Scotland Land Parcels, Ireland/America History, WP Engine, More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, De
NEW RESOURCES
The National (Scotland): New interactive map showcases publicly-owned land across Scotland. “Users can explore information on individual land parcels, including its ownership and size. The information has been brought together as a searchable map for the first time and, as well as information on the Crown Estate, it also includes the four main landowning public bodies in Scotland.”
Ireland Live: Former Offaly footballers set up new website on exiles who fought in American Civil War. “TWO former Offaly footballers have set up a new website on Offaly exiles who fought in the American Civil War in the 1860s. Rhode man, Danny Leavy and Edenderry’s Kevin Guing have put their site live, documenting the contributions of over 540 people from Offaly who fought in a brutal fight that determined the long term future of the USA when the north based Union prevailed over the southern Confederacy.”
TWEAKS AND UPDATES
The Register: Judge hands WP Engine a win in legal fight with Automattic. “WordPress hosting firm Automattic and its CEO Matthew Mullenweg have been ordered to stop interfering with the business of rival WP Engine. California District Court judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction [PDF] against Automattic and Mullenweg, finding that plaintiff WP Engine is likely to prevail in its claims.”
PC World: Global internet traffic grew significantly in 2024, and that’s not all. “Despite dips at the end of February and the end of the summer, global internet traffic surged during the final quarter. Through the end of November, total yearly traffic has increased by 17.2 percent. However, this increase isn’t evenly distributed around the world. In Guinea, for example, internet traffic grew by a whopping 350 percent in 2024.”
Search Engine Journal: Google Video Search Tests Dropping YouTube Channel & Upload Date. “Google’s video search results seem to be testing removing the YouTube channel name and video upload date from the search results snippet. I am not sure why Google would remove these important details from the search listings, but I guess Google likes to test these things.” Google’s been removing important details from search listings for years!
AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD
Boing Boing: What can be achieved with a single < div >?. “At A Single Div, web designer Lynn Fisher demonstrates the versatility of cascading style sheets, the markup that makes the web wonderful (or not, as the case may be). Everything on the page-artwork, color, animation, layout-is all accomplished by applying different styles to a single HTML tag: the humble div.”
SECURITY & LEGAL
FTC: FTC Sends Refund Payments to Consumers Impacted by Epic Games’ Unlawful Billing Practices. “The Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling more than $72 million to consumers who were tricked by Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite, into making unwanted purchases….Recipients should redeem their PayPal payment within 30 days and cash their checks within 90 days, as indicated on the check. The average payment is about $114.”
Engadget: EU digs further into Google and Meta’s secret ad campaign targeting minors. “Another day, another case of the European Commission going after big tech for targeting minors. The bloc’s regulators have probed Google for more information on a secret ad partnership with Meta that targeted Instagram ads at minors on YouTube, the Financial Times reports.”
RESEARCH & OPINION
Caltech: Air Pollution and the Public Health Costs of AI. “With the growing adoption of large language models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the enormous environmental footprint of artificial intelligence, or AI, is increasingly in the news. This cost is often discussed in terms of electricity consumed, carbon released into the atmosphere, and water needed to operate massive data centers. But there is a hidden cost of AI that needs to be considered: The toll on public health associated with the resulting increase in air pollution.”
ANZ: Viral Veggies: Social Media Shaping Food Supply. “According to ANZ’s latest Food for Thought report, social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are not just shaping what consumers eat but transforming how businesses across the supply chain respond to rapidly shifting demand - particularly as e-commerce integration allows users to purchase products directly from posts, shortening the path from interest to purchase.” Good afternoon, Internet…
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