NEW RESOURCES

A new Web site provides information about civil society organizations in Ireland. (Over 18,600 of them!) “The data comprises information already published by bodies such as the Companies Registration Office, which is then aggregated to make it searchable. Each organisation is put into a sector using an internationally recognised classification system, and each sector can be analysed in terms of finance, employment and location.”

Wow. An entire Web site – a whole site – devoted to one stamp. Of course, that stamp is the Inverted Jenny. “The new website offers five main sections for collectors to explore: History, Production, Discovery, Sale records and Biographies. All are illustrated with historical photos and pictures of the stamps involved. Siegel president Scott R. Trepel told Linn’s Stamp News that he expects to add more information to the site to encourage visitors to return again and again. He wants to include a section about the upright variety of the $2 Jenny Invert stamp issued in 2013, and has plans for a downloadable curriculum about airmail and the original Jenny stamp that teachers can use in the classroom.”

TWEAKS & UPDATES

Looks like Google’s answer to Amazon Echo is on deck. “Named Google Home, the device is a virtual agent that answers simple questions and carries out basic tasks. It is to be announced at Google’s annual developers’ conference in Silicon Valley.”

USEFUL STUFF

Yes, this is from the Content Marketing Institute, but don’t worry about that, just check it out: Ultimate Planning Checklist for Successful Webinars. This is incredibly detailed. It’s basically a book outline. If you’re wondering what you’re missing when you plan your webinars…

More blogs! READ ALL THE BLOGS! The 2016 Dean’s List: EdTech’s 50 Must-Read Higher Ed IT Blogs. Nicely annotated.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

South Korea is the latest country to tangle with Google over its maps. “Google contends that South Korea’s national-security laws, which were designed to protect the country against infiltration from North Korea, are outdated and unfairly inhibit the company’s ability to offer the full range of its Google Map services in South Korea.” As you might remember, India is considering some changes which may impact its maps too.

Vietnam apparently blocked Facebook and possibly Instagram after citizen protests over a fish kill. “Facebook appears to have been blocked in Vietnam as a part of a government-imposed crackdown on social media, amid public protests over an environmental disaster attributed to toxic discharges from a steel complex built by Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics. Dissidents are blaming wastewater from the steel plant for a mass fish death at aquatic farms and in waters off the country’s central provinces. Citizens have been using Facebook to organize rallies, which is likely the cause of the shutdown.” Is citizen access vs government shutdown going to be the next big Internet tools “arms race”?

Meanwhile, Iraq is shutting down its countries Internet access periodically, apparently to stop students from cheating. “For a few hours each morning, the Iraqi government keeps cutting off internet access—to keep students from cheating on their end-of-year exams. As reported by DYN research, which tracks internet blackouts around the world, the country’s access went almost entirely dead between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. in the morning on Saturday, Sunday and again on Monday.”

Heck yes chatbots are hot. So Why wouldn’t Google get on that bandwagon? “Google is creating tools for software developers to build chat bots that run inside messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and Google’s own messaging products, according to a published report. The technology giant plans to discuss some of the details at its annual developer conference, which starts Wednesday, The Information reported.”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

Are you interested in the Google/Oracle trial? Sarah Jeong is livetweeting it (and retweeting interesting/relevant content, etc.)

Photo-tagging apps and social media networks are causing privacy concerns. “When you consider the 3.5 trillion analog photos and billions of more recent digital pictures in existence, our images—in some form or another—may be entrapped in a stranger’s photo album without consent. If a person walks through the background of a tourist’s snapshot, facial-recognition software may recognize the face and tag the person’s name to that picture. That photo can then be shared across the internet—with the person’s name attached, and without their permission to share it.”

RESEARCH AND OPINION

From the Open Data Institute: Guest post: Why the BBC should make its recipes database open data. Good morning, Internet…

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