Literary History, Seen Through Big Data’s Lens - NYTimes

Big Data is pushing into the humanities, as evidenced by new, illuminating computer analyses of literary history.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/technology/literary-history-seen-through-big-datas-lens.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Employers’ Social Media Policies Come Under Regulatory Scrutiny - NYTimes.com

Even if It Enrages Your Boss, Social Net Speech Is Protected

As Facebook and Twitter become as central to workplace conversation as the water cooler, regulators are ordering employers to scale back policies that limit what workers can say online.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/technology/employers-social-media-policies-come-under-regulatory-scrutiny.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

France Proposes an Internet Tax - NYTimes.com

The government, frustrated by its inability to tax U.S. digital giants active in France, has outlined a new levy that would be a tax on the collection of personal data. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/business/global/21iht-datatax21.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y&_r=0

Facebook's new 'Graph Search' could be social game changer - Computerworld

So far, there have been two major pillars of Facebook, the Newsfeed and Timeline, Zuckerberg told about 150 reporters at the event. Now Facebook is adding a third pillar: Graph Search.

The feature, which will appear as a bigger search bar at the top of each page, is designed offer up an answer after combing through Facebook's own massive store of user information.

Want to find a great seafood restaurant in San Francisco, for example? Graph Search will find out what restaurants your friends, and even their friends, have tried and liked.

If two people ask the same question, they're very likely to get different results because the results will be based on their individual set of friends and contacts.

Facebook has a massive collection of information about what restaurants, sneakers, appliances and bicycles its users have tried. It also has a similar amount of data on who has attended a certain college and now works at a certain company in a particular city.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9235866/Facebook_s_new_Graph_Search_could_be_social_game_changer?source=toc

Smartphones Become Life’s Remote Control - NYTimes

The smartphone is no longer just a portable computer in your pocket. It has become the remote control for your life.

Want to flip off the living room lights, unlock your front door or get a reading of your blood pressure? All of this can be done through mobile apps that work with accessories embedded with sensors or an Internet connection.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/technology/smartphones-can-now-run-consumers-lives.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y&_r=0

Saudi Arabia’s King Allows Women to Join National Advisory Council -NYTimes

King Abdullah for the first time granted women seats on the Shura council, but they will have to wear conservative Islamic head covering and use doors, offices and seating areas separate from the men.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/world/middleeast/saudi-arabias-king-lets-women-sit-on-advisory-council.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y&_r=0

Only you can prevent digital wildfires - NYTimes.com

Social media can rapidly spread dubious and dangerous information. We need to build some firewalls to contain the risk.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/opinion/only-you-can-prevent-digital-wildfires.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Mobile Apps Drive Rapid Change in Searches - NYTimes

Nowhere has technology changed as rapidly and consumer behavior as broadly. As people abandon desktop computers for mobile ones, existing tech companies’ business models are being upended and new companies are blooming.

Still, Google is even more dominant on mobile phones than on desktop computers. It has 96 percent of the world’s mobile search market, according to StatCounter, which tracks Web use. It collects 57 percent of mobile ad revenue in the United States, while Facebook, its nearest competitor, gets just 9 percent, according to eMarketer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/business/mobile-apps-drive-rapid-changes-in-search-technology.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y&_r=0