NEW RESOURCES

European Commission: New database for EU geographical indications aims to increase transparency and simplify search. “Launched today 1 April 2019, the new public database ‘eAmbrosia – the EU Geographical Indications registers’ will give easy access to information on all EU Geographical Indications (GI), including their status (applied, published or registered), their product specification, and a direct link to the legal basis when they are officially protected.” I didn’t have a clear idea of what geographical indications were but WIPO helped me out: “A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.”

New Mexico State University: NMSU launches mobile-accessible web database of Navajo Nation rangeland plants. “The ‘Selected Plants of Navajo Rangelands’ website includes information about 198 Navajo rangeland plants. Plants are identified by both their English and Navajo names. They are also searchable by plant type, common name, scientific name, flower color, habitat, growing season or special concerns.”

IrishCentral: Thousands of Ireland’s ring forts to be documented in new social media account. “[Keith] O’Faoláin wrote that he is using data from the Archaeological Survey of Ireland’s database of the National Monuments Service Sites and Monuments Record (SMR). In the dataset, 30,0125 sites in Ireland are categorized as rath, cashel, or ringfort, but O’Faoláin is working with 29,772 sites that have correct coordinates.” If you’d like to learn more about ring forts, Daily Kos has an extensive article.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The Verge: Google begins shutting down its failed Google+ social network “Google has officially started the process of shutting down and deleting all consumer accounts on its Google+ social network platform, bringing an end to the company’s attempt to directly compete with the likes of Facebook and Twitter.”

Engadget: WhatsApp debuts fact-checking service to counter fake news in India. “India’s elections begin April 11th, and WhatsApp is determined to use every method it can to fight fake news ahead of the voting. The Facebook-owned company has teamed up with Proto to launch a fact-checking service, Checkpoint Tipline, that lets locals verify the messages they receive.”

CNET: Google to require full benefits, health care, to contract workers, report says. “Google said Tuesday it will require temp companies that provide the search giant with temporary and contract workers to provide its staff with full benefits, according to a report by The Hill. Those benefits includes health care, a $15 dollar minimum wage and paid parental leave, the report said, citing to a memo sent to employees.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

OneZero: Your Speech, Their Rules: Meet the People Who Guard the Internet. “We want platforms to provide tools that expand expression while protecting us from the harms caused by that newly enabled and amplified expression. We want to protect speech, protect people, and protect society — and we disagree wildly over how to do these all at once. Meanwhile, as policymakers, academics, nonprofits, and private companies work on solving this very hard problem, someone has to wake up, go to the office, sit at their desk, and make these decisions every day. What stays up — and what comes down? What conduct is encouraged, what is tolerated, and what will get you banned (and for how long)? Who decides?”

The Atlantic: How Instagram Replaced the Contacts List. “When Chris Rackliffe, a motivational speaker in New York, met a potential friend at a bar last weekend, it never occurred to him to exchange phone numbers. Instead, the two swapped Instagram handles, and have been liking each other’s posts. Rackliffe said they’ll probably meet up in person again soon.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

TorrentFreak: French ISPs Ordered to Block Sci-Hub and LibGen. “The High Court of Paris has ordered several of the largest French ISPs to block access to the pirate libraries LibGen and Sci-Hub. The decision is a setback for the sites that have come under increasing pressure, but Sci-Hub founder Alexandra Elbakyan believes that determined researchers are smart enough to find an alternative route to her site.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Mashable: We need to stop romanticizing the ‘extremely offline’ life. “I know the ‘offline humblebragger,’ because I have been this person. I have been the coworker who goes on vacation, deletes Twitter from their phone for a week, and brags to the office about how much better they feel. Never mind that I immediately re-downloaded it upon landing and consumed as much poisonous viral Michael Avenatti-related content as my brain could handle before imploding. That’s because I accomplished what I set out to accomplish: I earned compliments.”

Tech Xplore: Computing scientists use machine learning to track health trends on Twitter. “A new machine learning tool, developed by University of Alberta computing scientists, sifts through millions of Twitter posts to help understand health and wellness trends in Alberta and across Canada.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

Digital Information World: How You Can Watch the Unsearchable yet Addictive Default Filename Videos on YouTube. “Once YouTube was filled with random videos where people filmed their daily lives. But now the platform is more about the trailers of movies, commercials, and other fancy stuff. Defaultfile.name is a website which plays the YouTube videos that were uploaded with the camera’s default filename.” Good morning, Internet…

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