NEW RESOURCES

Litigation Finance Journal: Center on Civil Justice at NYU School of Law Launches Dispute Financing Library. “The Center on Civil Justice at NYU School of Law has launched a comprehensive digital library of documents relating the third-party litigation funding industry.” I had no idea that third party litigation funding was a thing, but boy it sure is. Minnesota Law Review has an extensive article. (I’ve linked to the summary, which provides an overview and a link to a much more extensive PDF.)

KUNR: What’s Happening To Northern Nevada’s Neon? . “Will Durham, Executive Director of The Nevada Neon Project, has some 100 signs from Elko to Vegas, Wells to Reno. He watches properties doomed for destruction, and then works with sign companies to safely remove the signs and nabs them before they’re lost. His nonprofit is planning a modern neon museum in Reno, which would bring the signs back to their full brilliance and show them off.” There’s also information in here about a project to preserve the typography of Reno, Nevada.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

BetaNews: Google+ is officially dead… but you may still be able to download your content. “Google gave fair warning of the impending closure, telling users to take advantage of the option to download their data before it was deleted forever — although the Internet Archive said it would try to backup as much as possible. Now the closure has actually happened, it seems that there is still time to download your Google+ content… but you’ll have to be quick.”

CNET: Dictionary. com inches closer to explaining the enigma of Gen Z’s vocabulary. “Dictionary.com added more than 300 new words and phrases on Wednesday, including a few tech-related entries like ‘textlationship’ (when people text a lot but don’t really interact in person) and ‘keyboard warrior’ (someone who shares opinionated content online in an aggressive or abusive way, typically without revealing who they are). ”

WGBH: The American Archive of Public Broadcasting Hosts Successful AMA on Reddit’s r/AskHistorians. “What happens when ‘the front page of the Internet’ meets the American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB)? We found out recently when our AAPB team, responsible for the preservation of historic and at-risk public media programs from across the country, opened themselves up to questions on the r/AskHistorians subreddit for an AMA, or ‘Ask Me Anything.'”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Mashable: Google Assistant may promote advertisers without telling you about it. “Google’s voice-recognition virtual assistant, Google Assistant, can do a lot now. It can be your personal interpreter, it can find you the best route home, and it can even donate to your favorite charity. One thing Google Assistant won’t do, however, is disclose when its potentially recommending you a company advertising with Google.” The headline makes it seem cut and dried, but the actual article paints a more ambiguous picture. Still, with all the crackdowns on influencer marketing I can’t see how this goes unremarked.

Engadget: YouTube execs reportedly shrugged off warnings about toxic videos . “YouTube leaders ignored proposals to alter recommendations to stamp out toxic videos and to tackle conspiracy theories, several former and current employees told Bloomberg. Executives were more concerned with keeping viewers engaged, according to the report.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Techdirt: Court Documents Show Canadian Law Enforcement Operated Stingrays Indiscriminately, Sweeping Up Thousands Of Innocent Phone Owners. “A wide-ranging criminal investigation involving eleven suspects has resulted in the reluctant disclosure of Stingray data by Canadian law enforcement. The Toronto PD and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police joined forces to deploy a surveillance dragnet that swept up thousands of innocent Canadians, as Kate Allen reports for the Toronto Star.”

New York Times: Australia Passes Law to Punish Social Media Companies for Violent Posts. “Australia passed sweeping legislation Thursday that threatens huge fines for social media companies and jail for their executives if they fail to rapidly remove ‘abhorrent violent material’ from their platforms.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Science 2.0: Social Media Made The Modern Anti-Vax Movement Popular, But The Tide Is Turning. “Our research lab has spent years tracking the spread of misinformation on social media, including about vaccine safety and effectiveness. Our most recent update of the data has found that pro-vax information and activity is beginning to push back against, and even overtake, anti-vax disinformation.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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