Flickr, Tumblr and disappearing online content

Online content can disappear for a number of reasons.
Sometimes a company goes out of business and its servers go dark. Other times an organization changes its content management system and deletes all the older content.
And sometimes a company changes its business practices. That was the case recently with Web 2.0 firms Flickr and Tumblr.
Under new owner SmugMug, Flickr decided to scrap a plan that offered a terabyte of free online storage for photos. (Former owner Yahoo implemented that plan.) Flickr now limits free accounts to 1,000 photos. It is promoting unlimited storage, ad-free, for $50 a year.
I’m a paid Flickr user for my family photos. But I also had a free account for photo collections for Tech-media-tainment. I’ve deleted photos from that account to stay under the 1,000-picture limit. I don’t want to pay for two accounts and Flickr wouldn’t let me add the free account to my paid account.
A lot of photos from free accounts, including many shared in the Creative Commons, will be lost when Flickr implements its new rules on Jan. 8.
Multimedia blog Tumblr announced Dec. 3 that it will soon ban the posting of “adult content.” Its definition includes media that depicts “real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content — including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations—that depicts sex acts.” The ban takes effect on Dec. 17.
Tumblr, now owned by Verizon, said it will still permit “exposed female-presenting nipples in connection with breastfeeding, birth or after-birth moments, and health-related situations, such as post-mastectomy or gender confirmation surgery.”
Also, it promised to allow “nudity related to political or newsworthy speech, and nudity found in art, such as sculptures and illustrations,” and written erotica.
Having been on the receiving end of Tumblr’s heavy-handed enforcement of copyright claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, I don’t trust them. They refused to hear my fair use claims or give me back the content they deleted from my blogs.
Users are reporting posts incorrectly marked as adult content by Tumblr’s filters. Posts including Pokemon, dinosaur art, and TV show screengrabs have been flagged under the new policy, Business Insider said.
Reason magazine notes that the actions of Tumblr and social media sites to ban adult content comes as governments worldwide are applying pressure on internet services to shut down porn online.
The Free Speech Coalition denounced Tumblr’s actions against adult content. It said the ban will hurt groups that dispense sexual health information, LGBTQ communities, sex workers and others.
“The loss of these platforms isn’t just about business, it’s about the loss of vital communities and education — and organizing,” the FSC said.

Netflix show cancellations point to limits of ‘peak TV’

Three months ago, I wrote about how the “peak TV” era is delivering way more new shows than a video fan like me has time to watch.
Among Netflix shows, for instance, there are currently 21 TV series in my queue that I intend to watch, but haven’t gotten around to yet. They include “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” “The Innocents,” “Dark” and “Ozark.” I also have unwatched seasons for four Netflix series that I’m following.
This fall and winter, Netflix cancelled three shows based on Marvel comic book heroes: “Iron Fist,” “Luke Cage” and “Daredevil.” Before each of their cancellations, I had not yet watched the most recent seasons of those shows, but fully intended to at some point.
Viewership numbers for those shows reportedly had declined. Maybe a lot of viewers are struggling with peak TV problems like I am.
I’m worried that more shows I follow will be canceled unless most fans watch new seasons in the first week or so of their release.
Over the summer, I discovered a science-fiction series that I really like called “Travelers.” I binge-watched the first two seasons of the Netflix show and was glad a third season was in the works. Season three of “Travelers” premieres on Dec. 14. I’ll be streaming that show that day, for sure.
It’s only a matter of time before I discover a show I love that’s already been cancelled. That was the case years ago with “Firefly.”
I’m also behind on watching shows from HBO, Amazon Prime and cable TV channels.
Next year will bring new streaming channels from Disney, WarnerMedia, Apple and others. They’ll add to the “peak TV” viewing dilemma.

Related articles:

Drowning in video in the age of ‘peak TV’ (Sept. 4, 2018)

Netflix Has A Promotions Problem, And It's Only Going To Get Worse (Forbes; Nov. 26, 2018)

Why Is Netflix Giving Up on Its Marvel Series? (The Ringer; Nov. 30, 2018)

Saturday Night Live Trolls Netflix Originals With Parody Commercial (Screen Rant; Dec. 2, 2018)

Photo: Netflix science-fiction series “Travelers.” (Netflix)

Gender-switching trend continues in Hollywood with more female-led movies and TV shows

Walt Disney Co. reportedly is planning to reboot its “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie franchise with a female lead character.
Disney is ready to part ways with Johnny Depp, whose Jack Sparrow character has led the franchise over the last five films, according to news reports.
The new movie would center on a female pirate named Redd, who is featured in the Disneyland attraction and as a meet-and-greet park character.
If it comes to fruition, it would be the latest in the gender-flipping trend that kicked off with movies like “Ghostbusters” (2016) and “Ocean’s Eight” (2018).
What follows are some other gender-swapped movies and TV shows in the works with female leads.

• “What Men Want” starring Taraji P. Henson is a remake of “What Women Want” (2000), which starred Mel Gibson. The new movie follows a woman who, after getting passed over for a promotion at her work, gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts. “What Men Want” is scheduled for release on Feb. 8.
• Actress Daisy Ridley stars in “Ophelia,” a reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” told from Ophelia’s perspective. The movie is scheduled to open Jan. 22.
• “The Hustle,” a gender-flipped remake of the 1988 comedy “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” is set for release on May 10. It stars Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson.
• “L.A.’s Finest” is a spinoff of the “Bad Boys” film franchise with female leads. The TV series, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, is scheduled to premiere next year on Charter Communications’ Spectrum cable service.
• Disney has cast actress Zoe Kravitz to star in a series adaptation of “High Fidelity,” a 2000 movie that starred John Cusack. The series is for Disney’s upcoming streaming video service, Variety said.
• NBC is developing a spinoff of its supernatural series “Grimm” that would center on a female Grimm, Deadline reported.
• Annie Clark, also known as musician St. Vincent, is directing a gender-bending adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” for Lionsgate, according to the Hollywood Reporter and Variety. The 1890 novel by Oscar Wilde is in the public domain.
• The CW is developing a series called “Dorian,” a comedic adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” with a gender switch. It would star Marisa Coughlan, according to Deadline.
• A movie based on the Broadway musical “Cats” is in the works. Actress Judi Dench has been cast to play Deuteronomy, a role traditionally played by a man, the Guardian reported.
• Sony is working on a sequel to its upcoming animated film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which would focus on female characters in the Spider-Man universe, according to the Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.

Related article:

Gender-swapped roles in movies and TV shows: an update (July 6, 2018)

Photos: Brassy buccaneer Redd at Disneyland park (Disney); and movie poster for “What Men Want.”

Deadliest animals in the U.S. are not what you’d think

What’s the deadliest animal in the United States? That is, what animal is directly responsible for more human deaths than any other?
You might think bear, cougar, alligator or shark, but you’d be way off.
Farm animals, stinging insects and dogs are responsible for the most human deaths in the U.S., according a study by Stanford University researchers.
The researchers analyzed the mortality rates associated with both venomous and nonvenomous animals in the U.S. from 2008 through 2015.
They documented 1,610 deaths caused by animals in that period. Of those, 924, or 57%, were the result of nonvenomous animals and 686, or 43%, were from venomous animals.
According to U.S. government statistics, the largest number of deaths fell into the “other mammals” category. This grouping primarily includes horses and cattle, the researchers said.
“Previous work has identified that horse and cattle account for over 90% of farm animal-related fatalities,” the researchers said in a report. “Severe injuries and fatalities on the farm can result from these interactions with large animals.”
Dairy farming in particular is a known dangerous work environment, they said.
Farm animals and other unclassified mammals accounted for 576 deaths during the eight-year period. That’s 36% of total deaths by animal, the most of any category.
Hymenoptera (hornets, wasps, and bees) accounted for 30% of human deaths by animal, the second largest category. They claimed 478 lives during the research period.
The third most deadly animal in the U.S. are dogs, which were responsible for 272 human deaths in the period. That’s 17% of all fatalities caused by animals. Children four years old or younger had the highest number of fatalities.
There were 34 dog-related human deaths each year in the period 2008-2015. That compares with 28 annual dog-related deaths in 1999-2007 and 19 annual dog-related deaths in 1979 to 2005.
“Dog-related injuries and fatalities remain a substantial public health concern, with over 4.5 million dog bites annually in the United States resulting in an estimated 310,000 to 323,000 people treated in U.S. emergency departments,” the report said.
DogsBite.org compiled a 13-year fatality report identifying breeds of dogs involved in U.S. attacks from 2005 to 2017.
In that period, 433 Americans were killed by dogs. Pit bulls caused 66% of these deaths. Rottweilers, the second-leading canine killer, inflicted 10% of attacks that resulted in human death. Combined, the two dog breeds accounted for 76% of the total recorded deaths.
The Stanford University report had some limitations, the researchers said. For one, it didn’t include traffic fatalities caused by deer in the U.S., which is a “growing public health concern,” the report said. It also didn’t include deaths caused by diseases carried by mosquitoes, ticks and other bugs.

Related reading:

The deadliest animals in America revealed: Study finds more people are killed each year by FARM ANIMALS, insects, and dogs than large predators (Daily Mail; March 2, 2018)

An Update on Fatalities Due to Venomous and Nonvenomous Animals in the United States (2008–2015) (ResearchGate)

America's Most Dangerous Dog Breeds (Statista)

Of mosquitoes and men: The world’s deadliest animals (Tech-media-tainment; April 6, 2015)

The world’s deadliest animals (Tech-media-tainment; Jan. 24, 2011)

Making fun of millennials

Baby boomers have been blamed for bankrupting Social Security and other evils, so my generation takes pleasure in headlines about all the things young people are destroying.
Headlines that say “millennials are killing” this and that have been so numerous that they’ve become an internet meme.
Most recently millennials have been killing American cheese. (See “Millennials Kill Again. The Latest Victim? American Cheese” by Bloomberg.)
Among the things millennials are killing with their consumer behavior are breakfast cereal, paper napkins, bar soap, fabric softener, razors, golf, big beer brands, department stores and casual dining chains like Applebee’s and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Just the other day I read that millennials think “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” is racist.
After the classic animated special ran on ABC, young people took to social media to complain that the only black character sat by himself on one side of the dinner table. (See article by the Daily Mail.)
Finally, I saw a funny graphic online recently that showed a millennial’s investment portfolio: blockchain, crypto, weed, La Croix and avocados.

Related articles:

RIP: Here are 70 things millennials have killed (Mashable)

Here are all the things millennials have been accused of killing — from dinner dates to golf (MarketWatch)

‘Psychologically scarred’ millennials are killing countless industries from napkins to Applebee’s — here are the businesses they like the least (Business Insider)

5 Industries Millennials Are ‘Killing’ (And Why) (Forbes)

Woman Creates Brilliant Collage Mocking All Of The Things That Millennials Allegedly Killed (BroBible)

Photo: Kraft Singles American Cheese (Photo by Mike Mozart)

Autonomous vehicles as mobile brothels

Name a new technology and someone has probably come up with a sex application for it.
This year, I’ve written about sex or porn applications for artificial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain and robotics.
What about autonomous vehicles?
Yes, people are already thinking of sex applications for the emerging technology.
A new study by the journal Annals of Tourism Research said the rise of self-driving cars will give people another place to have sex, possibly for money.
Some media reports suggested “mobile brothels” and “prostitution on wheels” could be on the way.
I’m skeptical.

Related articles:

Self-driving vehicles will turn cars into brothels on wheels: study (New York Post)

People are going to sell sex in driverless cars, researchers say (Washington Post)

Will Automated Vehicles Be a Boon to the Sex Trade? (AVN)

‘Mobile Brothels’ Could Be Enabled by Self-Driving Cars, But That Doesn’t Mean They Will (Reason)

Photo by Kalvin Chan via the Creative Commons.

Lying clickbait exploits the curiosity gap with incorrect photos

One of the tricks that clickbait purveyors use to get web surfers to click on their items is to use an incorrect photo.
This exploits the “curiosity gap.” People see a promoted article with an odd photo and say to themselves, “What the heck?” They feel compelled to click on it to find out what’s up with the headline subject and the unusual photo. Often there is no connection – it’s just lying clickbait.
Here are some recent examples.

Revcontent ran an article titled “Why George Lopez never mentions his daughter is heartbreaking.” It used a photo of the comedian alongside a picture of a heavily tattooed woman. She is not his daughter. That woman is Mirella Ponce of Fresno, Calif. She attained some notoriety for her striking mugshot photo. (See articles by the Fresno Bee, KRON 4 and YourCentralValley.)

Revcontent ran another article titled “Tiger Woods’ ex-wife is 38 now and is nearly unrecognizable.” It used a photo of the golfer alongside a picture of a woman who is not his ex-wife. That woman is Instagram model Laci Kay Somers. At one point she was rumored to be dating Woods, but she denied it. In fact, she said he had never met him.

Taboola ran an article titled “This warship is an enemy’s worst nightmare.” It used a photo of an artist’s conception of a fictional submarine-cum-aircraft carrier. The fantasy craft is the work of Igor Ljubuncic at website Dedoimedo.

A sponsored article titled “Rare historical Vietnam photos showcase a different side of war” was illustrated with a picture of a Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter. The picture is by photographer Peter Tonna. He photographed the aircraft in Malta in November 1991. This beast of a helicopter never flew in the Vietnam War.

Finally, Outbrain ran an item titled “Horrifying Titanic photos found on old camera.” It used a black-and-white copy of a still from the 1997 film “Titanic.” Versions of this lying clickbait have been running for years.

Previous articles on lying clickbait:

Clickbait firms love Russian women (Aug. 8, 2018)

Lying clickbait: ‘Photos taken seconds before tragedy’ (Aug. 6, 2018)

Fake news! Lying clickbait exposed! (June 23, 2018)

Fake historical photos, deceptive pictures and other lying clickbait tactics (April 3, 2018)

Fake Old West photos, fake teachers and other lying clickbait (Jan. 25, 2018)