NEW RESOURCES

California State University Channel Islands: Professor coordinates virtual tours of Florence culture guided by CSU International Program faculty . “CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) students and the public can stroll through the streets, churches, public squares, restaurants and markets of Florence, Italy guided by some of the instructors of CSUIP in a new series of videos called ‘International Digital Education with Academics and Scholars’ or IDEAS.”

Flood Magazine: Black Bandcamp Relaunches as Black Artist Database Ahead of Bandcamp Friday. “Bandcamp Fridays have become sort of a musical holiday amidst the pandemic. With musicians at a major loss of income without live performances, Bandcamp has scheduled specific days where 100 percent of proceeds go toward the artist, waiving the site’s revenue share. Not only has the past year made clear how unprepared people were for a plague (I mean, who is?), more importantly it revealed the growing inequity in the world and how racism, sexism, and other intersectional factors are at play. This is all to preface the good work of the community-based platform Black Bandcamp, which has now officially relaunched as Black Artist Database, or B.A.D.”

Yale Climate Connections: New tool called ‘Vulcan’ could help cities better estimate their carbon dioxide emissions. “To create the tool, the researchers analyzed publicly available data on carbon emissions from power plants, factories, buildings, and vehicles across the entire United States in detail in space and time….So far, Vulcan has been used primarily by scientists. But the researchers have made it publicly available.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Music Ally: Party like it’s, er, 2010 with Billboard’s new Twitter chart. “‘Billboard and Twitter have partnered on a first-of-its-kind Billboard chart that will showcase the most talked-about songs on the social media platform,’ announced Billboard yesterday. And strictly speaking, that’s true: it’s the first Billboard chart focused exclusively on Twitter (as opposed to the multi-social-network Social 50 chart that launched in 2010) and it’s the first Twitter music chart with Billboard as its partner (as opposed to Twitter #Music, the 2013 discovery app that Twitter launched after buying startup We Are Hunted).”

Gizmodo: You Can Now Live-Caption Any Audio On A Google Chromebook. “Google has announced that its Live Captions feature will be rolled out to most Chrome OS devices within the coming weeks. This is a great win for accessibility. The new feature was introduced to Chrome Browser last month, providing Chrome users with real-time, automatic captions for any audio media.”

USEFUL STUFF

Tom’s Guide: Best note taking apps of 2021 — Evernote, OneNote, Google Keep and more. “Makers of the best note taking apps realize that one of the easiest ways to jot down notes is right there in your pocket. And while iPhones and Android devices usually come with their own built-in notes app, sometimes, it’s best to turn to a more full-featured program if you need to take notes during a meeting or lecture, tick off a checklist, brainstorm ideas or remind yourself of upcoming events and tasks. That’s why we’ve gone through the App Store and Google Play to find the best note taking apps for mobile devices.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

CNET: What is cheugy? And how do you know if you’re a cheug?. “You might have noticed the word ‘cheugy’ popping up online and wondered what it means and how to pronounce it. New slang is a surefire way to make you question your fleeting youth. In this case, that couldn’t be more true. In short, cheugy is a trendy way to say something is passe, and the word’s having a moment on TikTok, where folks are busy labeling what’s cheugy, having existential crises over being cheugy or just embracing life as a cheug.” Oh, so, like, someone who listens to disco and says “groovy” all the time?… oh. >cough<

Vogue: How Orthodox Women Are Using Social Media to Liberate Each Other From Dead Marriages. “The intersection of religious and secular law has proved sticky terrain for women (or men) attempting to obtain a get [document establishing a Jewish divorce]. But the emergence of social-media-fueled activism has the potential to change the traditional power dynamics. In many ways, #FreeChava mimics other social-justice movements that have played out on social media: There is an initial post, then the repost, and sometimes a viral moment. (To date, more than 1,500 posts have used the #FreeChava hashtag.)”

Wired: Everything You Need to Know Before You Join Clubhouse. “As with any social media service, there will always be a variety of personalities. Some rooms draw inspiration and creativity. Others may have not-so-forthcoming folks who would love to talk to you about a business opportunity. In those terms, it’s similar to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. It depends on who and when. But for many, Clubhouse is simply a new opportunity to connect with others. It’s a place to just listen, or if given the chance, to speak directly with another human being in real time. It’s an instant discussion, a conversation without the keyboard. Voice is the only thing that matters—literally.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

New York Times: F.E.C. Asks Congress to Ban Prechecked Recurring Donation Boxes. “The Federal Election Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to recommend that Congress ban political campaigns from guiding donors by default into recurring contributions through prechecked boxes, a month after a New York Times investigation showed that former President Donald J. Trump’s political operation had steered huge numbers of unwitting supporters into repeated donations through that tactic.” Good evening, Internet…

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