NEW RESOURCES

You can now explore musician Jeff Buckley’s record collection. “Jeff Buckley’s personal record collection, filled with the music that influenced the Grace singer, is now digitally available for fans to listen to. Sony’s Legacy Recordings and Buckley’s mother Mary Guibert have partnered to present Jeff Buckley’s Record Collection, a site offering an intimate and interactive dive into Buckley’s own vinyl shelf.” Mr. Buckley died in 1997.

Microsoft is launching a new video service for business. “Microsoft today launched Stream, a new business video service that aims to give businesses that want to share video internally the same kind of tools and flexibility that YouTube offers to consumers — but with the added benefits of the security tools enterprises expect from their document management services. The service is now available as a free preview.” This sounds like what Google Video SHOULD have been.

The British Academy has created a online archive of early documents from the Cold War. “Around 360 documents with editorial notes, totalling more than 1,150 pages, of telegrams, letters, records of meetings, memorandums and reports have been published online. These documents include Maxim Litvinov’s notes from November 1944 on preparations of peace-treaties and post-war settlement, titled ‘On prospects and possible foundation for Soviet-British cooperation’, that envisioned “an amicable division of security spheres in Europe”, and Stalin’s secret instructions to Molotov on how to handle Bevin and Byrnes during the Council of Foreign Ministers meetings in 1945-1946.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Wake Forest University’s Museum of Anthropology has relaunched its artifact database. Don’t have more details than that – the announcement was pretty sparse.

Dictionary.com is adding a bunch of words (PRESS RELEASE). “The update includes more than 300 new words and definitions and over 1,700 updated entries, with a focus on recent political news, pop culture, and gender identity.” New words include ze, health goth, and deso.

Google is apparently showing how many minutes people spend at venues on its Google Maps displays. “So if you want to get a coffee and you want to know how long the average time it takes, Google will show you based on their tracking data. Creepy but most of us know Google has been tracking this already.”

Dropbox is dropping support for Windows XP. “Also, realize that for the FREE version of Dropbox, you need to log in – at least on the Dropbox website – at least once every 90 days or you risk having your data removed. This is part of the terms of service at Dropbox for free account holders.”

USEFUL STUFF

Knight Lab: Three tools to help you make colorblind-friendly graphics. “…as a news consumer and designer I often find myself struggling to read certain visualizations because my eyes just can’t distinguish the color scheme. As information architects, data visualizers and web designers, we need to make our work accessible to as many people as possible, which includes people with colorblindness.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Oh boy. Google Maps is just a wee bit confused about Scotland. “Bishopbriggs in East Dunbartonshire is a middle-class commuter town boasting a large shopping centre and three golf courses…. But Google Maps’ online picture of the community actually shows a £1,200-a-head resort in the Indian Ocean paradise of Mauritius.” This has been fixed. But — really, Google?

More on Facebook paying the famous to use Facebook Live. “Jon Paul Piques gained social-media fame posting bawdy six-second videos on Vine. In April, however, he used Facebook to live-stream a behind-the-scenes look at Playboy. He had a big incentive: Facebook Inc. is paying Mr. Piques up to $119,000 to use its new Facebook Live streaming service at least five times a month through September.” People as content, I suppose, and every site wants exclusivity.

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Consumers are turning to social media when it comes to making purchases. “Social media is fast becoming the most powerful tool available to marketers, according to a survey by Influence Central, which found 81 percent of consumers frequently buy items they’ve seen shared on social media. The survey also found 81 percent say product reviews influence the way they shop, while 72 percent say the ability to check social media recommendations takes the guesswork out of buying a new product.”

BloombergView: Beware of Robots Telling You How to Vote. “Voting is partially a social endeavor, in which people consider the opinions of others when making up their own minds. Increasingly, though, they’re being influenced by an inhuman force: software robots specifically designed to deceive them. Lest democracy be undermined, humans need help in distinguishing their brethren from the bots.” Good morning, Internet…

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