NEW RESOURCES

Pew: National Database of Court Orders Details Pandemic-Related Changes to Operations. “To help draw broader lessons from the many changes made to keep courts operating during the pandemic, researchers at Wesleyan University in Connecticut have created a database that compiles more than 20,000 unique state court guidance documents. Collected from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the documents were issued from February 2020 to March 2021.”

Gulf Times: MoCI launches Qatar Business Map portal. “The business map portal provides a comprehensive database for users, allowing them to view the investment advantages of Qatar’s various regions through a search service for commercial establishments per region, and for the various available commercial activities. The portal also offers statistics on several commercial licenses registered in each municipality, new and signed-off commercial licences, and the latest commercial establishments registered in Qatar.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

KnowTechie: Reddit is exploring TikTok-style reaction videos. “Reddit might soon be full of short-form video content, like TikTok-style reaction videos. As reported by TechCrunch, and confirmed by Reddit, the new feature could have TikTok-like editing tools. The videos created could be used as reactions or even as original posts.”

MakeUseOf: You Can Now Search Your Twitter DMs for Specific Keywords. “Ever lost a conversation on Twitter because you could only remember certain words? Now, you can use those words to locate your conversation. Finally, Twitter lets you search for chats in your direct messages (DMs) using specific keywords. Let’s find out more.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Associated Press: Dagny Carlsson, dubbed oldest blogger in the world, dies at 109. “Dagny Carlsson, dubbed the world’s oldest blogger, who wrote about her life in Sweden based on the attitude that you should never think you are too old to do what you want to do, has died, Swedish media and her fan page reported. She was 109. At the age of 99, Carlsson attended a computer course and a year later, she started her blog where she called herself Bojan.”

TechCrunch: The Web Foundation is taking on deceptive design. “The Web Foundation‘s Tech Policy Design Lab is working on an interesting-looking project to counter deceptive design — aka dark patterns* — with the goal of producing a portfolio of UX and UI prototypes which it hopes to persuade tech companies to adopt and policymakers to be inspired by as they fashion rules to make the online experience less exploitative of web users.”

Mashable: The secret Wikipedia prank behind the Pringles mascot’s first name. “The name ‘Julius Pringles’ — which Kellogg’s claims as officially trademarked, though a search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office site for ‘Julius Pringles’ returned no immediate results — looks not to have come from a marketing team, or some long-forgotten Pringles founder. Rather, the name stems from two Wikipedia savvy, hoax-loving college students snacking away on Sour Cream & Onion Pringles in their dorm room back in 2006.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: New Zealand moves to crack down on corporate secrecy after Pandora Papers. “A proposed law to establish a public beneficial ownership register would build on post-Panama Papers reforms to end use of the country as a tax haven.”

The Verge: Two men arrested for $1.1 million NFT ‘rug pull’ scam. “US government prosecutors have charged two men with fraud and money laundering over a cryptocurrency ‘rug pull’ scheme. Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna allegedly earned around $1.1 million by selling non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) based on cartoon-like characters called “Frosties.” After selling the NFTs, they shut down the project and transferred its funds to a series of separate crypto wallets, leaving Frosties owners bereft of promised rewards.”

North Jersey: Instagram influencer ‘Jay Mazini’ pleads guilty to Bergen kidnapping charges. “Disgraced influencer Jay Mazini and an associate have pleaded guilty in a North Jersey kidnapping case that saw one of the social media star’s rivals beaten and held at knifepoint with a machete. The Edgewater star potentially faced decades behind bars for orchestrating the plot, until he cut a deal with prosecutors last week for a five-year prison sentence in exchange for pleading guilty to one count of first-degree kidnapping, authorities confirmed. ”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Wiley: Wiley and Wikipedia: Powering Discovery Together. “By partnering with the Wikipedia Library, we allow top Wikipedia editors – qualified on a basis of frequency, volume, and quality of updates to Wikipedia – free access to Wiley Online Library. Editors will use their access to cite and link directly to Wiley resources across Wikipedia articles.”

NARA Institute of Science and Technology: New approach to scanning objects of illumination. “Scientists from Nara Institute of Science and Technology created a new approach to compensate for variations in illumination while scanning cathedral stained-glass windows. This work may be applied to other objects of cultural significance to help capture their colors in the most lifelike way.” Good morning, Internet…

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