NEW RESOURCES

Cornell Chronicle: ‘Think globally, act locally’ with new bird conservation tool. “For the first time, people around the world, including conservationists, can zoom in to within an 8-mile radius to see exactly where each of 586 bird species is increasing or decreasing – providing localized insights needed to restore rapidly declining bird populations and habitats.”

Armenian Weekly: NAASR digitizes collection of yearbooks. ” The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) has digitized and is making accessible through its online library catalogue a collection of more than 100 rare and fascinating taregirks (տարեգիրք) or ‘yearbooks’ and taretsoyts (տարեցօյց) or ‘almanacs’ from the holdings of its Mardigian Library…. The collection of digitized volumes spans from the 1890s to the 1960s and includes titles published in Alexandria, Athens, Beirut, Boston, Constantinople, Paris, Tehran, Venice and elsewhere.”

Niagara Frontier Publications: ABC News Digital announces ‘Buffalo: Healing From Hate’. “ABC News Digital debuts ‘Buffalo: Healing From Hate,’ a series that chronicles the aftermath of the horrific mass shooting at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, which claimed the lives of 10 people. The project tells the story of the Buffalo community’s path to recovery since the racially motivated attack on May 14. ABC News Digital published a collection of stories, videos and photographs on Nov. 14 to mark the six-month anniversary.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Vivaldi Blog: Introducing Vivaldi Social, your new federated social-networking home. “just as Vivaldi seeks to advance alternatives in the browser space, we’re also interested in supporting social networks that aim for something better. That is why we are launching Vivaldi Social – an open discussion hub supporting federated social media for members of the Vivaldi Community & beyond.” I think for a while it will be newsworthy when institutions and companies build Mastodon instances (as opposed to merely creating accounts.) If it looks like this kind of news is overwhelming the newsletter I’ll start (yet another) infrequent one.

New York Times: Twitter Users, Sensing the End of an Era, Confess Their Secrets. “In the chaos that followed Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, one user, thinking the platform might not be around much longer, revealed a secret from her college days. Another made a last-minute plea to crowdfund her medical bills. Another admitted she bit into whole Kit Kat bars without breaking them apart first.”

Bloomberg: Balenciaga Is Latest Twitter Quitter Amid Exodus Under Musk. “Balenciaga has joined other brands in quitting Twitter after billionaire Elon Musk acquired the social-media platform last month and upended content rules.”

USEFUL STUFF

Lifehacker: Don’t Delete Your Twitter Account (Do This Instead). “If you’re thinking of deleting your Twitter, I wouldn’t blame you (I’d only ask what took you so long). Things are wild over there right now, and stability sure isn’t on the horizon. However, before you take the nuclear option and say goodbye to Elon Musk and his ilk, consider not deleting your account: Don’t stay, mind you—just leave in a safer way.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

StateScoop: Musk’s changes create Twitter blues for government agencies. “Since its emergence in the late 2000s, Twitter has become a standard component in state and local governments’ messaging toolboxes, particularly for agencies that need to get information out as quickly as possible. By 2010, 81% of states were using Twitter regularly, according to a survey published that year by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. Since then, its use by the public sector has only grown, from traffic and weather alerts to statewide accounts making cheeky jokes.”

AV Club: After nine years of dutiful tweeting, SimpsonsQOTD has pulled the plug. “Though it’s hard to tell how this mess will resolve itself in the end, certain news makes it clear that Twitter will never really go back to how it once was. For instance: Long-standing institution SimpsonsQOTD has now closed shop after nearly a decade of tweeting jokes from the show.”

Ars Technica: As more brands pull out of Twitter, SpaceX buys big Twitter ad package. “Yesterday, CNBC reported that SpaceX purchased one of Twitter’s premium advertising packages—when typically SpaceX rarely invests in Twitter advertising—as Musk’s other company plans to begin advertising Starlink satellite Internet to customers in Spain and Australia. According to internal documents CNBC reviewed, SpaceX has so far spent $160,000 on the Twitter ad campaign and in total could end up investing up to $250,000.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

CNET: Google Agrees to $391.5 Million Privacy Settlement With State AGs. “Google agreed to pay $391.5 million in a privacy settlement with 40 state attorneys general over its location tracking practices, according to the Oregon state Department of Justice on Monday.”

TechCrunch: Is Elon Musk’s Twitter about to fall out of the GDPR’s one-stop shop?. “Helmed by erratic new owner Elon Musk, Twitter is no longer fulfilling key obligations required for it to claim Ireland as its so-called main establishment under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a source familiar with the matter has told TechCrunch. Our source, who is well placed, requested and was granted anonymity owing to the sensitivity of the issue — which could have major ramifications for Twitter and for Musk.”

Bleeping Computer: Chinese hackers target government agencies and defense orgs. “A cyberespionage threat actor tracked as Billbug (a.k.a. Thrip, Lotus Blossom, Spring Dragon) has been running a campaign targeting a certificate authority, government agencies, and defense organizations in several countries in Asia. The most recent attacks were observed since at least March but the actor has been operating stealthily for more than a decade and it is believed to be a state-sponsored group working for China.” Good morning, Internet…

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!