NEW RESOURCES

European Space Agency: ‘Spot the difference’ to help reveal Rosetta image secrets. “Today, ESA and the Zooniverse launch Rosetta Zoo, a citizen science project that invites volunteers to engage in a cosmic game of ‘spot the difference’. By browsing through pictures collected by ESA’s Rosetta mission, you can help scientists figure out how a comet’s surface evolves as it swings around the Sun.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

CNET: Google’s Latest Nest Cameras Now Work With Amazon Alexa. “Google has introduced a new Alexa Skill that allows Amazon-made devices to play video from the search giant’s latest Nest Cam devices, allowing users of the Amazon Echo Show, Fire TV and Fire Tablet to view security camera footage captured by Nest cameras.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

NPR: How one book influencer championing Black authors is changing publishing. “[Cree] Myles first partnered with Penguin Random House last year, when she organized a read-a-thon called Black Like We Never Left featuring works by Toni Morrison. The late, heralded, Pulitzer and Nobel-prize winning author was published by Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House. A few months later Penguin Random House offered Myles a job curating an Instagram platform centered on Black books.”

BuzzFeed News: Male Fashion Influencers Are Saving Basic Men Everywhere. “There’s a growing niche of TikTok guys who show their peers how to elevate their style. Take Ethan Glenn. Glenn posts his outfits, hauls, and sponcon for an audience of over 300,000. This isn’t groundbreaking content. But considering that a whopping 84% of influencers doing sponcon on Instagram are women, it’s noteworthy that more guys are finally getting in the game. After years of women running the fashion show online, it turns out that men want to be influenced too.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Ars Technica: Apple, Google, and Microsoft want to kill the password with “Passkey” standard. “The standard is being called either a ‘multi-device FIDO credential’ or just a ‘passkey.’ Instead of a long string of characters, this new scheme would have the app or website you’re logging in to push a request to your phone for authentication. From there, you’d need to unlock the phone, authenticate with some kind of pin or biometric, and then you’re on your way.”

Engadget: Grindr location data was reportedly for sale for at least three years (updated). “Grindr’s past willingness to share sensitive data may have been more problematic than previously thought. The Wall Street Journal understands precise Grindr user location data was collected from the online ad network MoPub (once owned by Twitter) and put on sale through its partner company UberMedia (now UM) since ‘at least’ 2017.”

US Department of Commerce: Biden Administration Awards Nearly $77 Million to Expand Internet Access for Dozens of Tribes. “The grants, totaling nearly $77 million, are being awarded in 10 states – Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Washington. They will fund internet use and adoption projects to improve healthcare, workforce development, education, housing, and social services in tribal communities.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

World Economic Forum: Which countries spend the most time on social media?. “On average, global internet users spend 2 hours and 27 minutes on social media per day, though trends differ widely by country. In many of the markets that Global Web Index surveyed, social media use had shrunk or plateaued in Q1 2020 when compared with 2019 and 2018 figures, but the coronavirus pandemic reversed this trend in many countries.”

Inside Higher Ed: Could China Be on the Verge of Breaking Up Database Publishing?. “China’s top research organization has suspended its use of the country’s largest academic database, causing some scholars to question whether its stranglehold on the sector might be loosened. Several research institutes under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have pulled out of its subscription to the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) due to mounting subscription fees, local news outlet Caixin reported.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

NBC News: A woman bought a sculpture at Goodwill for $34.99. It was actually a missing ancient Roman bust.. “Laura Young, a Texas antiques dealer, thought she had found a steal when she came across a stunning statue at a Goodwill store in 2018 for just under $35. And while she suspected she had come across something ‘very special,’ little did she know the piece would turn out to be a priceless Roman bust dating back to 2,000 years.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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