NEW RESOURCES

Now available: newly-digitized records of Irish soldiers. “We’ve recently made the enlistment books of the five disbanded Irish regiments available online, thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This exciting new resource allows users to explore information on soldiers serving in these regiments during 1920-22.”

The Brooke Trust’s Brooke Archive Online is now available. What is the Brooke Trust? From the about page: “We are dedicated to sharing Sarawak’s unique history and heritage. Originally founded to safeguard the Brooke family’s collection of papers and artefacts, the Trust has evolved into a dynamic volunteer-led charity with a mission to share and explore the history and heritage of the Brooke dynasty in Sarawak through projects that engage, inform and inspire and encourage responsible care of our world.” And what, you may ask next, is Sarawak? It’s a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. (Doing ResearchBuzz has been fantastic for my geography knowledge.)

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

A release candidate for WordPress 4.7 is now available. “WordPress 4.7 is a jam-packed release, with a number of features focused on getting a theme set up for the first time. Highlights include a new default theme, video headers, custom CSS, customizer edit shortcuts, PDF thumbnail previews, user admin languages, REST API content endpoints, post type templates, and more.”

Seems like more and more of these social platforms are getting into sports. From SocialTimes: Instagram Eyes College Football With Correspondents Program. “Instagram wants to take fans of select college football teams behind the scenes with its Correspondents Program. The Facebook-owned photo- and video-sharing network said in an email to SocialTimes that one student ambassador at each participating school will take over that school’s Instagram account and use Instagram Stories to share their experiences.”

USEFUL STUFF

Useful-for-a-given-value: The Daily Dot has a story about a Web site that mashes up two Twitter accounts. And, as they say, hilarity ensues. Unfortunately when I tried to visit the site myself it wouldn’t load. A victim of its own popularity?

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Mashable: Snapchat Spectacles makes wearing regular sunglasses a nuisance. “Look closely at the photo above. See anything unusual about my sunglasses? No? Good, because it isn’t a trick question. There is absolutely nothing special about my sunglasses. They’re just regular sunglasses I picked up in Berlin a few months ago. And yet, this morning, as I rode to work on a packed New York City subway train, someone mistook them for Snapchat Spectacles.”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

Techdirt: Convicted Felon Ask Google To Delist Multiple Government Websites Because His Name Is Protected By ‘Common Law Trademark’. “Over the past decade, [Anthony Lewis] Jerdine has been imprisoned for bank fraud, made the US Marshals fugitive list, been sanctioned for unauthorized practice of law, been called a vexatious litigant by the Ohio court system, and, lest we forget, formed a trust in his own name. There are many reasons to form a trust. Jerdine’s reason — an apparent SEO gambit — is none of them. Jerdine, like many people who don’t understand search engines, the internet, intellectual property law, or the Streisand effect, seems to believe if he shouts ‘TRADEMARK and/or COPYRIGHT’ loudly enough, magical things will happen.”

It looks like Google might reach a settlement with Indonesia. “Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google is expected to reach a tax settlement with the Indonesian government in the next few weeks, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Under the proposed settlement, Google will pay back taxes and fines, and the search giant will have to agree to a new calculation of profits made in the country, said one of the people, who declined to be named as the information was not public.”

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Phys.org: Internet of Things will demand a step-change in search solutions. “A recent article published in IEEE Intelligent Systems highlights the requirements the IoT will place on search engines and brings together the latest research being carried out in this field. ‘On Searching the Internet of Things: Requirements and Challenges’ has been written by leading researchers working in the field of next generation communications at the University of Surrey’s Institute of Communication Systems (home of the 5G Innovation Centre) and Ohio Center of Excellence in Knowledge Enabled Computing (Kno.e.sis) at Wright State University (USA).”

From the Wolfram Blog: Making Wikipedia Knowledge Visible. “Over the past few months, Wolfram Community members have been exploring ways of visualizing the known universe of Wikipedia knowledge. From Bob Dylan’s networks to the persistence of ‘philosophy’ as a category, Wolfram Community has been asking: ‘What does knowledge actually look like in the digital age?'”

Stonekettle Station: Facebook Nazis . “I’ve been banned from Facebook. My account has been suspended supposedly for violation of community standards. My profile is still active, you can still access the page and comment on posts that haven’t been deleted by Facebook. But I myself am locked out. I can’t post, comment, or access the Facebook messenger system. The community standard I violated is apparently the one where you’re not allowed to criticize actual, no fooling, Nazis.” Good morning, Internet..

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!