NEW RESOURCES

Library of Congress: Papers of Ulysses S. Grant Now Online. “The collection includes general and family correspondence, speeches, reports, messages, military records, financial and legal records, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, memorabilia and other papers. The collection relates to Grant’s service in the Mexican War and Civil War, his pre-Civil War career, and his postwar service as U.S. secretary of war ad interim under President Andrew Johnson, his 1868 presidential campaign and two-term presidency, his unsuccessful 1880 presidential bid, his extensive international travels and the financial difficulties late in life that spurred the writing of his memoir, which he completed just days before his death from tongue cancer in July 1885. ”

Google LatLong: Street View goes to the “top of the world”. “Here at Parks Canada, we have a lot to say about Quttinirpaaq National Park. We could tell you it’s the northernmost park in Canada, or that it lies roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers) from the North Pole. We could tell you it’s home to 4000-year-old archeologist sites or that it’s the second-largest national park in the country. But, we don’t need to tell you anymore. Now we can show you, with our new Street View collection.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

TechCrunch: Facebook announces $199 ‘Oculus Go’ standalone VR headset. “Onstage at Oculus Connect 4 in San Jose, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new mobile headset called ‘Oculus Go.’ According to Zuck, ‘it’s the most accessible VR headset yet;’ it starts at $199 and it’s going to ship early next year. It appears that the mobile headset will be a similar experience to the Gear VR, allowing users to spin around but not move freely.”

WordPress 4.9 Beta 2 is now available. Still not a security update.

Google Blog: Now on iOS: Get paid to share your opinion. “There’s an old saying—the customer is always right. And certainly, the world’s best companies are always eager to hear directly from customers. That’s one reason we created Google Opinion Rewards, an app that pays people to give their opinions and answer questions from companies, big and small. Today we’re bringing Google Opinion Rewards to iOS.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Arizona State University: ASU awarded Mellon grant to develop community-driven archival collections. “Now an archivist at ASU Library, [Nancy] Godoy has worked tirelessly to grow its Chicano Research Collection and expand the library’s reach to the Latino community through public outreach that includes educational workshops on preservation of historic materials. In recognition of that work, Godoy and colleagues Sujey Vega and Lorrie McAllister were recently awarded a $450,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a three-year project designed to build and expand community-driven collections, in an effort to preserve and improve Arizona’s archives and give voice to historically marginalized communities.”

New York Times: Lawmakers Say They Plan to Release Facebook Ads Linked to Russia. “Leaders of the House Intelligence Committee said on Wednesday that they planned to make public the thousands of Facebook ads linked to Russia that appeared during the 2016 presidential election campaign, the first indication that the ads would be released.”

Washington Post: How Russian content ended up on Pinterest. “Image-bookmarking site Pinterest is known as a place where people go to get ideas about home décor, fashion, and recipes. Few would associate it with politics – let alone Russian trolls. But in the run-up to the 2016 election, the site became a repository for thousands of political posts created by Russian operatives seeking to shape public opinion and foment discord in U.S. society, the company acknowledged Wednesday.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Krebs on Security: Microsoft’s October Patch Batch Fixes 62 Flaws. “Microsoft on Tuesday released software updates to fix at least 62 security vulnerabilities in Windows, Office and other software. Two of those flaws were detailed publicly before yesterday’s patches were released, and one of them is already being exploited in active attacks, so attackers already have a head start.”

The Guardian: UK government considers classifying Google and Facebook as publishers. “Karen Bradley, the culture secretary, has said the government is considering changing the legal status of Google, Facebook and other internet companies amid growing concerns about copyright infringement and the spread of extremist material online. The internet groups are considered conduits of information rather than publishers under UK law, meaning they have limited responsibility for what appears on their sites.”

Daily Collegian: Man sues city for arresting him over parody Facebook page. “A man acquitted of a felony for creating a fake Facebook page that parodied a suburban Cleveland police department is suing the city, saying they violated his right to free speech. Anthony Novak filed the lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Parma and three officers.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Wired: Google Bombs Are Our New Normal. “Manipulating search results today seems more like an invasion than a joke. As the October 1 massacre in Las Vegas unfolded, Google displayed ‘news’ results from rumor mills like 4Chan, and Facebook promulgated rumors and conspiracy theories, sullying the service on which, according to Pew Research, 45 percent of American adults get their news. Meanwhile, the rapid-fire nature of Twitter led users to pass along false information about missing people in the aftermath. All of these cases signify the central place a number of digital services have staked out in our lives. ” Good morning, Internet…

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