morningbuzz

World Water Map, Google Currents, US Population, More: Saturday ResearchBuzz, April 15, 2023

NEW RESOURCES

National Geographic: National Geographic Society and Utrecht University Launch World Water Map . “The Map provides an interactive view of the sectors of water use; how much water people consume for agricultural, industrial, and household use; and what’s left for nature. The Map, which builds on hydrological models made by Utrecht University, consists of over 40 years of historical data and will be updated periodically to monitor changes in water availability and demand.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The Verge: Google will shut down Currents, the work-focused Google Plus replacement. “Google has announced that it’ll shut down Currents, which was introduced in 2019 as a replacement for Google Plus for G Suite.”

US Census Bureau: Census Bureau Releases New U.S. Population Estimates by Age and Sex. “In the coming months, the Census Bureau will release additional population estimates for cities and towns, as well as national, state and county population estimates by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Rolling Stone: Why Some Taylor Swift Stans Are Ganging Up On ‘Gaylors’: Report. “Researchers from the social media firm Graphika found that harassment runs amok in the fan community — and it can teach us a lot about how people behave online.”

Mashable: Popular B2B business dumps Twitter over Musk’s API price hike. “Over the past few weeks, countless indie developers have announced that they would have to shut down their Twitter-based apps due to the new exorbitant pricing that Twitter began rolling out for its API. However, it’s not just small-time developers making the decision to pass on paying $42,000 per month to Twitter. Just this week, one of the biggest companies in the customer support and live chat space made the call to drop Twitter too.”

Indiana University: IU alumnus, award-winning Black documentarian gifts collection to Black Film Center & Archive. “Now, scholars, filmmakers and members of the IU community will have access to this film and many other audiovisual materials from [Jerald] Harkness, an IU alumnus, as he makes IU’s Black Film Center & Archive the home for his film collection. The gift consists of master copies, outtakes, interviews and other production elements from Harkness’ award-winning, 30-year career. Also included are Harkness’ home movies and preliminary interviews from incomplete projects.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

University of Exeter: Nations must clarify the law of cyberspace to tackle online threats and warfare. “Cyber threats pose a growing risk to our societies by spreading misinformation, disrupting critical services and undermining trust in democratic institutions. Since most rules of international law were developed in the pre-digital age, it is far from clear how these rules apply to mitigate cyber threats.”

Associated Press: TikTok ban gets final approval by Montana’s GOP legislature. “Montana’s House gave final passage Friday to a bill banning the social media app TikTok from operating in the state, a move that’s bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America many national lawmakers envision due to concerns over potential Chinese spying.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

New York Times: Twitter Is Broken. Thanks, Elon.. “I’d been open to Musk’s purchase of the social network, but half a year in, it’s been an unmitigated disaster. Musk moved fast and broke nearly everything — the speed and totality with which he’s ruined the site have been almost impressive. By Musk’s own reckoning, the company is now worth less than half of what he paid for it. It has lost many large advertisers, most of its employees and, with them, much of its functionality.”

Harvard Medical School: AI Tool Predicts Colon Cancer Survival, Treatment Response. “A new artificial intelligence model designed by researchers at Harvard Medical School and National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan could bring much-needed clarity to doctors delivering prognoses and deciding on treatments for patients with colorectal cancer, the second deadliest cancer worldwide.”

Quartz: Free speech warrior Elon Musk’s Twitter is muting Indian voices worldwide. “In a BBC interview, Elon Musk claimed that India’s ‘extremely strict’ social media rules were the reason for censoring tweets critical of the Modi government.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

University of Alabama: Little Free Libraries to Pop Up Around Campus Soon. “The University of Alabama could soon see miniature libraries popping up around campus. The first one was recently established in front of the SGA office in the Student Center. The tiny stands are known as Little Free Libraries and they will house everything from fiction to textbooks.” 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. Check out Search Gizmos when you have a minute. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you.

Categories: morningbuzz

Leave a Reply