forms of identification. Lone Hill is one of many Native Americans to report having their accounts suspended or names changed to match Facebook’s policy.” Meanwhile, do a Facebook people search for Granny Weatherwax, Scarlett O’Hara, or even Millard Filmore….

I don’t know how recent this is, but it’s lovely: Audubon’s Birds of America images are now available as high resolution downloads.

Digiday takes a look at the New York Times’ Instagram strategy. “Each New York Times desk — be it food, fashion, sports or video — operates its own Instagram feed, determining what and when to post, according to MacCallum. Some editors choose to repurpose existing photos and videos for their Instagram feeds, but others share certain things exclusively on Instagram. The travel desk, for example, cuts 15-second videos specifically for Instagram, which serve as vignettes from its ’36 Hour’ weekend travel guide series.” Good afternoon, 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!