NEW RESOURCES

NMPolitics: Secretary of state posts officials’ financial disclosure statements online. “The Secretary of State’s Office was noncommittal for years about posting annual financial disclosure statements filed by hundreds of government officials online. Gov. Susana Martinez hasn’t kept up with her pledge to post them on her website either (the last time she did so was in 2013). No worries.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

From the Facebook blog: Take the Work Out of Hiring. “Beginning today, businesses in the US and Canada will be able to post job openings, and their future employees will be able to easily find those posts on their Page or in the new jobs bookmark. This new experience will help businesses find qualified people where they’re already spending their time—on Facebook and on mobile.”

Bloomberg: Verizon Said to Near Yahoo Deal at Lower Price After Hacks. “Verizon Communications Inc. is close to a renegotiated deal for Yahoo! Inc.’s internet properties that would reduce the price of the $4.8 billion agreement by about $250 million after the revelation of security breaches at the web company, according to people familiar with the matter.”

USEFUL STUFF

CNET: 9 easy fixes for things Google Home can’t do. “Google Home may be the most direct competitor to the Amazon Alexa speakers, but there are still quite a few things it can’t do, including multi-user support, sleep timers and taking notes.” These solutions are IFTTT-focused.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

If you’re like me and find most popular culture completely bewildering: What is that purple bird on Facebook, and where did it come from? “Have you come across a head-banging purple bird in Facebook comment threads? Whether you’re infuriated by the enthusiastic little thing or happily using it to infuriate others, you’ve probably wondered where it came from.”

From News24, in South Africa: Racist online rants are a mirror of SA society – Facebook director. “Social media platforms should not be used as a scapegoat for the rise in hate speech online because they only mirror what society already feels, a Facebook representative said on Wednesday.”

Mashable: Twitter CEO puts money where his mouth is and buys Twitter shares. “No one loves Twitter more than Jack Dorsey loves Twitter. The cofounder and CEO of the news app is spreading the love this Valentine’s Day — to his own company.” If he loves Twitter so much, what does that make Square?

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

This is weird: Microsoft delayed its Patch Tuesday update. “A Microsoft spokesperson said the company had nothing to say beyond the statement above. Meanwhile, some of my contacts are saying they are hearing a problem with Microsoft’s build system might be the reason for today’s patch delay.”

More legal action has been filed against the USDA (PRESS RELEASE). “Beagle Freedom Project (BFP), the renowned non-profit national, animal rescue and advocacy organization, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). BFP, along with five other animal advocacy groups, are challenging the USDA-APHIS to restore the Animal Abuse Registry, an online database of records related to puppy mills, laboratories, roadside zoos, traveling animal shows, and other enterprises that use and exploit helpless animals. ”

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Phys.org: How social media data mining could shape the products of tomorrow . “Researchers at Nottingham Trent University have developed a way to analyse online consumer reviews and social media to help designers create better informed products. Led by design engineering expert Professor Daizhong Su, a research team used data mining techniques and produced an algorithm which identifies the most liked and disliked features of existing products, according to thousands of consumer comments on websites like Amazon, eBay, Facebook, YouTube and online stores.” Good afternoon, 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!