TWEAKS AND UPDATES

SupChina: India permanently bans TikTok and WeChat. “With the border dispute between India and China no closer to a resolution, India has decided to make permanent its ban on 59 Chinese apps, including WeChat, TikTok, and Alibaba’s UC Browser.”

USEFUL STUFF

The Next Web: This Slack bot lets you relive StumbleUpon’s glory days. “Bored’s Slack app is designed to help you pass the time on slow days with your colleagues, through games of trivia, roasting, and Spot the Faker. But my colleagues are super serious executives who don’t have any time to mess around during work hours. So, I explored Bored’s last option: take a break.”

Mashable: The best podcasts on conspiracy theories and disinformation. “Our list below includes some of the best podcast episodes, mini or limited series podcasts, and full-length podcasts that tackle dangerous conspiracy theories like QAnon, COVID-19 misinformation, political disinformation, Big Tech’s culpability for viral spread, and everything in between. From its history and psychology to more immediate current events and personal tolls, we sought out podcasts that covered these complex, interwoven issues from every possible angle.”

Cynthia Brame: Ppt hack: A homemade time-tracking tool for meetings and classes. “Have you ever wanted a timer in class or a workshop that would help speakers track their time—without the stress of an actual clock? I recently found something that served this purpose and think it could be handy for a number of situations where you want a visual reminder of time.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Hereford Times: Belfast archive being used in bid to stem leaking shipwreck off Canadian coast. “National Museums NI is helping the Canadian coastguard’s operation by supplying plans and images from the building of the 483ft cargo ship in Belfast in 1949. Originally a steamship, it was rebuilt in the 1960s to its oil-fuelled form. These plans will help to build a clear picture of the type of oil used and the location and capacity of its fuel tanks.”

Denver Post: Who owns Denver Art Museum’s art? City audit says it’s unclear on some works.. “Who owns Denver Art Museum’s artwork? A recent audit from the city and county of Denver raised questions about the ownership of certain works, even as the city and museum officials deny the need to act on the audit’s conclusions.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Wisconsin State Journal: UW-Madison sued for allegedly hiding critical comments from its social media accounts. “AUW-Madison alumna alleges that the university scrubbed her critical comments about the university’s animal research practices from its social media accounts in a violation of her First Amendment rights. The Animal Legal Defense Fund sued UW-Madison last week on behalf of the former student, Madeline Krasno, who previously worked in a university research lab as an undergraduate animal caretaker.”

CBS News: SolarWinds: How Russian spies hacked the Justice, State, Treasury, Energy and Commerce Departments. “President Biden inherited a lot of intractable problems, but perhaps none is as disruptive as the cyber war between the United States and Russia simmering largely under the radar. Last March, with the coronavirus spreading uncontrollably across the United States, Russian cyber soldiers released their own contagion by sabotaging a tiny piece of computer code buried in a popular piece of software called ‘SolarWinds.'”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Gulf News: Social media is more a bane than boon for protests. “We must not remain blind to the fact that the world had also witnessed numerous powerful movements even before the arrival of social media. People had successfully protested to get freedom from colonial powers in the 1950s and 1960s and had forced dictators to surrender their power leading to a democratisation wave worldwide from 1974 to 1991. So, it is not that social media is a must for people to mobilise successfully. For social media to bring better benefits to protest mobilisation, the country needs a free, fair, and accessible virtual space, a rarity in most of the South and the East. While social media has some positive contributions for mobilising dissent, at the same time, can be a double-edged sword.”

Liam O’Dell: How Facebook’s ‘Fireside’ audio project can rival Clubhouse. “Facebook’s early experiments in the world of live audio has apparently been given the codename Fireside. If it can recognise the key successes and pitfalls of Clubhouse and Spaces, then the tool could set the platform ablaze. Failing or ignoring these lessons, however, would see it cosigned to the same fate as Facebook Stories or Reels – a mounting dumspter fire of social media’s short-lived features.” Good evening, Internet…

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