afternoonbuzz

Key & Peele, Minecraft, Rand McNally, More: Friday Afternoon Buzz, June 10, 2016

NEW RESOURCES

Comedy Central has launched an online archive of sketches from the comedy show Key & Peele. ” The site boasts every single moment from the comedy’s years-long long run — that’s more than 300 sketches, including 176 that were previously available online.”

Minecraft: Education Edition is now available in early access. “Education Edition has a few advantages over the vanilla version of Minecraft. Right off the bat, up to 30 students can learn and collaborate in the same world, negating the need to set up a private server through a service like Minecraft Realms. Teachers can create non-player characters (NPCs) to create a more guided experience, and equip them with web links so that students can access additional resources. There’s also a chalkboard item for providing instructions and a camera that students can use to take snapshots of their work, building an in-game portfolio along the way.”

The Newberry Library has put online about 400 photos from its Rand McNally collection. If you’re into mapping, bookbinding, etc. Here ya go.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The government of India has rejected Google’s proposal to include the country in Google Street View. (There are some tourist areas which are covered by Google Street View.) “Official sources said the rejection came after a detailed analysis by security agencies and defence forces which feel that allowing Google to cover India would compromise country’s security interest. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said once the proposed Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016 comes into force, issues related to internet-based application would be resolved.”

Ooo! Facebook is going to let you upload 360-degree photos. “Facebook says you simply need to capture a panorama on your phone – or capture a photo with a proper 360-degree app or camera (like the Ricoh Theta S) – and then upload it like you would any other image.”

USEFUL STUFF

Wolfram|Alpha is having a virtual event for educators next week. “We invite you to join us at a special virtual event, Wolfram|Alpha in Your Classroom: Virtual Workshop for Educators, on June 15, 2016, 2–3pm US EDT (6–7pm GMT). Come see examples of how Wolfram|Alpha’s built-in data and analysis capabilities can be used to enrich many types of classes, and take the opportunity to preview upcoming tools from Wolfram that will make teaching and learning easier.” The event is open to everyone and no programming skills are necessary.

MakeUseOf has a roundup article with solutions to common Google Drive problems. Sadly it does not answer the problem, “Since Google’s Drive redesign I can’t bloody find anything.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

DigitalGov: Five Ways that Video Will Continue to Evolve on Facebook. “In a little over a year, Facebook video went from simply being one of the content types that could be shared to the user timeline to a 8B video views per day powerhouse that’s also a huge priority for Mark Zuckerberg. We’ve heard about the big numbers from digital native publishers like AJ+ and NowThis, and we’ve heard from the doubters who say that the metrics don’t hold up to traditional TV measurements. Television comparisons aside, the reach that digital video on Facebook has for creators often towers over their traditional Web and mobile offerings, and that’s after years of promotion and audience building.”

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Using social media to gather information on migraine symptoms. “A highly trafficked social media forum is yielding new findings on migraine symptoms, according to clinical researchers from the Montefiore Headache Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. A new report, ‘Special sensory experiences in migraine: a social media study,’ reveals important disease epidemiology on migraine experiences like olfactory hallucinations, which may not be uncovered during traditional doctor/patient communications.”

Looks like Twitter doesn’t have an “star effect” for baseball teams. “In previous generations, when professional sports franchises had athletes who were considered to be all-star caliber on their teams, those teams would experience a ‘star effect,’ which would result in long-term increases in publicity, fan interest, and merchandise and ticket sales. Now, University of Missouri researchers have analyzed the Twitter usage of Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, athletes and fans and discovered that the ‘star effect’ had no long-term impacts on MLB teams’ Twitter following and fan engagement.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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