Report: Snap Inc. spent millions to get better at augmented reality The Social Software Weblog The creators of Snapchat are running toward an IPO at full speed, but it seems to have nabbed itself a neat holiday gift along the way. According to a report from The Calcalist (as interpreted by The Times of Israel), … Read more
Lost in Istanbul: Orhan Pamuk and the onslaught of urbanisation The National Lost in Istanbul: Orhan Pamuk and the onslaught of urbanisation The National “Can you tell me where Istanbul ends, and the rural begins?” Cihan Uzuncarsili Baysal, a housing rights activist and Bilgi University law professor asks during a recent talk on urbanisation at Kadir … Read more
Map of literary road trips FlowingData » Visualization by Nathan Yau Ever wanted to follow in the footsteps of a famous writer or literary character in their journey across the country? Well now you can. Richard Kreitner for Atlas Obscura hand-cataloged the road trips — more than 1,500 entries — from twelve works of literature and … Read more
10 gadgets for the bookworm in your life Mashable! by Elisha Hartwig Everyone knows one of them. They always have their nose stuck in a book, they don’t go anywhere without one and they are perennially asking you if you’ve read the book version of that movie that just came out. Bookworms. Book lovers. Bibliophiles … Read more
STUDY: Using Facebook for ‘Surveillance’ Can Lead to Envy, Depression All Facebook by David Cohen Want to avoid feelings of envy that might lead to depression? Be careful how you use Facebook. The guy behind GPG, Ed Snowden’s favorite email encryption tool is going broke Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin A ProPublica story getting a lot of … Read more
At least 66 journalists were killed in 2014 as attacks grow more ‘barbaric’ Mashable! by Christopher Miller KIEV, Ukraine — Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday that at least 66 journalists were killed over the course of the year as the number of reporters’ kidnappings soared in 2014. Crowdsourcing the future of news Nieman Journalism Lab by Melody … Read more
50 cultural icons and their favorite books kottke.org Flavorwire collected a list of the favorite books of 50 well-known people, including Bill Murray, Amy Poehler, Ayn Rand, and Caroline Kennedy. Here are some of the picks: 50,000 Norman Rockwell Photographs Now Digitized and Available Online Open Culture by Colin Marshall Reference photo for Norman Rockwell’s … Read more
Most feminist moments in sci-fi history Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder Read 14 Great Banned & Censored Novels Free Online: For Banned Books Week 2014 Open Culture by Josh Jones We well know of the most famous cases of banned books: James Joyce’s Ulysses, Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer, Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. In fact, a full 46 of … Read more
Stop Writing Dystopian Sci-Fi—It’s Making Us All Fear Technology Wired Top Stories No, Dystopian Sci-Fi Isn’t Bad for Society. We Need It More Than Ever Wired Top Stories Dystopian fiction is a warning, and if it makes people pay attention, then good— 15 Sci-Fi Books That Predicted the Future Mashable! by Andrea Romano Sci-fi writers are really … Read more