NEW RESOURCES

Fast Company: Inside Neeva, the ad-free, privacy-first search engine from ex-Googlers. “Neeva is indeed a new search engine, officially launching today, that carries a subscription fee. Though it’s extremely similar to Google in many respects—with a few twists of its own—it dumps the web giant’s venerable ad-based business model in the interest of avoiding distractions, privacy quandaries, and other compromises. It’s free for three months—long enough for users to grow accustomed to it without obligation—and $4.95 a month thereafter.”

GMA Online: New website introduces past, present Filipino Olympians. “The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Philippine Olympians Association (POA) joined forces to set in motion a website that aims to tell stories of past and present Filipino athletes that competed in the Olympics. Titled ‘The Living Archive of Olympians PH,’ the website specifies the year when an Olympian competed in the quadrennial meet, including the Winter, Summer, and Youth Olympics.” The version I explored was in English, translation unnecessary.

El País: Franco’s tyranny against railroad workers. “In 2011, a team of forensic anthropologists uncovered a 30-meter-long chain of graves in Gumiel de Izán, Burgos. … Ten years on, Public Works Minister José Luis Ábalos and the president of Spain’s state-owned railway operator Renfe, Isaías Táboas, have set up a website…and released a film called, Los hijos del hierro (or The children of steel) which documents the tyranny of the Francisco Franco dictatorship towards its enemies forced to work in this sector.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

TechCrunch: Facebook is testing a Twitter-like ‘threads’ feature on some public figures’ pages. “Get your spool-of-yarn emojis ready — threads might be coming to Facebook soon. Facebook has been spotted testing a new feature that gives public figures on Facebook the ability to create a new post that’s connected to a previous one on a related subject. This feature ties the posts together more visually so fans can more easily follow updates over time. When the new post appears on followers’ News Feeds, it will be shown as being connected to the other posts in a thread.”

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf: How to Create Your Own Facebook Avatar. “In your Facebook feed, you’ve probably seen your friends and family posting cartoon-style emojis. If you haven’t yet done so, you can also create a similar personalized avatar of your own. You can use avatars in your profile picture, along with in various other ways on the platform. In this article, you’ll find out how to create a Facebook avatar and share it with others.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

The New Indian Express: Miscreants use markers on Google Map to take on Nalin Kumar Kateel over Pumpwell flooding. “The Pumpwell ghost has made a comeback to haunt state BJP president and Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel. Some miscreants have put misleading markers such as ‘Pumpwall – The Great Wall of Pumpwell’ and ‘Nalin Kumar Seasonal Lake’ on the Google Map and the screenshots of the map have since gone viral on social media. The markers are seen as a swipe at Nalin in the wake of the recent flooding at the Pumpwell Flyover following heavy rains.”

The Daily Beast: Trumpworld App Is Bankrolled by Fugitive Chinese Billionaire. “On Thursday, [Jason] Miller announced the launch of ‘Gettr,’ a new social media app aimed at conservatives that promises to be ‘cancel-free.’ Trump fans wary of social media censorship on more prominent platforms like Twitter and Facebook started to sign up for the platform after Politico reported on the existence of the new site. What’s not made clear to Gettr’s new users, though, is that the site received initial funding from a foundation owned by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui and his family.”

Aju Business Daily: Hanjin to demonstrate street view database service using cameras installed on delivery trucks . “The transportation and logistics service wing of South Korea’s Hanjin Group will kick-start a demonstration to build up the database of street images using cameras installed on delivery trucks. Filmed images will be processed for digital map and other information services including virtual reality and augmented reality.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Gizmodo: Watch a Police Officer Admit He’s Playing a Taylor Swift Song to Keep Activist’s Video Off YouTube. “On Tuesday, a group of protesters showed up at the Alameda Courthouse in Oakland, California, for the pre-trial hearing for Jason Fletcher, a police officer who was charged with manslaughter for shooting and killing Steven Taylor, a Black man, inside of a Walmart last year. Along with Taylor’s family, advocates for justice gathered to listen to the hearing broadcast on the courthouse steps, as covid restrictions prevented them from entering the courtroom. That’s when a sheriff’s deputy showed up with some pop tunes.”

Reuters: U.S. FTC sharpens weapons to tackle Big Tech by dropping ‘consumer welfare’ guidance. “The U.S. Federal Trade Commission lowered the bar on when it decides to file antitrust lawsuits on Thursday by scrapping a 2015 statement that said it would be guided by the ‘promotion of consumer welfare’ when looking at new investigations.”

Ars Technica: Apps with 5.8 million Google Play downloads stole users’ Facebook passwords. “Google has given the boot to nine Android apps downloaded more than 5.8 million times from the company’s Play marketplace after researchers said these apps used a sneaky way to steal users’ Facebook login credentials.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Wayne Sutton: 2020 Was The Black In Tech Movement I Waited My Entire Life For, But I Was Too Depressed To Participate.. “What’s hard is even with all the data in the world that shows the monetary gains, the benefits, the innovation of having diverse teams, someone will ask, ‘why are you working on diversity?’ What’s hard is looking someone in the eye, knowing damn well they couldn’t care less about diversity, Black humans or LGBTQIA humans or Latinx humans. What’s hard is knowing the only reason people are even exploring a conversation about diversity or inclusion with you is that the manager or CEO asked them to, or they are afraid of negative press.” Good morning, Internet…

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