Tag Archives: worldwide

B.C. Court of Appeal Upholds Global Deletion Order Against @Google | Michael Geist #search

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The B.C. Court of Appeal has released its decision in Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Jack, a closely watched case involving a court order requiring Google to remove websites from its global index. As I noted in a post on the lower court decision, rather than ordering the company to remove certain links from the search results available through Google.ca, the order intentionally targets the entire database, requiring the company to ensure that no one, anywhere in the world, can see the search results.

READ MORE: B.C. Court of Appeal Upholds Global Deletion Order Against Google | Michael Geist

Google Puts Online 10,000 Works of Street Art from Across the Globe | Open Culture

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Circling Birdies by Cheko, Granada Spain

Since last we wrote, Google Street Art has doubled its online archive by adding some 5,000 images, bringing the tally to 10,000, with coordinates pinpointing exact locations on all five continents (though as of this writing, things are a bit thin on the ground in Africa). Given the temporal realities of outdoor, guerrilla art, pilgrims may arrive to find a blank canvas where graffiti once flourished.

A major aim of the project is virtual preservation. As with performance art, documentation is key. Not all of the work can be attributed, but click on an image to see what is known. Guided tours to neighborhoods rich with street art allow armchair travelers to experience the work, and interviews with the artists dispel any number of stereotypes. READ MORE: Google Puts Online 10,000 Works of Street Art from Across the Globe | Open Culture.

Unusual Library Collections Around the World | Flavorwire

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A few interesting library collections noted here…I’m sure there are many others that are not mentioned in this Flavorwire list.

Imagine walking into the home of a recently deceased resident after getting a mysterious phone call about a massive collection of maps. That’s what happened to Glen Creason, the map librarian at Los Angeles Central Library and author of Los Angeles in Maps. Creason walked out of the home with boxes of historical maps and coveted city guides that instantly doubled the library’s collection. L.A.-based filmmaker Alec Ernest captured the story of Creason and an unknown map collector named John Feathers in a mesmerizing short film about the beauty and power of physical objects, and the strange passions people have for them. Ernest’s film inspired us to travel libraries around the world and explore their unique and sometimes bizarre collections.

READ MORE: Unusual Library Collections Around the World | Flavorwire.

Cool Stuff Librarians Do: Librarians Without Borders | BOOK RIOT

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When I was little I wanted to be a doctor, and imagined myself sweeping across continents providing invaluable medical assistance as part of Doctors Without Borders. I came to accept that I’m a writer, not a medical professional, but now I have an opportunity to realign those early dreams with my actual life: I’m interning with the coolest group I know of – Librarians Without Borders. Same basic concept, slightly different product.

READ MORE: Cool Stuff Librarians Do: Librarians Without Borders | BOOK RIOT

Top 10 Countries With the Most Digital Natives | Mashable

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Statista created the following chart, which lists the 10 countries that boast the most digital natives. Check it out, below, for the full results.

Digital Natives

via Top 10 Countries With the Most Digital Natives | Mashable.

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Which Governments Prioritize Privacy and Which Lay On the Spying? [Infographic] | Gizmodo

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Privacy is on everyones’ minds in the U.S. since revelations about the NSA exploded. You can’t talk on the phone about some casual pot smoking anymore without your friend making the, “Hi NSA!” joke. And apparently for good reason.

So Backgroundchecks.org pulled together a bunch of sources to make a global privacy scoreboard and rank the top five best and top five worst countries in terms of government surveillance. It

Where in the world can you get some privacy?

‘s interesting to see how governments go about monitoring different media and why. Better luck next time Bahrain and Nigeria, but nicely done Spain.

via Which Governments Prioritize Privacy and Which Lay On the Spying?.

What the World Would Look Like If Countries Were As Big As Their Online Populations | The Atlantic

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The map, created as part of the Information Geographies project at the Oxford Internet Institute, has two layers of information: the absolute size of the online population by country (rendered in geographical space) and the percent of the overall population that represents (rendered by color). Thus, Canada, with a relatively small number of people takes up little space, but is colored dark red, because more than 80 percent of people are online. China, by contrast, is huge, with more than half a billion people online, but relatively lightly shaded, since more than half the population is not online. Lightly colored countries that have large populations, such as China, India, and Indonesia, are where the Internet will grow the most in the years ahead. (The data come from the World Bank’s 2011 report, which defines Internet users as “people with access to the worldwide network.”)

Internet Population and Penetration

Read: What the World Would Look Like If Countries Were As Big As Their Online Populations | Rebecca J. Rosen | The Atlantic.

The 10 Countries With the Most Internet Freedom | Mashable

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Statista’s chart, below, shows the 10 countries with the highest degrees of Internet freedom, as measured by the Freedom House Index.

Internet Freedom

Read: The 10 Countries With the Most Internet Freedom | Mashable.

Socratic World Textbook, Berners-Lee Google Coalition for Cheap DW Internet, SCRIBD Founder Envisions E-Reading Wearables

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Socratic Is Creating a Textbook for the World, One Teacher Video at a Time | AllThingsD
Socratic today announced that it has raised $1.5 million from Spark Capital, Betaworks, John Maloney, Terrapin Bale, Chris Dixon and David Tisch. The company (formerly known as Vespr) aggregates and organizes video lessons (first, high school and college content; today, just chemistry and physics) so teachers and students can use them as resources.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Google lead coalition for cheaper internet [to the developing world] | The Bookseller
Cross-industry coalition aims to provide cheaper access in developing world, but analysts say service lacks support from ISPs.

Scribd Founder Envisions Google Glass-like Wearables For E-reading
“If we’re going to build hardware, the thing we want to do is build reading goggles, so you can do hands-free reading,” Adler says. “It’s a little bit of a crazy idea, and I think it’s a long way away for us, but there is already a number of e-readers out there, and I don’t think people need yet another device.”

A Map of Internet Freedom Around the World | Gizmodo

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Here in the US, it’s easy to slip into the comfortable idea that the internet is unrestricted, a home for free speech and exploration, whether it’s meaningful and important, or dumb hashtags. It’s not that way everywhere though, and Freedom House has mapped out the current state of affairs across the globe.

Read and see more charts:  A Map of Internet Freedom Around the World | Gizmodo

Freedom On The Net 2013