NEW RESOURCES

State of Hawaii: State Launches New Geospatial Data Portal. “The state Office of Planning’s Hawaii Statewide Geographic Information System (GIS) Program launched a new Geospatial Data Portal… which provides streamlined access to hundreds of data layers, topographic maps, imagery, and developer features…. The portal includes support for non-geospatial data files; an overall cleaner look and feel; optimized layout of data attributes and tables; application program interface (API) tools for developers to create filtered data set URLs for apps development; and other improvements that facilitate site and content management. Users will also find additional data sets (now totaling more than 300 data layers), imagery and historical maps available for general use.”

The state of Tennessee has put a new Andrew Jackson collection online. “…the Tennessee State Library and Archives has an online collection of materials that will make it easier to learn about the nation’s seventh president. The 109-item collection includes digitally scanned copies of many of Jackson’s personal letters, original maps from the War of 1812, political cartoons, campaign broadsides, engravings, lithographs and a rare photograph of him. Also included are papers from some of Jackson’s chief associates, including John Overton, John Coffee, James Winchester, William Carroll and William B. Lewis.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Google Blog: Come play with WebVR Experiments. “Everyone should be able to experience VR, and WebVR is a big step in that direction. It’s open to all browsers, making it easier for developers to create something quickly and share it with everyone, no matter what device they’re on. In February, we added WebVR to Chrome on Daydream-ready phones. Today, WebVR on Chrome now works with Google Cardboard, so that anyone with an Android phone and Cardboard can experience virtual worlds just by tapping a link.”

LinkedIn is changing its messaging features. “Did you know that 80% of LinkedIn members consider professional networking to be important to career success? It’s not surprising as conversations are at the heart of unlocking opportunities such as a new job, business lead or career advice. That’s why we’re rolling out an even smarter messaging experience with the ability to message a connection from wherever you may be on LinkedIn, along with suggestions that can help connect you to a new job.”

CNBC: Instagram’s Snapchat clone is now more popular than Snapchat—and it’s only 8 months old. “Facebook’s Instagram announced today that over 200 million people now use its Instagram Stories feature every day, up from 150 million announced in January.”

BuzzFeed: Twitter Is Testing A Bot That Listens To Your Suggestions And Complaints. Note the headline doesn’t note any action being taken. “Twitter has been promoting its potential as a customer service platform for brands for some time now. And today, it’s stepping up its efforts for its own users — with a bot. The company’s @support account will now handle basic user inquires via a direct message bot, one that seems like it’ll be used most often to tackle the abuse and harassment issues which have plagued the company through its existence.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

That Burger King / Google Home trick looks like it was a massive backfire. From the BBC: “The ad triggered the devices to read out information about the burgers from online encyclopaedia Wikipedia. However, somebody edited Wikipedia to describe the Whopper as the ‘worst hamburger product’ and another added cyanide to the list of ingredients.”

Bloomberg Quint: Google’s Ad Rivals Leap at Chance to Seize Dollars After YouTube Controversy. “Weeks after scores of advertisers boycotted YouTube, Google is still trying to mitigate the damage. Meanwhile, long-struggling competitors in the digital ad market are seizing the moment. MediaMath Inc., a New York-based seller of software for automated online ad buying, is introducing a new service to ensure that ads only run alongside hand-picked, ‘high quality’ content. The ‘curated market’ offering comes amid concern over some big brand ads appearing against racist, violent and offensive YouTube videos. ”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

The New Arab: Iranian social media activists held on ‘obscenity’ charges. “Iranian activists arrested last month are being held on security and obscenity charges, the country’s judiciary announced on Wednesday. Twelve social media activists who run reformist group chats on the popular encrypted messaging app Telegram were arrested last month, ahead of the Iranian presidential elections.”

TechCrunch: Facebook again under fire for spreading illegal content. “An investigation by a British newspaper into child sexual abuse content and terrorist propaganda being shared on Facebook has once again drawn critical attention to how the company handles complaints about offensive and extremist content being shared on its platform.” Good afternoon, Internet..

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