NEW RESOURCES

The EFF has launched a site to track content takedowns in social media. “At Onlinecensorship.org, users themselves can report on content takedowns from Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, and YouTube. By cataloging and analyzing aggregated cases of social media censorship, Onlinecensorship.org seeks to unveil trends in content removals, provide insight into the types of content being taken down, and learn how these takedowns impact different communities of users.”

The county of Suffolk, in England, has a new online photo archive. “The Geoffrey Smith Archive features thousands of images taken in Stradbroke and surrounding villages in the 1950s through to the 1980s.”

TWEAKS & UPDATES

Library and Archives Canada has updated its “Home Children Records” database. “This online database has been extended to include more than 245,000 entries for British children sent to Canada between 1869 and 1932. Names have been indexed from a variety of sources, such as records from sending organizations, publications, governmental and private records.”

Google Maps has added historical sites from Jordan. “What a great day for Jordan and Jordanians! Thanks to Google Street View, we can now share the rich, proud and varied history of our country with anyone who has an Internet connection. With more than 30 historical sites available to explore virtually, people all over the world now have a window into our beautiful Kingdom in the heart of the Middle East.” (The Google announcement was guest posted by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan.)

The Geneanet search engine has gotten some updates. “The new Geneanet search engine has been launched with a more user-friendly interface and some new options so you’ll be sure to find your ancestors in our database! This is a major change in your searches on Geneanet.”

Google has added pinch and zoom to tablet search after complaints. ”

USEFUL STUFF

The Internet Patrol has a quick writeup on what it considers to be the best online PDF to text converter.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Can WIRED make Instagram journalism mainstream? “In early November, Wired became the first major publication to debut a longform story exclusively on Instagram.1 “Left Behind in a High-Speed World,” follows a man who teaches rural Mississippians about the value of being online. (Mississippi ranks last in the country for high-speed household Internet access.) The story was released as a series of 11 Instagram posts that combined stunning photography with long passages of text included in the captions.”

The National Archives has awarded over $1.8 million in grants for historical records projects. “Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero has awarded 32 grants totaling $1,822,946 to projects being undertaken in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The National Archives grants program is carried out through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).”

I like happy Google Glass stories. Like this one, where Google Glass was used to unblock a coronary artery. “How was this done? Basically through the use of Glass and augmented reality, a group of doctors helped to guide a specialist in opening up a blocked coronary artery in a 49-year old patient. This was possible thanks to three dimensional data sets and CTA which allowed doctors to zoom in and move around the images.”

More Google: how has Google gotten so good at predicting traffic? “Google has built up a history over the last few years of what traffic is usually like on specific roads at specific times. That means it can predict how traffic will change over your drive — just because there’s traffic around 60 miles ahead of you right now doesn’t mean there will be traffic there when you arrive in an hour.”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

Ars Technica has a scary story on Android malware. “Two weeks ago, Ars reported on newly discovered Android adware that is virtually impossible to uninstall. Now, researchers have uncovered malicious apps that can get installed even when a user has expressly tapped a button rejecting the app.” Good morning, Internet…

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