NEW RESOURCES

Fast Company: Free internet from the government: How to see if you qualify under Biden’s new plan. “The FCC says about 11.5 million homes are currently signed up nationwide, but it believes that 48 million households, or nearly 40% of U.S. households, are eligible. To expand access, the government has unveiled a brand new website… where people can check their eligibility and find a list of service providers in their area that are participating.”

University of Central Florida: New Tool from UCF-led Team Shows Homeowners and Renters the True Cost of Disasters . “The easy-to-use tool allows users to plug in an address and instantly receive the property’s HazardReady score. The score shows just how resilient, or disaster-ready, a home is, and projects how much hazards, such as winds and flooding, could cost a homeowner each year. HazardAware can provide reports for 13.3 million addresses in 196 counties along the Gulf of Mexico — including all of Florida, and parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. This is a region that is historically impacted by hurricanes and other large hydrometeorological hazards each year.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

TechCrunch: Twitter rolls out new Spaces features, including access to analytics for hosts. “Twitter is rolling out a number of new features for its live audio Spaces product this week. The social media giant is giving hosts and co-hosts on iOS and Android access to analytics about their Spaces. For example, hosts and co-hosts can now get information about how many total live listeners tuned in to the broadcast, how many times it was replayed and how many people spoke during the Space.”

The Verge: Google Assistant’s automatic password updater gets wider rollout. “A Google Assistant feature designed to automate the time-consuming process of changing your passwords after a breach appears to be getting a wider rollout. That’s according to a tweet from leaker Max Weinbach and a report from Android Police.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

University of Arkansas: CAST Researchers Awarded NEH Grant on Digital Storytelling About Precolonial Africa. “‘Digital Storytelling on African Urbanisms: A Model to Empower Education Initiatives Across the Global South’ explores how an open-access digital archive can be optimized to allow for low-resourced educators to engage with digital storytelling.”

Artnet Daily: Yu-Wen Wu Asked Google How to Walk From Boston to Taipei. She Spent the Next 10 Years Turning the Directions Into an Incredible Artwork. “It was an impossible trip—the directions included kayaking across the Pacific ocean for some three months, with a stop in Hawaii. It was also the beginning of an epic art project that would take Wu a decade, transforming the outlandish journey into a 20-foot long collage in the tradition of a Chinese landscape scroll, stored in a traditional wooden box.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

TechCrunch: Judge tosses Trump’s lawsuit over his lifetime Twitter ban. “A federal judge in California dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Twitter Friday, dimming at least one avenue the former president and prolific tweeter might have used to get back to his platform of choice. Trump’s argument that the social media company and its then-chief executive Jack Dorsey violated his right to free speech failed to convince Judge James Donato of the Northern District of California, to put it lightly.”

India Today: Canada passes Act on revenue sharing between Google, Facebook and news outlets as India’s wait continues. “Canada passing a law on a fair revenue-sharing system has rekindled the hope for India’s news outlets that a similar law would be introduced in the country. But that may have to wait a bit longer. IndiaToday takes a deep dive into the matter and tries to explain how such a system has impacted countries around the world, including India.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Phys .org: In-person socialization down, but social media isn’t to blame, researcher says. “In the United States, Great Britain and Australia, there has been a steady, uniform decline in [Face to Face] time that began well before the rise of social media. This new analysis shows the decline continued through the stay-at-home orders and social distancing of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

edX: edX Awards $1 Million to Ten Partners Developing Free Courses on Essential Human Skills for the Virtual Age. “edX, a leading global online learning platform from 2U (Nasdaq: TWOU), today announced the 10 partner proposals selected to receive grants totaling $1 million to develop courses in Essential Human Skills for the Virtual Age. These courses and programs will be centered on essential human skills such as leadership, communication, and emotional intelligence that are prioritized during hiring and critical in an increasingly virtual world.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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