NEW RESOURCES

New-to-Me: a database of free-to-use ambient sounds. “Free To Use Sounds is a massive online archive of high-quality sounds that are avaliable to the public to use how they wish at no cost. The library is extensive, featuring everything from animal and nature noises, to urban soundscapes, obscure musical instruments (church bells, parades, etc) and binaural (3D) recordings.”

AAPB: American Archive of Public Broadcasting Releases Exclusive Collections. “The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) recently acquired three collections of original, full-length interviews from groundbreaking public television documentaries: Ken Burns’ The Civil War, Eyes on the Prize and American Masters. Only excerpts of these interviews were included in previously released, edited programs. Now, the full-length interviews from these landmark series will be available to view online at americanarchive.org or in person at the Library of Congress and at WGBH, preserved for future generations to learn about our nation’s history.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

BuzzFeed:
CIA Reposts Bin Laden Documents After Removing 3,935 Files. “The CIA has reinstated internet access to its final archive of Osama bin Laden’s files after nearly a week, but hundreds of documents that were in the initial posting have been removed. The trove originally contained about 470,000 files when it was posted Nov. 1. But the new posting is 3,935 documents lighter, according to a list compiled by Emma Best, a national security journalist and archivist who downloaded the original fileset when it first became available and has made it available on the Internet Archive.”

TechCrunch: Facebook relaunches Events app as Facebook Local, adds bars and food. “Bad news for Yelp and good news for nightlife lovers. When you want to go out, it doesn’t necessarily have to be to an event. So to help you discover bars, restaurants, and nearby attractions too, Facebook is rebranding its standalone Events app as ‘Facebook Local’. Launching in the U.S. today on iOS and Android, Facebook Local combines events and permanent places to a single search engine powered by Facebook 70 million business Pages plus reviews and friends’ checkins.”

Ars Technica: YouTube to crack down on inappropriate content masked as kids’ cartoons. “Recent news stories and blog posts highlighted the underbelly of YouTube Kids, Google’s children-friendly version of the wide world of YouTube. While all content on YouTube Kids is meant to be suitable for children under the age of 13, some inappropriate videos using animations, cartoons, and child-focused keywords manage to get past YouTube’s algorithms and in front of kids’ eyes. Now, YouTube will implement a new policy in an attempt to make the whole of YouTube safer: it will age-restrict inappropriate videos masquerading as children’s content in the main YouTube app.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Reuters: Chinese search engine Sogou’s U.S. IPO priced at $13/ADS. “China’s second-largest search engine, said its initial public offering was priced at $13 per American Depositary Share (ADS), raising $585 million, The 45 million ADS offering, with each ADS representing one Class A ordinary share, was priced at the top end of the expected range of $11-$13.” At this writing stock SOGO is at $13.95.

SECURITY & LEGAL

CNET: Windows Movie Maker scam tops Google search results. “If you’re looking to download the amateur video editor that Microsoft had provided for years, you won’t find it from the company. But one of the top search results on Google for ‘Windows Movie Maker’ leads to a scam version of the video editor that aims to steal your money.”

BetaNews: Comodo launches free service to remove website malware. “Many recent security breaches have been caused by poor website safety, allowing hackers to exploit vulnerabilities to steal data. Cyber security company Comodo is launching a free malware removal service for websites to help businesses stay secure. Once a business submits a request Comodo’s security operations center analysts will instantly remove all malware, perform hack repairs, including checking the files, databases and any malicious code running to remove infection from the site, and keep the customer fully updated.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Boston Globe: Why we need Snap and Twitter to learn how to make some money. “The numbers are in and they’re more lopsided than the Boston mayoral race. In the social media sweepstakes, it’s Facebook by a mile. Last week, the massive social network reported third-quarter revenue of $10.3 billion and net income of $4.7 billion, both well above Wall Street’s expectations. However, the social messaging service Twitter and Snap, creator of the Snapchat photo-sharing app, were both in the red, with Snap posting a $443 million loss.”

SBS: Teens spend 1200hrs a year on social media. “Teenagers spend 1200 hours a year on social media, and most parents don’t monitor their online use, an eye-opening new study has revealed. But they’re not the only ones glued to the flickering light of their screens, with adults spending 950 hours a year on Facebook, YouTube and other social media channels, according to a report from the Australian Psychological Society (APS).” Good afternoon, Internet…

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