NEW RESOURCES

University of Kentucky: New searchable website will help people in recovery find housing. “The Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC), housed in the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, recently launched a new resource for people with substance use disorder (SUD)…People who visit the site can confidentially locate safe, affordable recovery housing openings based on their needs and personal situation. Users can narrow their search by location, rent amount, amenities, services, residence requirements, transportation options and more.”

Rice University: See nature like (and with) a biologist in new online courses. “Solomon’s Introduction to Biology is the latest offering from Rice’s Wiess School of Natural Sciences through Rice Online and Coursera. The three-course series allows learners to see nature the way a biologist does, with virtual field trips to help understand and appreciate the incredible diversity of life on Earth.” The class is free to audit but if you want a certificate you’ll have to pay a fee.

Boing Boing: People are creating huge online archives of GIFs from 90s CD-ROMs. “Tumblr user Gearsphere found this neat CD-Rom of animated GIFs in a thrift store, and uploaded all 22,000 images to a public Google Drive for anyone to download and use. They are gloriously 90s, gloriously 8-bit, and just glorious overall. Not to be outdone, someone else by this act of silly-internet-history kindness, and uploaded their 6-CD-Rom set of animated web clips, too.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Engadget: Google is making it easier to find search results from Reddit and other forums. “Google is making it easier to find search results from Reddit and other forum sites. The search engine is adding a new module that will surface discussions happening on forums across the web for queries that may benefit from crowd-sourced answers.”

CNBC: Google adds new search features to try to give users the ‘vibe’ of a city or neighborhood. “Google now says it has enough local data to predict a neighborhood’s ‘vibes’ in search results. The company is launching ‘immersive views’ and ‘vibes’ for some locations, adding more details in visual form so that users will be able to explore locations before they visit, Google said at its third annual Search On event Wednesday.”

USEFUL STUFF

How-To Geek: 5 iPhone Screenshot Tricks You Should Know. “Taking screenshots on an iPhone is a simple thing to do, but there’s more than meets the eye. Apple includes a handful of nifty tools for screenshots, and there are some clever ‘unofficial’ tricks you should know about.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Axios: Google Ventures shelves its algorithm. “Google Ventures has mothballed an algorithm that for years had served as a gatekeeper for new investments, Axios has learned from multiple sources. Why it matters: This is a strategic sea change for one of venture capital’s most data-driven firms, and a Big Tech acknowledgement that human judgement shouldn’t always be automated away.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

CNET: Twitter Ran Ads on Profiles Trading in Child Sexual Abuse Content. “Twitter said Wednesday it’s investigating how ads from major brands appeared on profiles that were soliciting or selling child sexual abuse content.”

Associated Press: Drag performer sues blogger for defamation over edited video. “Eric Posey filed the lawsuit Monday in a court in northern Idaho, saying his reputation was damaged and his professional opportunities suffered after Summer Bushnell, who runs a blog called ‘The Bushnell Report,’ released the video and falsely told her social media followers that Posey had committed a felony by exposing himself to children during a Pride event in June. A subsequent police investigation cleared Posey of wrongdoing, and a city prosecutor said an unedited copy of the video showed no evidence of indecent exposure.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

The Conversation: As pandemic measures are lifted, social media use has declined with the exception of TikTok . “Our report findings show that Canadians’ use of social media has declined from its early pandemic peak; however, Canada continues to be one of the most connected countries in the world — 94 per cent of online adults use at least one social media platform. We found that TikTok had the largest gain (an increase of 11 per cent) in the number of Canadian adults who reported having an account on the platform in 2022, compared to data we collected in 2020.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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