NEW RESOURCES

State Archives of North Carolina: Brimley Collection Online. “The State Archives is thrilled to announce the debut of our Brimley Collection online…. The photographs in this collection document many aspects of life in the state in the pivotal era between the late 19th and mid-20th century and include people both common and renowned, scenes of cities and towns, rural landscapes and farms, agricultural activities and products of every variety found in North Carolina, industrial concerns, and much much more.”

Associated Press: Illinois Archives repairs, digitizes World War I maps. “The state of Illinois has repaired and digitized 57 maps that the Illinois National Guard used during World War I to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the war. Illinois Secretary of State and State Archivist Jesse White said Friday that the Illinois State Archives did the work on the maps. His office says the maps feature the guard’s 33rd division, which was the only distinctly Illinois division that saw active service during the war in France. The maps are available online for the public to see and download.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

TechCrunch: Twitter posts a new version of its rules with updated sections on abuse, spam, violence and more. “Twitter today published a new version of its rules, in an effort to further clarify its policies about abuse, spam, self-harm and other topics, as well as to better explain how it determines the appropriate action – like suspending an abuser’s account, for example. The company says the updated documentation doesn’t represent changes to the ‘fundamentals’ of its policies; it instead aims to explain the rules in more detail, and include examples.”

Recode: Facebook may soon test a ‘red envelope’ payments feature, and a new ‘breaking news’ tag for stories. “Facebook, which is constantly testing new products and features, seems to be gearing up for a few new experiments. These include a ‘red envelope’ feature that might let users send money to others on the service, and a ‘breaking news’ tag that publishers can attach to their posts.” Oh no I don’t see how a breaking news tag could be abused at all.

USEFUL STUFF

Digital Trends: JPEG vs. PNG: Which image-saving format is the better one to use?. “In the world of digital imaging, there are two image formats that prevail above all else: JPEG (or JPG) and PNG. At first glance, a single image shown in both formats might seem identical, but if you look close enough, and dig into the data, there is quite a difference between the two images. Further, each format is designed to be used in specific ways to make the most of its strengths and weaknesses. To help you better understand the differences, we created this guide on JPEG vs. PNG to help you know when to use which format.” Good overview.

Fstoppers: New Instagram Tool That Suggests What Hashtags to Use Based on Your Photo. “Whether you like it or not, Instagram has become a big part of our life. And not just for seeing what our friends are up to, but also networking and showcasing our work as photographers, models, and other industry people. Using hashtags can help your photo come across new eyes as they search the countless numbers of photos on the social media platform, but which ones should you use?”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Recode: The Washington Post, Miami Herald, InfoWars and other U.S. sites spread Russian propaganda from Twitter. “The tweet that opened a story in the Washington Post on Feb. 11, 2016 seemed innocuous: It was an attempt to illustrate Syrian territory occupied by clashing government and ISIS forces. Problem is, the account behind that tweet — @WarfareWW — was one of 2,752 Twitter trolls identified this week as tied to the Russian government and suspended for spreading disinformation.”

WAMU: Hirshhorn Hits 30-Year Attendance High, One Selfie At A Time. “The Hirshhorn Museum of Contemporary Art celebrated its millionth visitor of the year this week. That’s the highest attendance the Smithsonian museum has had in three decades, placing it among the most-visited of its kind in the country, according to the Hirshhorn. A big turning point came in the spring with Yayoi Kusama’s stunning exhibition called Infinity Mirrors.”

University of Toronto: Famed U of T Professor Marshall McLuhan’s library given United Nations heritage designation. “University of Toronto professor and famed media theorist Marshall McLuhan’s legacy continues to reach far and wide, shaping the way people think about culture and technology. It’s his scope of influence that has earned McLuhan’s library and archives, housed at U of T and at Library and Archives Canada, a spot on the UNESCO Memory of the World register – a collection of documents and materials from all over the world that seeks to tell and preserve the story of humanity.”

The Guardian: MPs demand Twitter act over Russian interference in UK politics. “A parliamentary committee is demanding Twitter hands over lists of Russian-related accounts that may have attempted to interfere in the UK’s democratic process. The call from MPs on the digital, culture, media and sport committee came after Twitter told a US Congress inquiry it had detected thousands of Russian troll accounts posting material linked to American politics.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Ars Technica: Critical Tor flaw leaks users’ real IP address—update now. “Mac and Linux versions of the Tor anonymity browser just received a temporary fix for a critical vulnerability that leaks users’ IP addresses when they visit certain types of addresses. TorMoil, as the flaw has been dubbed by its discoverer, is triggered when users click on links that begin with file:// rather than the more common https:// and http:// address prefixes. When the Tor browser for macOS and Linux is in the process of opening such an address, ‘the operating system may directly connect to the remote host, bypassing Tor Browser,’ according to a brief blog post published Tuesday by We Are Segment, the security firm that privately reported the bug to Tor developers.”

The Register: Virtually everyone in Malaysia pwned in telco, govt data hack spree. “The personal data of millions of Malaysians has been swiped by hackers who raided government servers and databases at a dozen telcos in the southeast Asia nation. Information on 46.2 million cellphone accounts was slurped from Malaysians telecoms providers. To put that in context, the population of Malaysia is 31.2 million; obviously, some people have more than one number.” This is the second entire-population-possibly-impacted story I’ve seen recently; the first one, of course, being South Africa.

RESEARCH & OPINION

Newswise: Want to Lose Weight? Snap That Selfie, Set That Goal, Share with Others. “About those before and after selfies and public declarations of hitting the gym? New research co-authored by Dr. Sonya A. Grier, professor of marketing in the American University Kogod School of Business, confirms these announcements and progress updates are useful for the achievement of weight and fitness goals. ‘Weight Loss Through Virtual Support Communities: A Role for Identity-based Motivation in Public Commitment,’ published in the Journal of Interactive Marketing, examines the role of virtual communities and public commitment to setting and weight loss goals.” Good morning, Internet…

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