what’s new GOOGLE-wise (CNN)

CNN: Google tries to get friendly — again
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/03/31/google.friendship.plus1/index.html?iphoneemail

• Google announces a new social feature called +1
• The company has tried before to use people as a way to organize info
• That’s an area traditionally dominated by Facebook

CNN: Everything you need to know about Google’s +1
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/03/31/google.plus.one.mashable/index.html?iphoneemail

• The +1 button represents another way to compete with Facebook
• “It’s very easy and lightweight way to make search results more relevant,” says Jim Prosser
• The public won’t see the change for another few months

• Google’s +1 buttons will be in Google Search; clicking them will require a Google profile
• Google commands 12.6% of the annual $10.1 billion in U.S. online ad spending
• If Google get more people to create profiles, it could increase the accuracy of its targeting

 

CNN: Topeka, Kansas, snubbed by Google
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/03/30/google.kansas.city.broadband/index.html?iphoneemail

• Topeka changes its name to “Google, Kansas” for a month
• Google still chooses a neighboring Kansas City for a high-speed internet project
• Mayor jokes that he’s fine with life moving slower anyway
• Mayor also says Topeka might still benefit in long run by being close to Kansas City

CNN – Syria tests internet freedom theory

CNN: Syria tests internet freedom theory
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/03/30/syria.internet.revolution/index.html?iphoneemail

• Amid unrest in the region, Syria decided to unblock Facebook and YouTube
• Syrian expatriates organized a “Day of Rage” on Facebook, similar Egyptian event
• Only a dozen people showed up compared to thousands in Egypt
• Syria tests the theory that the internet leads to democracy

CNN – Acapulco woman makes children her mission

CNN: Acapulco woman makes children her mission
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/03/30/acapulco.foster.mother/index.html?iphoneemail

• Hot meal, shower always on tap for abandoned kids
• Mama Rosy has been rescuing for more than 30 years
• She helps young prostitutes, drug addicts

CNN – How do you solve sex trafficking?

CNN: How do you solve sex trafficking?
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/03/30/cfp.denmark.sweden.sex.trafficking/index.html?iphoneemail

• Scandinavian neighbors Denmark and Sweden have taken different approaches to sex trafficking
• Swedish law says it is not illegal to sell sex — but it is illegal to buy sex
• In Denmark prostitution has been decriminalized with the aim of making it easier to police
• Politicians in Denmark are now debating whether to adopt a Swedish-style approach

CNN – Pick for Libya’s U.N. ambassador in limbo

CNN: Pick for Libya’s U.N. ambassador in limbo
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/31/libya.un.ambassador/index.html?iphoneemail

• NEW: Another Libyan official apparently defects
• Earlier, Moussa Koussa, Libya’s former foreign minister, defected to the United Kingdom
• Before defecting, Koussa had endorsed a Nicaraguan diplomat to be Libya’s U.N. envoy
• U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice says the Nicaraguan could face visa problems

CNN – Radiation may prevent recovery of some bodies

CNN: Radiation may prevent recovery of some bodies
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/31/japan.nuclear.bodies/index.html?iphoneemail

• Fukushima police say at least one body remains unrecovered
• Media reports raise the specter there may be more than one
• The body was near the Fukushima Daiichi plant

CNN – Official: Quake could cost Japan $300 billion

CNN: Official: Quake could cost Japan $300 billion
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/31/japan.disaster.budget/index.html?iphoneemail

• Japan’s deputy finance minister says cost of March 11 disaster may exceed 25 trillion yen
• The supplemental budget alone will likely be about 10 trillion yen, the official says
• 11,438 have been confirmed dead and 16,541 are missing due to the quake and tsunami

CNN – NATO takes over as CIA works ground in Libya

CNN: NATO takes over as CIA works ground in Libya
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/31/libya.war/index.html?iphoneemail

• Sen. Dianne Feinstein opposes arming the rebels
• A witness said he fears a “massacre” in Misrata
• A U.S. presidential finding authorizes CIA operations in Libya, a source says
• White House: Libyan foreign minister’s defection shows pressure is “having an effect”