USEFUL STUFF

Peg Fitzpatrick on good ideas for Instagram posts. Still working on this; not good at Instagram yet.

From Hongkiat: 25 Chrome Extensions for Awesome New Tabs. “In this post, I’ve pull together 25 Chrome tab extensions that can help you be more organized, be more relaxed, learn more things and even a few that will give you a laugh or two. Say goodbye to empty newly opened tabs and say hello to better days with more useful and effective replacements.”

Filing this for later: A four-part system for naming digital photo files.

This one too: an app for quickly generating lots of color palettes.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Google Webmaster Tools has become Google Search Console. “It turns out that the traditional idea of the ‘webmaster’ reflects only some of you. We have all kinds of Webmaster Tools fans: hobbyists, small business owners, SEO experts, marketers, programmers, designers, app developers, and, of course, webmasters as well. What you all share is a desire to make your work available online, and to make it findable through Google Search. So, to make sure that our product includes everyone who cares about Search, we’ve decided to rebrand Google Webmaster Tools as Google Search Console.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

A man is collecting AOL CDs and other detritus from early days of the Internet for digital archiving. “Scott has been ripping and scanning and archiving various CD-ROMs for years. But now it’s time to get serious. In addition to AOL discs, he’s calling for all Walnut Creek CD-ROMs. ‘I want every shovelware disc that came out in the entire breadth of the CD-ROM era,’ he writes. ‘I want every shareware floppy, while we’re talking. I want it all.’ We’re reaching the end of this era, he says, and we must preserve its history while we still can.”

More rumors: is Google getting ready to launch a new photo sharing service?

Ukrainian users are not happy with Facebook. “Earlier this week, numerous users in Ukraine complained of their posts and accounts being taken down or blocked without any discernible violations of Facebook’s community guidelines. They claimed these takedowns were politically motivated and the posts were being reported for violations by masses of ‘Kremlin supporters.’ A mass appeal to Zuckerberg even garnered the support of Ukraine’s President, Petro Poroshenko, who publicly joined the calls for a Ukrainian Facebook office.”

Taking a look at Snapchat and the 2016 election. “What is new, however, is the potential conundrum that an app like Snapchat uniquely presents. One of the key features that has made it popular with young people is the fact that its messages disappear within seconds — unless the user receiving the Snapchat takes a screenshot. For its part, the Federal Election Commission sounds quite unsure how and if it would attempt to regulate not just Snapchat, but any app.”

Interesting! What Google Earth is doing for archaeology. “Increasingly, amateur archaeologists are using imaging technology like Google Earth to help them find indications of ancient sites – such as eroded agricultural furrows, defensive berms and burial mounds – that might go unnoticed at ground level.”

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Research from Yahoo: How photo filters affect online engagement. “Looking at 7.6 million public Flickr app photos modeled in a negative binomial regression, we found that filters boost engagement on the site. Filtered photos are 21% more likely to be viewed and 45% more likely to be commented on. However, not all filters affect engagement equally. Filters that increase contrast and correct exposure can help a photo’s engagement, and filters that create a warmer color temperature are more engaging than those with cooler color effects.” Good morning, Internet…

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