Mashable: “Facebook is infamous for the numerous ways in which folks use — and misuse — the platform, from your uncle sharing conspiracy theories to your roommate selling your couch on Marketplace. There’s one tool Facebook offers that is almost unilaterally helpful to users, though, and that’s the option for business owners to create a… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Commerce
You can buy stuff online, but getting it is another story
Vox: “The global supply chain is in hot water. The pandemic has made it notoriously difficult for shoppers to buy certain consumer goods, from home appliances and furniture to laptops and bicycles. And things aren’t getting better anytime soon, at least not this year. Shipments have been delayed, raw materials are in short supply, and… Continue Reading
The farmers market is moving online
The Verge: “The pandemic brought rampant growth for local food distribution platforms…the pandemic came, and it hit farms hard. Supply chains, customer bases, and in some cases labor were upended. Small and medium-sized independent farms that relied on restaurant wholesale lost huge percentages of their business overnight. Some local CSAs folded. Some farming operations went… Continue Reading
How Extortion Scams and Review Bombing Trolls Turned Goodreads Into Many Authors’ Worst Nightmare
TIME: “Since its launch in 2007, Goodreads has evolved into the world’s largest online book community. The social networking site now has millions of users who rate and review books, find recommendations for new ones and track their reading. But over time, Goodreads has also become a hunting ground for scammers and trolls looking to… Continue Reading
FTC disputes Facebook reasoning for shutting down NYU disinformation project
ZDNet – “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has criticized Facebook for claiming that a consent decree handed down by the organization was the reason they had to shut down New York University’s Ad Observatory. Facebook has faced significant backlash this week after they closed the researchers’ accounts working for the Ad Observatory project, which let Facebook… Continue Reading
How Your Ad Blocker Can Track You Across the Web
Gizmodo: “…the average ad blocker leaves tiny traces of data on the websites you visit. When those traces are collected en masse, a bad actor (or tech company) could use these signals to identify your specific browser—a process literally called “fingerprinting” in the ad-targeting industry. And like a fingerprint, these signals are basically impossible to… Continue Reading
Firefox 91 pushes privacy with stronger new cookie-clearing option
CNET: ” With the release of Firefox 91 on Tuesday, Mozilla has introduced a bigger hammer for smashing the cookies that websites, advertisers and tracking companies can use to record your online behavior. The new feature, called enhanced cookie clearing, is designed to block tracking not just from a website, but also from third parties… Continue Reading
Sci-Fi Guru Who Predicted Google Earth Explains Silicon Valley’s Latest Obsession
Vanity Fair – Way back in 1992, author Neal Stephenson published his breakthrough novel, Snow Crash, a cyberpunk exploration of then-futuristic technologies: mobile computing, virtual reality, wireless Internet, digital currency, smartphones, and augmented-reality headsets. The book famously opens with a breakneck car chase as the main character, Hiro Protagonist (it’s something of a satire), races… Continue Reading
You Don’t Really Own the Digital Movies You Buy
The New York Times Wirecutter: “As the entertainment industry shifts its distribution strategy to let people buy or rent movies closer to—or simultaneously with—their release in theaters, you may find yourself amassing a larger digital library than you’ve had in the past. But when you buy a movie from a digital service like Amazon Prime… Continue Reading
These 3 Tools Will Help You Spot Fake Amazon Reviews
Make Use Of: “The first thing people do when deciding whether to buy something online is check the customer reviews. A quick scan of the most recent reviews can tell you a great deal about whether a product is worth your money. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous sellers who commission positive reviews in order to mislead… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 1, 2021
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 1, 2021 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and… Continue Reading
Americans added a few hundred million smart devices to their homes in 2020
Marketplace – And they’re learning a lot about us. “Back in 2014, when the Echo and its virtual assistant Alexa made their debut, it was called a “Star Trek computer for the home.” Over this past year, our homes have become our own personal Starship Enterprises, as more of us have turned to smart devices… Continue Reading
