Consumer Reports: “By now most internet users know their online activity is constantly tracked. No one should be shocked to see ads for items they previously searched for, or to be asked if their data can be shared with an unknown number of “partners.” But what is the scale of this surveillance? Judging from data… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Commerce
Google Search Really Has Gotten Worse, Researchers Find
404 – “Google search really has been taken over by low-quality SEO spam, according to a new, year-long study by German researchers. The researchers, from Leipzig University, Bauhaus-University Weimar, and the Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, set out to answer the question “Is Google Getting Worse?” by studying search results for 7,392… Continue Reading
What Happened to My Search Engine?
Ted Gioia – Or why tech upgrades are now mostly downgrades: “…Here are the things missing from the original search engines. They didn’t practice 24/7 surveillance of users. They didn’t sell user’s private information. They didn’t fill up search results with garbage in order to collect placement fees. They didn’t manipulate users—prodding them to use… Continue Reading
Google quietly updates Chrome’s incognito warning in wake of tracking lawsuit
The Verge: “Weeks after agreeing to settle a lawsuit that accused Google of illegally tracking browsing activity even after users activated Chrome’s incognito mode, the company has quietly updated how the browser describes its private browsing feature. The updated text, spotted by MSPowerUser, can be found in the latest Canary build of Google Chrome, version… Continue Reading
HP sued (again) for blocking third-party ink from printers, accused of monopoly
Ars Technica: “HP has used its “Dynamic Security” firmware updates to “create a monopoly” of replacement printer ink cartridges, a lawsuit filed against the company on January 5 claims. The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action certification, represents yet another form of litigation against HP for bricking printers when they try to use ink that doesn’t… Continue Reading
Using the Wayback Machine and Google Analytics to Uncover Disinformation Networks
Bellingcat: “Google Analytics is a popular service for tracking and analysing traffic to a website. Through a short code placed in the source of a website, a user can monitor the performance of all their online properties. These tracking codes can also clearly indicate when multiple websites are run by a single user or entity… Continue Reading
The Perfect Webpage
The Verge – How the internet reshaped itself around Google’s search algorithms — and into a world where websites look the same….Google controls around 90 percent of the search market, by some measures, so it’s too valuable a referral source to just leave up to luck. Search engine optimization — or SEO, the practice of… Continue Reading
AI gadgets will be hot in 2024. You don’t need one.
Washington Post [read free]: “For the past decade, tech companies have chased a dream: Invent a gadget to replace the smartphone. That’s why companies have created computers for your face and wrist, talking speakers for your living room and virtual reality goggles. And while lots of people love Apple Watches, Alexa speakers or Meta Quest… Continue Reading
Amazon crackdown on sellers spawns new legal industry
FT.com [read free]: “Merchants who have been suspended from selling goods on Amazon’s marketplace are turning to a cottage industry of lawyers to regain access to their accounts and money, amid growing scrutiny of how the retailer treats independents. Millions of accounts on the leading ecommerce platform have been prevented from engaging in sales for… Continue Reading
Meet ‘Link History,’ Facebook’s New Way to Track the Websites You Visit
Gizmodo: “Facebook recently rolled out a new “Link History” setting that creates a special repository of all the links you click on in the Facebook mobile app. Users can opt-out, but Link History is turned on by default, and the data is used for targeted ads. As lawmakers introduce tech regulations and Apple and Google… Continue Reading
How to find and cancel your unused subscriptions
engadget: “Many companies — from VR game makers to sock brands — have embraced the subscription model, which means things you used to pay for just once may now be sucking money out of your accounts regularly. And video streaming services have raised their prices so much we had to ask whether it’s still worth… Continue Reading
2023 in social media: the case for the fediverse
The Verge: “There’s this picture from more than a decade ago that still goes viral on the web every once in a while. You’ve probably seen it: it was created by the venture capitalist Andrew Parker, and it compares a few dozen startups with subsections of Craigslist. Back then, Craigslist was all things to all… Continue Reading
