NEW RESOURCES

Coming soon: a digital library of ancient Indian medical manuscripts. “A trove of 2,000 ancient books and manuscripts containing information about ancient Indian medicine is now available in the digital format. Sunday saw the launch of a digital repository of Indian ancient medical books and manuscripts at an event held at the Transdiciplinary University (TDS) in Yelahanka. The website, however, will be accessible shortly, said university officials.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

From the ESA (European Space Agency): ESA Affirms Open Access Policy for images, Videos and Data. “ESA today announced it has adopted an Open Access policy for its content such as still images, videos and selected sets of data. … In particular, a new Open Access policy for ESA’s information and data will now facilitate broadest use and reuse of the material for the general public, media, the educational sector, partners and anybody else seeking to utilise and build upon it.”

USEFUL STUFF

If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about 3D printing – how it works, the vocabulary, the possibilities, etc – MakeUseOf has one heck of an overview. “You’ve probably heard of 3D printing. It was supposed to be the new ‘Industrial Revolution.’ People would be able to fabricate anything in their own homes! An upgrade for your car could be printed in a matter of minutes. It hasn’t taken over the world just yet, but I’m here to talk you through everything you need to know to get started.”

LawNewz: Law Firm Posts Legal Guide for Companies On How to Handle Trump’s Social Media Attacks. “Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton published a how-to on ‘Responding to a Politician’s Social Media Attack.’ The guide says that while political statements against companies — known as ‘jawboning’ — have gone on for decades, the current climate is something different.” I skimmed the guide, which is a freely-available 6-page PDF. It’s common-sense oriented, with some good questions to ask as you make assessments of your social media status.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Tax Justice Network: How could a global public database help to tackle corporate tax avoidance? “Today we are publishing a new research report looking at the current state and future prospects of a global database on the economic activities and tax contributions of multinationals – including who might use it and how, what it could and should contain, the extent to which one could already start building such a database using publicly available sources, and next steps for policy, advocacy and technical work. It also highlights what is involved in making of data about multinationals, including social and political processes of classification and standardisation that this data depends on.”

TechCity: Nigerian telecoms companies may block Whatsapp and Skype. “Indications have emerged that telecoms companies operating in Nigeria may block access to Skype, Whatsapp and other OTT services. This step is being taken as a drastic measure to improve revenues.” Thinking about this in the context of net neutrality.

CIO New Zealand: Kiwi company builds ‘data lab’ for museums. “In the museum, Dexibit’s technology takes a digital snapshot of visitor presence by gallery every few seconds, using wifie. This data, alongside online traffic, social media, commercial transactions and even the weather outside, develops a picture of visitor experience, she explains. Dexibit then provides the museum with personalised dashboards, automated reports and opportunities to collaborate over data.”

Medium: How Facebook and Google could disrupt the subscription model for news. “By applying their technology to the publishers’ antiquated subscription systems, the two Internet giants could help create a sustainable news ecosystem.” I’m not sure I agree with this entirely, but what an interesting perspective.

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

The Intercept: How to Run a Rogue Government Twitter Account With an Anonymous EMail Address and a Burner Phone. “The FBI, a domestic intelligence agency that claims the power to spy on anyone based on suspicions that don’t come close to probable cause, has a long, dark history of violating the rights of Americans…. In this environment, how easy is it to create and maintain a Twitter account while preserving your anonymity — even from Twitter and any law enforcement agency that may request its records? I tried to find out, and documented all my steps.”

NY Daily News: President Trump’s deleted tweets could violate Presidential Records Act. “The Presidential Records Act, which mandates the preservation of all presidential records, says nothing explicitly about Twitter, since it was passed in 1978, long before the social media boom. But former President Obama’s staff considered his tweets to be a 21st century version of presidential correspondence.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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