NEW RESOURCES

PetaPixel: Filmtypes is a Film Stock Database with Details, Sample Images and More. Not stock film. Film stock. “If you’re new to film photography, or you’re curious about the variety of film stocks that are out there, there’s a useful new website you should definitely check out. It’s called Filmtypes, and it’s a database of emulsions that wants to help you find your next roll of 35mm film.”

AGU Blogosphere: A global database of giant landslides on volcanic islands. “In a paper just published in the journal Landslides, Blahůt et al. (2019) describe the compilation of a new global database of giant landslides on volcanic islands. This database is hosted on the website of the Institute of Rock Structure & Mechanics. The authors note that ‘the records can be downloaded as a spreadsheet or as a kml file for interrogation in a number of geospatial software programs including ArcGIS and Google Earth’.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Neowin: Google is making it easier to search for films and shows to watch. “Google has announced that customers in the United States will be able to find shows to watch more easily. Starting today, the search giant will begin rolling out new commands such as ‘good shows to watch’ and ‘what to watch’ on mobile.”

CNN: Twitter temporarily suspends ability to tweet via text message after CEO hacked. “Twitter (TWTR) is temporarily suspending the ability to tweet via text messages, days after CEO Jack Dorsey’s account was hacked due to an apparent vulnerability tied to this feature.”

KTIV: New Facebook feature directs vaccine searches to CDC website. Finally, a situation where I’m happy Facebook is ripping off another Web site (in this case, Pinterest). “Facebook is debuting a new feature to prevent the spread of anti-vaccine information. The company says educational pop-up windows will now appear when a user clicks on a vaccines-related page, hashtag or search.”

USEFUL STUFF

The Edublogger: A Beginner’s Guide To Google Lens. “Google Lens is easy to use and it’s free, and yet many people still don’t know about this useful resource. We’re here to help! This beginner’s guide to Google Lens explains how Google Lens works, how to get started, and provides lots of tips and tricks for getting the most out of it.”

Lifehacker: The Best Note-Taking Apps . “We recently polled readers with suggestions for the best note-taking apps. Most of you said you still do things the old-fashioned way with pen and paper—a technique I heartily endorse. However, when it comes to apps, the responses were surprisingly varied; I had no idea so many different note-taking apps existed.” Several here I had not heard of, with even more in the comments. (Read the comments!)

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Newsday: Long Island’s African-Americans find pride, sadness researching genealogy. “For African-Americans wondering whether their own genealogy research might uncover a runaway slave turned war hero or ancestors who prospered despite racial discrimination, there are burgeoning resources. Genealogists, family members and government archives can help black Americans reconstruct a family tree obscured by centuries of neglect and racial injustice. In addition, military records of African-American Civil War soldiers will soon be accessible in a searchable online database.”

Mashable: Youth pastors are deeply uncool, but this TikTok priest is leaning into it. “Youth pastors are profoundly uncool. Father David Peters, the Episcopalian priest who keeps going viral on TikTok, has managed to connect with internet culture in spite of that fact.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

CNET: Back-to-school malware is hiding in those digital textbooks. “Security experts are warning about back-to-school dangers for students who want to cut the cost of textbooks by accessing them online. Over the past academic year, cybercriminals targeting students attempted to attack Kaspersky users more than 356,000 times, Kaspersky Lab researchers said Monday. The majority of the malware was disguised as free essays, but textbooks accounted for roughly a third.” Oddly, the article talks about “students who want to cut the cost of textbooks by accessing them online” but refers to the textbook subjects most dangerous to K-12 students. Do K-12 students buy textbooks? I haven’t been in school for a very, very long time.

RESEARCH & OPINION

BelfastLive: Queen’s University finds social media is actually good for young people’s health. “Despite numerous reports about the negative impact the online world can have on users, a new study has found the sites have a significant positive effect on a range of teenage health behaviours. The research team from Queen’s University , in partnership with University of Southern California, has found social media messaging, such as Facebook posts and sponsored ads, have a significant positive effect.”

Reuters: Facebook, Microsoft launch contest to detect deepfake videos . “Facebook Inc is teaming up with Microsoft Corp, the Partnership on AI coalition and academics from several universities to launch a contest to better detect deepfakes, the company said in a blog post here on Thursday.” Good morning, Internet…

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