NEW RESOURCES

Library of Congress: What’s new online at the Library of Congress – July 2023. ” This collection includes over 3,000 items published or created for use in silent film accompaniment between 1904 – 1927. These items include scores written for specific films, cue sheets that compile melodies for use at certain moments in specific films, and stock music composed or arranged for general use in silent film. Scores and arrangements included in this collection include piano scores, full or reduced orchestral scores, instrumental parts, or just melodic incipits.”

NASA: NASA Launches Beta Site; On-Demand Streaming, App Update Coming Soon. “Later this year, NASA also will launch its new streaming platform, NASA+., and upgrade the NASA app. Through the ad-free, no cost, and family-friendly streaming service, users will gain access to the agency’s Emmy Award-winning live coverage and views into NASA’s missions through collections of original video series, including a handful of new series launching with the streaming service.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

TechCrunch: Google Search is making it easier to find relevant information on women’s sports. “The search giant says it has expanded coverage of women’s competitions in the information boxes you see at the top of the results page to include over 380 leagues. Plus, Google has added more than 110 leagues across women’s soccer, cricket and rugby over the past year. It has also partnered with broadcasters and rights holders to provide easy access to live streams and highlights directly from the Search results page.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Variety: Alex Winter’s ‘The YouTube Effect’ Takes a Tough Look at Everyone’s Favorite Cat-Video Platform. “Most people know that social media has become a cesspool of disinformation, a digital hydra that feeds off toxicity and conspiracy theories. But somehow YouTube, the second-most-popular site in the world, has avoided the scrutiny that’s come Twitter and Facebook’s way. ‘The YouTube Effect,’ a new documentary from Alex Winter, could change that.”

WIRED: A Leaked Memo Shows TikTok Knows It Has a Labor Problem. “[TikTok] also uses outsourced moderators in Kenya, and in other countries in the global south, through a contract with Luxembourg-based Majorel. Leaked documents obtained by the NGO Foxglove Legal, seen by WIRED, show that TikTok is concerned it could be next in line for possible litigation.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Dallas Morning News: Anti-LGBTQ YouTubers trolled a progressive Plano church. It was firebombed weeks later. “Weeks before the Community Unitarian Universalist Church of Plano was damaged in a firebomb attack early Sunday, members of the church welcomed four strangers — one of them carrying a camera — with hugs, smiles and the promise of a judgment-free fellowship. They didn’t immediately know they were being trolled and baited by a group of influencers who frequently take videos of themselves pranking progressives and liberals. The video, titled ‘We acted LGBT at LGBT Church,’ has garnered nearly 200,000 views since it was posted to YouTube on July 12.”

Hollywood Reporter: Google Sued by Advertisers for Allegedly Inflating Video Ad Metrics. “If an advertisement autoplays for a bot on a site that’s not publicly listed or indexed by search engines, does anyone see it? According to Google, the answer is yes, which has led to a purported class action against the company that claims it overcharges advertisers for the ‘privilege of autoplaying their advertisements into the void.'”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Newswise: Robot preachers get less respect, fewer donations. “As artificial intelligence expands across more professions, robot preachers and AI programs offer new means of sharing religious beliefs, but they may undermine credibility and reduce donations for religious groups that rely on them, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.”

The Verge: What would the internet of people look like now?. “Google’s rotting? Bring back the webring. Broadcasting to the entire world sucks? Fuck it, group chat. Facebook? Baby doll, it is easier than ever to build your own website, and you don’t even need to know the basics required to rip someone else’s code.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

Mercer University: Professor creates accessible weather device for visually impaired students. “Physics professor Dr. Matt Marone created the accessible technology — which converts data measurements to speech — for Georgia Academy for the Blind in the spring, and students used it in May to take their first temperature and humidity measurements for NASA’s Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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