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Daily Archives: July 17, 2019

Have We Hit Peak Podcast?

The New York Times – If past experience (cough, blogs) is any indication, a shakeout is nigh. – “…Call him cynical, but Jordan Harbinger, host of “The Jordan Harbinger Show” podcast, thinks there is a “podcast industrial complex.” Hosts aren’t starting shows “because it’s a fun, niche hobby,” he said. “They do it to make money or because it will make them an influencer.”

…It’s no wonder that the phrase “everyone has a podcast” has become a Twitter punch line. Like the blogs of yore, podcasts — with their combination of sleek high tech and cozy, retro low — are today’s de rigueur medium, seemingly adopted by every entrepreneur, freelancer, self-proclaimed marketing guru and even corporation. (Who doesn’t want branded content by Home Depot and Goldman Sachs piped into their ears on the morning commute?) There are now upward of 700,000 podcasts, according to the podcast production and hosting service Blubrry, with between 2,000 and 3,000 new shows launching each month. In August William Morrow will publish a book by Kristen Meinzer, a co-host of the popular “By the Book” podcast. Its title: “So You Want to Start a Podcast.”…”

It Just Got Easier for You to Suggest New Emoji

Wired: “If you wanted to send a tweet using Mayan hieroglyphics, or call upon the Phaistos disc symbols to craft the perfect email reply, you would have the Unicode Consortium to thank. The nonprofit encodes languages for the digital age, preserving them in amber for their onscreen afterlife. They have rescued, for the internet, Meroitic… Continue Reading

CRS – Medicare Financial Status: In Brief

EveryCRSReport – Medicare Financial Status: In Brief – June 24, 2013 – July 2, 2019 R43122. “This report provides a brief overview of the financial status of the two Medicare trust funds (Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance) based on the findings of the 2019 Medicare Trustees Report. It includes an overview of Medicare and… Continue Reading

Google’s Tool to Tame Election Influence Has Flaws

WSJ [paywall] – Mistakes have occurred in the Google Transparency Report for both Democratic and Republican presidential and congressional candidates – “Google set up a searchable database of political ads last summer, following calls for greater transparency in the wake of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Nearly a year later, the search giant’s archive… Continue Reading

Libraries Must Draw the Line on E-books

Publishers Weekly – Recent developments suggest a grim future for digital content in libraries, writes Sari Feldman, unless library supporters find a way to respond. “Until now, I’ve been inclined to give publishers the benefit of the doubt. As co-chair of the ALA’s Digital Content Working Group from 2011 to 2014, back when libraries were… Continue Reading

Firefox to Warn When Saved Logins are Found in Data Breaches

Bleeping Computer – “Starting in Firefox 70, Mozilla aims to have the browser report when any of your saved logins were found in data breaches. This will be done through their partnership with the Have I Been Pwned data breach site. Mozilla is slowly integrating their independent Firefox Monitor service and the new Firefox Lockwise… Continue Reading

For 35 years a scientist and his team have been taking the pulse of 10 coastal glaciers

Hakai Magazine – The diagnosis is in. “…A high mountain glacier, in its frigid, deadly enormity, doesn’t feel much like a landscape meant for humans. In the European Alps, medieval myths held that glaciers carried curses and incarcerated the frozen souls of the damned. And yet, on a grand scale, where glaciers and humans coexist,… Continue Reading

Italy: New Urban Regulations for the City of Rome

The Library of Congress – Global Legal Monitor – taly: New Urban Regulations for the City of Rome – “(July 17, 2019) On June 20, 2019, the City of Rome enacted new urban police regulations concerning hygiene, decorum, safety, and law enforcement, and established new and increased penalties for violations. (New Urban Police Regulations of the… Continue Reading

Listen up: why we can’t get enough of audiobooks

The Guardian – In this time-poor, podcast-friendly world, audiobooks are booming. “So what is the science behind them – and do they change our relationship with the written word? “Are audiobooks the new… books? It was recently revealed that audiobook sales rocketed by 43% in 2018, while those of print books declined (by 5%) for… Continue Reading