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Monthly Archives: March 2019

Yes – RSS Is Better Than Twitter

Gizmodo – “…RSS is a family of technologies that give you a simple feed from a spot on the web—a news site, a podcast, a blog—into your RSS reader. It’s a timeline of sorts, yes, but it runs at a sane speed, and it stays in your control, unlike Facebook or Twitter’s unknowable whims, and it excludes the vast majority of toxic noise that characterizes so much of social media. Folks, RSS is still good. More than just good, RSS is better in many ways than Twitter…”

See also via LLRX – this related article by Pete Weiss – A guide to RSS feeds using beSpacific research updates

Dome Watch via Office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

“Dome Watch is a product of the Office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. It is designed to help House staff, the press, and the public better follow the latest developments from the House Floor. The app uses data from both majorityleader.gov and demcom.house.gov, which is the official intranet for House Democratic staff (available only within… Continue Reading

Verizon offers new ways to battle robocalls

Company begins deployment of STIR/SHAKEN technology – “Verizon customers are about to get new and improved tools to help identify and block robocalls. A free version of the Call Filter service, which offers spam alerts and more, is starting to be rolled out today to Verizon Wireless customers. In addition, this week, the company began… Continue Reading

The Beginning of the End for the ‘Big Deal’?

The Chronicle of Higher Education – Inspired by University of California’s decision to drop its “big deal” with Elsevier, university librarians are laying the foundation to follow suit. ” University librarians have long griped about the rising cost of their “big deals” with major publishers, but relatively few have followed through on threats to cancel… Continue Reading

Source – Our Search for the Best OCR Tool, and What We Found

“Source is an OpenNews project designed to amplify the impact of journalism code and the community of developers, designers, journalists, and editors w”ho make it.” Our Search for the Best OCR Tool, and What We Found: A side-by-side comparison of seven OCR tools using multiple kinds of documents, from Factful – There are a lot of OCR… Continue Reading

Democracy in Retreat – Freedom in the World 2019

Freedom House – “Unpacking 13 years of Decline – Freedom in the World has recorded global declines in political rights and civil liberties for an alarming 13 consecutive years, from 2005 to 2018. The global average score has declined each year, and countries with net score declines have consistently outnumbered those with net improvements. Freedom… Continue Reading

Commentary – You’re either with your coworkers or you’re against them.

Forget Your Middle-Class Dreams By Alex N. Press – When it comes to workplace organizing, there’s no such thing as a “privileged” worker. You’re either with your coworkers or you’re against them. “…Building power for blue- (and pink-) collar workers requires building working-class power everywhere. Unionizing one workplace makes it easier to unionize another. It… Continue Reading

Meet the Women Tackling E-Waste

ifixit: “Repair is for everyone. But the reality is, the world of tech is not yet equal. 34 percent of iFixit’s employees are female, and nearly half of our leadership roles are filled by women. That’s pretty good for a tech company, but there’s always room to do better. Writer Gloria Steinem once said, “The… Continue Reading

MetLife Report – Thriving in the New Work-Life World

MetLife’s 17th Annual U.S.Employee Benefit Trends Study 2019 – “Employees need an ally, and employers can play this role by creating a workplace that not only recognizes employees holistically, but supports them holistically as well. One that provides experiences that enrich, a culture that accepts, and guidance that helps employees reach their individual goals. This year’s top insights: When employees… Continue Reading

Trading privacy for survival is another tax on the poor

FastCompany – Americans at the lower end of the economic ladder suffer from an ever-growing privacy divide, impacting more than just their personal dignity and autonomy. “This story is part of The Privacy Divide, a series that explores the fault lines and disparities–cultural, economic, philosophical–that have developed around digital privacy and its impact on society.“ Continue Reading