In February I posted about the ways we can identify fake Amazon reviews, particularly the tool Fakespot.com. Earlier this week Buzzfeed published an article about the business of fake Amazon reviews, which includes these staggering statistics: 87% of Amazon shoppers surveyed said a positive Amazon review was critical in their decision to purchase a product, but fewer than 10% of Amazon customers write reviews of items they've bought. However, getting positive reviews is essential to... Read Post
News You Can Use
May 2nd 2018
"Fake news" is a phrase we've been hearing a lot over the past year. The barrage of half-truths and outright lies seems endless. At times it seems we live in a fog of rumors and fabrications. A conversation with a casual acquaintance can open a window into a world of alternative facts (A national fast-food chain serves burgers made of human flesh! There's an ebola outbreak in your hometown! A Muslim mayor has outlawed Christmas!).
Fortunately we've got an increasing number of tools... Read Post
February 4th 2018
Have you ever bought a product online because of great reviews and customer ratings but ended up disappointed with it? You're not alone: the problem is common enough to warrant news coverage. Many of the rave reviews on retail websites are fakes: written by paid reviewers who've never used the product or service in question. In some cases the reviews aren't even written by actual people.
Fakespot.com can help you identify dishonest reveiws: simply paste the url of a product (for... Read Post
December 27th 2017
"Winter is here"--Sansa Stark, Game of Thrones, Season 6, Episode 10.
The Boston area's white Christmas has given way to bone-chilling cold. According to National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson, local temperatures are and will be 20-25 degrees colder than normal into the next week. Frostbite is possible after as few as 30 minutes outside. Tomorrow the wind chill will be -13.
Here's what you need to do to stay warm and safe:
Make sure your heating system is working... Read Post November 28th 2017
Today (Nov. 28) was Giving Tuesday, a day designated by the United Nations and New York City's 92nd Street Y as a universal day of giving, as a way to establish a contrast to the consumerism of the holiday season. But despite that rampant consumerism, the month of December is when Americans are most likely to donate to charities. According to some sources, a third of all charitable gifts in any given year are made in December: partly due to cultural pressures and partly due to deadlines for... Read Post
October 31st 2017
The state Department of Transportation has just issued a Notice of Project Change for the Green Line Extension. The extension from College Avenue in Medford to the Mystic Valley Parkway has been delayed for fiscal reasons. The Notice of Project Change is intended to initiate further Massachusetts EPA review of the Mystic Valley Parkway Extension and give the public opportunity to comment on proposed design changes for Mystic Valley Parkway Station. You can find the complete text of the... Read Post
August 8th 2017
We're past the late spring/early summer when many of us are beginning to think about what to plant on our back decks or in our window boxes. But there's no reason we can't start planning what to grow indoors. Plants are beautiful, they make us feel better, and they can even clean up our environment. Some plants are great for removing chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzine, carbon monoxide, and ammonia from the air. And even plants that aren't top of the line air-purifiers release oxygen,... Read Post
June 27th 2017
Decades ago, when people were looking for jobs, they answered ads in the jobs section of a newspaper or a trade magazine. Sometimes they walked down streets looking for businesses with "Help Wanted" signs in the windows.
Then the Web came along and upended all that. Soon job seekers were going to Craigslist, or web sites for businesses, schools, or governments. And then databases like Monster and LinkedIn appeared.
And now you can just Google.
Yes, Google. As a... Read Post
June 20th 2017
Many Somervillians (such as the members of our thriving community of artists and writers) have specialized interests and undertake projects that might benefit from access to an academic library. However, many of those same people are neither students nor employees of any of the local universities.
Fortunately, Harvard now offers adult researchers with no academic affiliation access to its special collections: Houghton Library, The Harvard Map Collection, The Harvard Yenching Library... Read Post
April 29th 2016
...is available for public review at the Central Library, 79 Highland Ave. Ask at the reference desk for help finding it.
January 15th 2016
It's an election year. Candidates are saying a lot of things to get people's votes, which means many of them are, to be blunt, lying.
How do you know what to believe? How do you sort fact from fabrication? Surprisingly, the Internet can actually help if you go to the right places.
Factcheck.org is just what it sounds like: a website devoted to finding the truth behind politician's statements, misleading headlines, and viral rumors. Factcheck is published by the Annenberg Public Policy Center... Read Post
December 28th 2015
Now that I think about it, this blog post title sounds like it should be the name of a kid's book--the If You Give a Pig a Pancake for the automated warfare age. But seriously, drones were one of the most popular gifts this Christmas. And anyone who owns a drone has to register it with the Federal Aviation Administration--even if it's tiny, and even if you're not using it to attack people. So, to register your drone, go here.
And somebody out there go write that kid's book.
October 7th 2014
October is American Archives Month, the purpose of which is to promote awareness and value of archives in society - as our country’s collective memory. The city of Somerville has its own archives, as does the SPL in the form of our Local History Room. I love old pictures, so I enjoy visiting the city archives’ tumblr, too.
While it’s unlikely you actually work at an archive, you may want to create your own personal archive. Right now, it may be a shoebox full of old photos and letters, or it... Read Post
August 4th 2014
by Eileen and Sujei
If you’re like me, you have a ton of things on your mind/plate. And although I knew July was International Zine Month, I couldn’t quite pull the trigger on this blog post till now. But, all this information is still valid – and it's always a good time to enjoy and make zines.
But wait – I should slow down, back up – and address a question you may have: What is a zine anyway?
A zine made by women over 40. Found at the Papercut Zine Library.... Read Post
June 25th 2013
The mercury's breaking 90 today and it's going to be almost as warm through the weekend. Here are some tips to make the next few days a little more comfortable. Cooking can make an already hot kitchen unbearable, so check out this link to Mark Bittman's 101 recipes ready in fewer than ten minutes. Longtime readers of this blog probably recall that I've posted this link before, but there's always something on it I haven't tried, and I'm assuming the same is true of you. You should also browse... Read Post