TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Google and Twitter are teaming up for their own “instant articles”. “The idea, according to multiple sources, is that Twitter users or Google search users who click on a link while using their phones will see full articles pop up on their screens almost immediately, instead of having to wait several seconds. One big difference between those efforts and this one: Google and Twitter are creating their publishing tools as an open source project, and hope to convince multiple tech companies to adopt it.”

USEFUL STUFF

Cool video: Making searching Google Books more like browsing a virtual bookshelf. This is a video, and unfortunately the CC appears to be auto-generated, so you might not get much out of this if you’re hearing-impaired.

Did you know that even if you don’t particularly want to upgrade to Windows 10 right now, Microsoft will download the upgrade files anyway? All gigs and gigs of it? Here’s how to prevent that.

Business Insider has a roundup of useful GMail tweaks and add-ons. Oooh, I need to try that Find Big Mail. My work e-mail is clocking in at over 28GB…

Nice roundup from Wired: The best ooey-gooey, kid-friendly science on the Web.

Steamfeed has a beginner’s guide to using Twitter. If you sign up, drop by and say hi to @ResearchBuzz.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Twitter is hiring outside lobbyists! No permanent CEO yet, but… outside lobbyists! “Twitter will be represented by 10 different lobbyists from Mehlman Castagnetti, including co-founders Bruce Mehlman and David Castagnetti. The firm was one of the top 20 lobbying firms, by revenue, in Washington last year, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. It has advocated for tech companies like Adobe and Hewlett-Packard.”

Alrighty then: Tumblr now has its own fashion line. “Tumblr now has its own line of clothing featuring an eclectic array of apparel adorned with artwork from ten of the social network’s artists/users. The line isn’t limited to just clothing — there’s a backpack, for example (as well as a kimono); it’s unisex and designed to look the same as the Tumblr collective, at least in spirit. Half a dozen Tumblr users have also been selected to show off the new product line.”

From The Atlantic: The Rise of Twitter Fiction. “The award-winning author David Mitchell is writing a new short story, and you can read his work-in-progress on Twitter. Over the past four days, Mitchell has intermittently posted tweets from the perspective of his narrator, an obsessive stalker and hacker. The story is told in the style of slang-filled tweets, rather than 140-character snippets of narrative.”

Digg is apparently trying to subvert Reddit-type issues by releasing a set of community guidelines. “Naturally, content that will not be allowed on Digg includes slurs, epithets, and hateful speech. In addition, abusive names will not be permitted (must be rated G or PG, according to the company). The service won’t also tolerate gratuitous or explicitly sexual remarks, trademark or copyright infringement, spamming, harassment, privacy violations, illegal speech (fraud or phishing), or abusive mis-flagging of comments or users by people who claim that guidelines are being violated.”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

Have you heard about the latest health insurer hack? “Excellus has revealed that in August of this year it discovered a nearly 2-year old intrusion campaign in its network that gave hackers access to potentially all its customers’ records. That data includes names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, and a variety of account information including claims and financial payment details.”

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released a warning/alert on the “Internet of Things” (IoT). “As more businesses and homeowners use web-connected devices to enhance company efficiency or lifestyle conveniences, their connection to the Internet also increases the target space for malicious cyber actors. Similar to other computing devices, like computers or Smartphones, IoT devices also pose security risks to consumers. The FBI is warning companies and the general public to be aware of IoT vulnerabilities cybercriminals could exploit, and offers some tips on mitigating those cyber threats.” Good morning, Internet…

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