Tag Archives: global

50 Foreign-Language Films Everyone Needs to See, 1963-2013 | Flavorwire

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It’s true that American filmmaking inspired a global appreciation of the cinematic art form, but it’s impossible to deny the international influence on film by important auteurs from countries around the globe. With the inclusion of Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Costa-Gavras, François Truffaut, Akira Kurosawa, Pedro Almodóvar, and countless others, this list of essential films from non-English-speaking countries proves that American filmmaking has taken inspiration from countless artists working in many languages. Spotlighting just one film per year in the last half-century, here’s our list of 50 foreign-language films any true movie buff should see. 

See the list: 50 Foreign-Language Films Everyone Needs to See, 1963-2013 | Flavorwire.

35 Great Travel Books That Will Take You Around the World Without a Plane Ticket | Flavorwire

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Travel writing is a glamorous but difficult genre. To a reader it’s an easy sell: you get to go to fantastic places and see unusual things without spending the money.

In this list, I’ve observed the following parameters: no recent blockbusters, like Eat, Pray, Love or Wild, as many of the world’s regions as one could possibly fit, and steering away from the older, 19th-century popular travel books unless there was something particularly remarkable about them.

See the list: 35 Great Travel Books That Will Take You Around the World Without a Plane Ticket | Flavorwire.

42 Maps that Will Change How You Think About the World | Gizmodo

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42 Maps that Will Change How You Think About the World | Gizmodo

Eric Berlow and Sean Gourley: Mapping ideas worth spreading | TED.com

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What do 24,000 ideas look like? Ecologist Eric Berlow and physicist Sean Gourley apply algorithms to the entire archive of TEDx Talks, taking us on a stimulating visual tour to show how ideas connect globally.

via Eric Berlow and Sean Gourley: Mapping ideas worth spreading | Video on TED.com.

Infographic: How Mobile Apps Have Changed the World | Marketing Technology Blog

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Infographic: How Mobile Apps Have Changed the World | Marketing Technology Blog

Global Mobile App Stats

The 10 Governments That Requested (And Got) The Most Facebook User Data | Co.Exist

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74 countries sought data from Facebook for 38,000 of the network’s total 1.15 billion users.

Requests for Facebook data made from Jan to June 2013 (some requests include multiple users):

  1. United States (11,000-12,000 requests, 79% success)
  2. India (3,245 requests, 50% success)
  3. United Kingdom (1,975 requests, 68%success)
  4. Germany (1,886 requests, 37% success)
  5. Italy (1,705 requests, 53% success)
  6. France (1,574 requests, 39% success)
  7. Brazil (715 requests, 33% success)
  8. Australia (546 requests, 64% success)
  9. Spain (479 requests, 51% success)
  10. Poland (233 requests, 9% success)

The full discussion: The 10 Governments That Requested (And Got) The Most Facebook User Data | Co.Exist | ideas + impact.

40 maps that explain the world | Washington Post

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Maps can be a remarkably powerful tool for understanding the world and how it works, but they show only what you ask them to. Some of these are pretty nerdy, but I think they’re no less fascinating and easily understandable. A majority are original to this blog (see our full maps coverage here), with others from a variety of sources.

The world's major writing systems

Wikimedia Commons

via 40 maps that explain the world  | Washington Post.

You may also like: 40 Maps They Didn’t Teach You In School | Bored Panda

New IFLA Global Trends Report | American Libraries Magazine

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It’s designed to assess “the impact of new technology on our global information environment,” said IFLA President Ingrid Parent, introducing the new IFLA Trend Report August 19[, 2013] during the World Library and Information Congress in Singapore.

Commissioned in 2012 and involving social scientists, economists, business leaders, educators, legal experts, and technologists, Riding the Waves or Caught in the Tide? examines “high-level societal trends,” challenging library professionals to be aware that:

  • (1) new technology will both expand and limit who has access to information,
  • (2) online education will transform and disrupt traditional learning,
  • (3) boundaries of data protection and privacy will be redefined,
  • (4) hyper-connected societies will listen to and empower new groups, and
  • (5) the global information economy will be transformed by new technologies.

via New Report Portends Global Societal Trends, as IFLA Continues in Singapore | American Libraries Magazine.

New Report Portends Global Societal Trends, as IFLA Continues in Singapore | American Libraries Magazine

Facebook Leads an Effort to Lower Barriers to Internet Access | NYTimes.com

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About one of every seven people in the world uses Facebook. Now, Mark Zuckerberg, its co-founder and chief executive, wants to make a play for the rest — including the four billion or so who lack Internet access.

On Wednesday, Facebook plans to announce an effort aimed at drastically cutting the cost of delivering basic Internet services on mobile phones, particularly in developing countries, where Facebook and other tech companies need to find new users. Half a dozen of the world’s tech giants, including Samsung, Nokia, Qualcomm and Ericsson, have agreed to work with the company as partners on the initiative, which they call Internet.org.

The companies intend to accomplish their goal in part by simplifying phone applications so they run more efficiently and by improving the components of phones and networks so that they transmit more data while using less battery power.

There is considerably more content to this article. See the full story:  Facebook Leads an Effort to Lower Barriers to Internet Access | NYTimes.com.

App offers Edinburgh bookshop tour | The Bookseller

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A free app providing a tour of Edinburgh’s 53 bookshops has been released onto iTunes.

The Bookshops Trail app has been created to mark Edinburgh’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature and gives users an overview of each bookshop and its individual specialisms, opening times, contact details and the quickest way to get there. The app covers independent bookshops, chain retailers and secondhand sellers.

Bookshops featured include the Owl & Lion Gallery, Free Church Books, Peter Bell Books, Old Children’s Books, Pulp Fiction and Fruitmarket Gallery, as well as branches of Blackwell’s and Waterstones.

A What’s On feature also provides up-to-date information for all literary events taking place across Edinburgh.

A spokesperson said: “Free and a must-have for the travelling booklover, this app will give users a visual and informative guide to Edinburgh’s bookshops. Edinburgh is the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, one of six cities worldwide to receive UNESCO’s City of Literature designation.”

The app is supported by the City of Literature website. 

Edinburgh Bookshops Trail

via App offers Edinburgh bookshop tour | The Bookseller.