BBC: Huge parts of internet currently offline. “Early reports suggested it could be related to Fastly, a cloud computing provider, which underpins a lot of major websites. Fastly said it was looking into problems with its global content delivery network (CDN).”

NEW RESOURCES

PRNewswire: Long Island University Unveils Groundbreaking Project Offering Public Access To Digital Historic Documents (PRESS RELEASE). “Long Island University’s Palmer School of Library and Information Science announced today the opening of ‘Digitizing Local History Sources,’ a groundbreaking five-year project and website offering the public access to over 51,000 images from 40 participating historical societies across Long Island. The endeavor was funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation.”

News-Press Now: St. Joseph Museums adds new database. “People now can see more of the St. Joseph Museums’ collection and without even having to go to the actual locations to do it. The St. Joseph Museums launched a new database on Monday that is accessible to the public. Utilizing CatalogIt Hub, the museums’ entire collection will be available to anyone who wants to see it.” It’s called “Museums” because there are several distinct collections here!

University of Sydney: World-first multiple sclerosis global image database launched. “The new MSBase Imaging Repository (MSBIR) integrates state-of-the-art informatics with an AI analytics engine, fostering a new generation of imaging biomarkers for precision monitoring of MS. It is designed to securely house raw de-identified imaging data for MS patients from multiple sites globally that can be accessed by registered contributing research groups, bringing capacity and scalability to clinical MS imaging research.”

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf: How to Get Verified on Twitter and Finally Get That Blue Check Mark. “Twitter, like most social media platforms, offers a verification system. Its purpose is to clearly identify legitimate high-profile accounts, proving that other users can trust who that account claims to represent. In May 2021, Twitter re-opened the verification process to everyone. Here’s how to apply for Twitter verification, and what you should know about the process.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

University of North Carolina at Greensboro: UNCG Receives Grant To Expand Digital Library On American Slavery. “UNC Greensboro University Libraries, along with faculty partners across the state, has received an $150,000 digital extension grant from The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to expand its Digital Library on American Slavery (DLAS) to three more campuses in North Carolina: North Carolina Central University, UNC Pembroke, and East Carolina University.”

Business Insider India: Karnataka government issues legal notice to Google after search results showed Kannada as the ‘ugliest language’ in India. “Kannada as answer to a query in Google on ugliest language in India sparked an outrage on Thursday and the Karnataka government said it would issue a legal notice to the tech leader, while that reply appeared to be a gaffe. With people expressing their indignation and leaders cutting across party lines slamming Google, it quickly removed Kannada ‘as the ugliest language in India’ and apologised to the people saying the search result did not reflect its opinion.”

University of Cambridge: The archive of Stephen Hawking has been saved for the nation. “A treasure trove of archive papers and personal objects – from Hawking’s seminal works on theoretical physics to scripts from episodes of The Simpsons – are to be divided between two of the UK’s leading cultural institutions following a landmark Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) agreement on behalf of the nation.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

CNBC: Google agrees to change global advertising practices as France imposes unprecedented $268 million fine. “France’s competition watchdog fined Google 220 million euros ($268 million) on Monday for abusing its market power in the online advertising industry. The French Competition Authority said Google had unfairly sent business to its own services and discriminated against the competition. Google has agreed to pay the fine and end some of its self-preferencing practices, the watchdog said.” Some?

Tribune India: Punjabi rapper Jazzy B’s Twitter account blocked on India’s request. “Microblogging platform Twitter has ‘withheld’ the accounts of Punjabi singer Jazzy B, hip-hop artist L-Fresh the Lion and two others in response to a legal demand in India, even as it draws flak over delay in complying with the new IT rules in the country.”

Publishers Weekly: Maryland Library E-book Bill Becomes Law. “SB432 requires any publisher offering to license ‘an electronic literary product’ to consumers in the state to also offer to license the content to public libraries “on reasonable terms” that would enable library users to have access. The bill is scheduled to take effect in January, 2022.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Toronto Star: Google’s negligence on fake reviews is yet another reason to take action against Big Tech. “I’ve documented thousands of fake reviews across multiple review platforms, involving everyone from doctors to lawyers to home contractors to dog walkers. It’s not just deceived consumers who are being hurt, either. Honest businesses must vie against cheaters who lure customers with fake positive reviews. But the real beneficiaries of this fraud are the review sites and the tech companies who continue to rake in advertising dollars with a wink and a nod to the cheaters. None of the review platforms appear too serious about cleaning up fraud on their sites, and Google is at the top of that list.” Good morning, Internet…

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