NEW RESOURCES

CNET: The FCC’s broadband map won’t be ready for a year. This data company has already built one. “LightBox, which helped the state of Georgia build what some experts call the most detailed broadband map in the country, published its own US map late Wednesday that combines its precise address data with information from about 2 billion Wi-Fi access points across the country.”

Google Blog: Discover Dubai’s Culture & Heritage with Google Arts & Culture.”Today, I’m proud to unveil ‘Dubai’s Culture and Heritage’, launched in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, which will help you discover my hometown’s story and its vibrant art scene through more than 80 expertly curated stories, 5 audio stories, 25 videos, and over 800 high-resolution images of arts, crafts, heritage sites and much more.”

USEFUL STUFF

Wired: How to Turn Your Favorite Web Apps Into Desktop Apps. “With the distinction between online apps and desktop programs becoming ever more blurred, it’s now possible to set up some of the most well-known web apps on your Windows, macOS, or Chrome OS desktop. This uses what’s called progressive web apps, or PWAs, and we’re going to explain everything you need to know.”

Honestly saving this one for myself, as I have a sad, sad GIF game. Mashable: How to save a GIF from Twitter. “So you saw a fun GIF on Twitter. That’s cool, good for you, seems like fun. Now you want to save it for your own personal use. That’s cool, too, but unfortunately a bit more involved than you might think. The task isn’t difficult, necessarily, but it does take a few more steps than you might’ve previously thought. But once you master the process, you can take a fun GIF from Twitter and add it to your library in no time at all.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Associated Press: Collectible prices skyrocket, to the dismay of hobbyists. “Americans have become obsessed with collectibles, bidding up prices for trading cards, video games and other mementos of their youth. The frenzy has brought small fortunes to some, but a deep frustration for those who still love to play games or trade cards as a hobby.”

Deutsche Welle: Cologne opens new city archive, 12 years after fatal collapse. “The western German city of Cologne on Friday inaugurated its new historical archive, 12 years after a subway construction mishap collapsed the former building. In March 2009, the Cologne archive building collapsed into an excavation pit of a nearby subway construction project. Two people were killed and irreplaceable historical documents of the 2,000-year-old city were buried in the rubble.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

New York Times: Bolsonaro Bans Social Networks From Removing Some Posts. “President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil is temporarily banning social media companies from removing certain content, including his claims that the only way he’ll lose next year’s elections is if the vote is rigged — one of the most significant steps by a democratically elected leader to control what can be said on the internet.”

TASS: Antitrust regulator repeatedly fines Google for inappropriate advertising. “Moscow Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (OFAS) has fined Google LLC 200,000 rubles ($2,730) over inappropriate advertising, the regulator said in a statement on its website. The company has already paid the previous fines to the tune of 800,000 rubles ($10.921) for this year, the FAS noted.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

BBC: Would a reboot make social media a nicer place?. “One of the most popular cures for an ailing computer or Hollywood movie franchise is often a reboot. Could this also prove a remedy for fixing toxic social media? A rethink is what the Institute for Rebooting Social Media proposes to do over the next three years. The institute, a new initiative of Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, is being funded with $2m (£1.5m) from the John S. and John L. Knight Foundation, as well as Craig Newmark Philanthropies.”

Earth .com: Museum collections reflect species abundance in the wild. “New research published in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution compared museum collection specimens to abundance in the wild. The research was the collaboration of 19 scientists from the United States and Europe. The researchers analyzed 1.4 million field observations and 73,000 museum records, comprising more than 22,000 species. Surprisingly, the study showed that museum collections, despite almost never being standardized, are a good measure of species abundance in the wild.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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