NEW RESOURCES

A new Web site is tracking company stances against the Trump administration’s executive order on immigration. I desperately try to be non-political here, but I do think this is an issue of enough national discussion that I must mention it. “…a website launched on Tuesday… lists nearly 200 of the biggest companies in America, including tech giants Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon alongside traditional names like Coca-Cola, Nike and Starbucks. Visitors can search for companies by name, see whether they support or oppose Trump’s executive order, and read statements from company executives.”

The Library of Congress has put its Sigmund Freud collection online. “The online edition comprises the personal papers of Freud and members of his family. It includes correspondence, manuscripts of Freud’s writings, calendars, notebooks, legal documents and certificates, and Freud’s pocket watch, among many other items. Also available online are transcripts of the Eissler interviews, more than a hundred of which are newly opened and available for the first time. Omitted from the online collection is a large supplemental file of secondary source material that largely dates after Freud’s death.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The security certificate for WhiteHouse.gov is apparently invalid at this writing. “Experts told the Post that the messages are appearing because the site’s security certificate — or, very simply put, the thing that verifies that a site is what it says it is — isn’t valid. It appears the White House’s equipment isn’t configured correctly, and the old certificate was revoked or allowed to expire without getting replaced, said Kenneth White of the Open Crypto Audit project, a nonprofit dedicated to improving cybersecurity. There are perhaps hundreds of pieces of equipment and servers that need to be just right to keep the White House site up and running correctly, so it’s easy to miss something, he said.”

Twitter now has a Black History Month ‘bot. “The #ForTheCulture is Twitter’s primary theme for the celebration, meant to be an inclusive hashtag highlighting Black Americans past and present. Along with the bot, Twitter is also relaunching its emoji for #BlackHistoryMonth and #BHM. ”

It seems like every time Instagram or Facebook takes a feature from Snapchat, Snapchat ups its game. “Snap is working on an updated lenses that work with environmental elements in the real world, The Information reported Wednesday. A user could point their camera at a location and get an animated overlay that interacts with what’s actually there. Snap didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment as to when it could roll out the new filters. The report said the feature is being tested internally.”

Pinterest is going all-in on ads. “Until now, advertisers could run ads using keywords, like ‘furniture,’ but these ads would run throughout the site alongside relevant content. Now, the ads will appear right after people type in searches.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

The Connecticut State Library is going to use coverage from the Hartford Courant in a new Twitter account chronicling US involvement in World War I. “The ‘Over the Top: Hartford Courant Reports the Great War’ social media campaign is intended to give today’s internet-oriented generation a sense of how the war was reported on a day-to-day basis when the U.S. entered the conflict. Each post will show the Courant’s front page from that particular day during the war. Library officials plan to follow each day’s Hartford Courant posts with other tweets about other Connecticut stories relating to the war, both at the front in Europe and at home.”

CNET: Facebook’s business still scores, despite fake news troubles. “On Wednesday, five years after Facebook announced its IPO, the company reported sales of $8.81 billion in the three months ended December 31, beating analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. Profit, minus some costs, was $1.41 a share. Analysts were counting on $1.31 per share.”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

Holy Toledo! From Naked Security: Eight years’ worth of police evidence wiped out in ransomware attack. “The FBI’s Cybercrimes unit and the police department’s IT support staff determined that the best way to scrub all remnants of the virus was to wipe the server of all affected files. So that’s what they did: they destroyed all Microsoft Office documents – including Word and Excel files – as well as all bodycam video, some photos, some in-car video, and some police department surveillance video, dating back as early as 2009.”

Press-Gazette: Thomson Reuters pays damages to Finsbury Park mosque after placing it in terrorism category on database. “Thomson Reuters has agreed to pay undisclosed damages over ‘terrorism’ allegations relating to a well-known mosque. The information company expressed its ‘regret’ at London’s High Court over publishing the allegations about the Finsbury Park Mosque, north London, in its global online database World-Check.” As a result of this database classification, the mosque lost access to banking services.

NBC News: Facebook to Pay $500 Million Over Virtual Reality Lawsuit. “Facebook’s Oculus lost a case against game maker ZeniMax, leaving the tech company on the hook for $500 million. A jury ordered Facebook to pay $500 million in damages to ZeniMax due to theft of intellectual property on Wednesday.”

OTHER STUFF I THINK IS COOL

A little off-mandate, but I love this story from the BBC: Koh Nguang How: Singapore’s one-man museum. “In a space about the size of a double garage, Koh has amassed an extraordinary collection of photographs, papers and recordings charting the development of the cultural scene in South East Asia. In a region until recently notorious for its lack of interest in collecting and curating cultural objects, his flat in the northern suburb of Yishun has quietly become the single most important location in the country’s popular cultural heritage.” Good morning, Internet…

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