afternoonbuzz

The Wilmington Sun, Google Chrome, Black Lives in the Diaspora, More: Friday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, March 5, 2021

NEW RESOURCES

DigitalNC: New Newspaper Title, The Wilmington Sun, Now Online. “176 issues of The Wilmington Sun are now available for browsing on DigitalNC. This a brand new addition to our newspaper collection and we would like to thank our partners at New Hanover County Public Library for making this possible.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Neowin: Google Chrome will shift to a four-week release cycle. “Google has announced that it’s shifting things up a gear by switching Chrome to a four-week release cycle that will see users get the latest features more quickly. As things stand, Google releases major Chrome updates every six weeks and has done so for over a decade. The new changes will come about in the third quarter with the release of Chrome 94.”

Howard University: Howard University Partners with Columbia University Press to Advance Black Studies and Diversify Academic Publishing. “Howard University’s College of Arts and Sciences announced a new ongoing scholarly book series in the field of Black Studies called ‘Black Lives in the Diaspora: Past / Present / Future,’ to be published by Columbia University Press (Press) in partnership with Columbia University’s African-American and African Diaspora Studies Department.”

USEFUL STUFF

Tom’s Guide: Amazon photo storage vs Google Photos. “Amazon Photos and Google Photos are two of the best cloud storage options available, made all the more popular by the fact that many people already have Amazon and Google accounts. In this article, we’ll compare Amazon photo storage vs Google Photos, looking at their features, performance, support, and pricing to determine which is the best cloud storage for photos.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Reuters: ByteDance developing Clubhouse-like app for China amid copycat rush: sources. “TikTok owner ByteDance is working on a Clubhouse-like app for China, sources familiar with the matter said, as the global success of the U.S.-based audio chat service inspires a rush of copycats in the country.”

The Indian Express: To boost Buddhism, UGC plans ambitious database on courses, scholars and research. “In an ambitious plan to promote India as a global hub for Buddhist heritage and tourism, the University Grants Commission (UGC) plans to create a database pertaining to Pali and Buddhist studies.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

SecurityWeek: Thousands of Mobile Apps Expose Data via Misconfigured Cloud Containers. “Thousands of mobile applications expose user data through insecurely implemented cloud containers, according to a new report from security vendor Zimperium. The issue, the company notes, is rooted in the fact that many developers tend to overlook the security of cloud containers during the development process.”

BBC: Facebook rainforest ads: Inquiry ordered into Amazon land sales. “Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered an inquiry into the sale of protected areas of the Amazon rainforest via Facebook. It follows a BBC investigation, which revealed plots as large as 1,000 football pitches listed among the platform’s Marketplace classified ads.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

BloombergQuint: The Whole Web Pays For Google And Facebook To Be Free. “Advertising was always more lucrative than simply selling to consumers. Back in 2006, the New York Times charged readers an average of $534 for a subscription, while it brought in a further $1,064 per subscriber from ads….Now that privilege is reserved for the tech giants. Since 2017, Facebook has almost doubled its average revenue per user in the U.S. and Canada to $159 a year, by serving up more ads and increasing prices when it needs to. Analysts expect Facebook’s total revenue to more than double again to $176 billion by 2024.”

I am still blinking at this headline. I will be probably be blinking at this headline when this issue goes out in the afternoon. PsyPost: Facial recognition technology can predict a person’s political orientation with 72% accuracy. “According to a new study published in Scientific Reports, facial recognition technology can accurately predict someone’s political stance from their Facebook profile photo. Remarkably, the algorithm shows greater accuracy in deducing a person’s political orientation than either human judgment or a personality test.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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