afternoonbuzz

Money, Medicare, Google Apps, More: Wednesday Afternoon Buzz, November 25th, 2015

NEW RESOURCES

The American Numismatic Association has created a digital archive of its flagship publication, The Numismatist.. (The American Numismatic Association is devoted to the study of money and related items.) “The American Numismatic Association is excited to announce its digital archives of all 127 volumes of its flagship publication, The Numismatist. Beginning December 1, ANA members can access every issue of the magazine, from 1888 to the present.” A standard membership looks like it’s about $28 a year.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched a new site designed to provide easier access to Medicare enrollment statistics. “The CMS Program Statistics website replaces the former Medicare and Medicaid Statistical Supplement, which was published annually in electronic form from 2001-2013. The website will include over 100 detailed, easy-to- access data tables on national health care, Medicare populations, utilization, and expenditures, as well as counts for Medicare-certified institutional and non-institutional providers. Today, we have released the first two sections, which include information on national health expenditures, life expectancy, population projections, and Medicare enrollment and providers, and we will continue to release other sections on a rolling-basis.”

TWEAKS & UPDATES

Google Apps for Work users! Guests invited to Google Hangouts are no longer be required to have a Google Account. “Here’s how it works: guests without a Google account who have been provided with the video call link by the organizer will be asked to provide their name and then request to join the call.”

Bing has just filled its maps with traffic cameras. “We are proud to announce that you can now view more than 35,000 traffic cameras across 11 countries in Bing Maps.”

Snapchat has has launched a new tool called Story Explorer and I keep wanting to call it Story the Explorer. Don’t judge me. “Today Snapchat has launched a new tool within Live Stories called Story Explorer, which gives users the ability to look at all of the snaps of a single, special moment. The idea is to let you see similar snaps from a single moment within a Live Story instead of seeing a string of different, unrelated moments tied to a larger theme.”

Google Compare is now giving quotes for mortgage rates. (I was wondering about all those press releases I saw: “So and So teams up with Google Compare!”) “Google Compare web service now offers quotes for home mortgage rates in California, free of charge. The launch turns Google into an official mortgage loan broker, giving consumers a way to connect with companies that can provide home mortgages.”

More Google: It is apparently pulling reviews from Google+ business listings and all the changes going on to Google+ are giving me whiplash. “Reviews will no longer be shown on Google+ Pages in the new Google+ design. Reviews are still accessible on Google Search and Maps which have always been the primary way that users find business reviews.”

USEFUL STUFF

Good one from Hongkiat: the top 10 sites to ask all your programming questions. Quora and Stack Overflow are great; don’t know much about the others.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Twitter has banned blood drives in its offices until gay people are allowed to donate. “The San Francisco-based company made the decision after one of its U.S. employees, a gay man, was turned away from donating blood at the company’s headquarters, a spokeswoman said on Monday.”

Fortune: Melissa Mayer has lost the narrative. “For the last decade, Yahoo has gone through five CEOs and been battered by the press, investors, and activist investors. Each new turnaround attempt has been met with even louder derision. Regardless of its potential, Mayer’s latest turnaround narrative has not stuck.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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