NEW RESOURCES

BuzzFeed has a writeup on a new messaging app which is sorta like Twitter, only with more control over interaction. “While all the chats on Talkshow are publicly viewable, only people you invite can join the conversation. On Twitter, not only do all conversations take place in public, but anyone who hits the reply button can join in.”

A new Web site provides information on the life of author Pearl S. Buck. “The website … includes a guide that details the contents of the extensive collection (nearly 80 archival boxes), which includes manuscripts of Buck’s novels, non-fiction, children’s books and short stories, as well as articles, speeches and other materials.”

Noted is making it easier to discover new, recommended music. “This tool enables users to not only continue to discover new music, but also connect with bloggers who are passionate about specific genres of music on a social level. With the launch of the feature, Noted added more than 100 top music blogs. These music bloggers, as well as algorithms, help pick the best types of songs that are presented based on each user’s personal tastes.”

The Panama Papers will be getting a structured data release on May 9. “The searchable database is not intended to be a ‘data dump’, but will include curated information ‘about companies, trusts, foundations and funds incorporated in 21 tax havens, from Hong Kong to Nevada in the United States. It links to people in more than 200 countries and territories.'”

TWEAKS & UPDATES

YouTube has launched a six-second bumper ad format. I recently wrote copy for a 15-second TV ad. The thought of putting together an ad the size of a Vine makes my skull hurt. “We’re all used to that five-second countdown before the skip button shows up on a YouTube pre-roll ad. Soon, you’ll have to wait just one second more and watch a full, ‘snack-sized’ video with the company’s new ad format.”

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf: 10 Powerful Chrome Tools for All Your PDF Needs.

Handy: preview where that shortened link is going. It both expands the link and checks the redirected link against Google’s safe browsing service. Nice.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Ooof. Twitter did not have a good earnings announcement. “Twitter’s latest earnings results have disappointed investors, coming in below expectations as the firm struggles with weak growth in users and advertising. Shares in Twitter plunged 13.6% after the results were out.”

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Okay then: predicting election results based on Google searches. “It works like this: Google lets you see which search terms correlate with a specific pattern in each US state. If you feed it data about how many votes each candidate has received in the primary states that have voted so far, the tool gives you back a list of 100 search strings that correlate most strongly with those results.”

From Sandi MacPherson: I built a personal chat bot — Why I love it, and you’ll love yours too. “With SandiMacBot, my friends just have to know that they want to know something about me. There’s no added cognitive load or googling around where that specific type of information lives. They just ask my mebot. It’s simple, and the context of asking SandiMacBot a question about Sandi is very close to the existing behaviour of asking Sandi herself. It’s a quasi-established behaviour, with relatively low barriers re: user education, and a fairly obvious domain.” I have no interest in a Tarabot, but a RBuzzbot might be fun… Good afternoon, Internet…

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