Gmail: New and improved
Whether you’re getting used to the new Gmail or still clinging to the old, familiar version, here are some useful Gmail settings you might not have found.FastCompany points out some nifty features like the ability to customize canned responses, add more time to “undo send” and make your own keyboard shortcuts. 

Along those lines, Facebook also has some search features you may not know about, according to MakeUseOf.com. Here are seven new ways to stalk your friends. 

The least-secure tech devices
How insecure are you? We’re not talking about the state of your psyche, but the state of your beloved tech gadgets. Tech Republic has a good photo gallery of the devices most likely to be hacked.

Hold the phone!
The average American checks his/her phone every 12 minutes. Tech companies have an incentive to keep us looking long and often at our phones: money. But a group of rebel developers have developed an app that aims to wean us off our addiction by limiting the volume of notifications, according to the Washington Post.

On the other hand, Cal Newport, a computer science professor, wonders why we need a nanny to tell us to put down our gadgets. He finds the whole “digital wellness” thing somewhat infantilizing, as his blog explains.  

Wary in Winnepeg
Canada produced more tech jobs between 2015 and 2016 than San Francisco and New York combined, according to Innovation Enterprise. While this is good for the economy, Canadians are still wary of how the digital future will affect business and society. Canada’s government and is launching roundtable discussions to ease citizens’ fears.

Picture this
On social media, good pictures are key, but where to find the best images?iStock.com may be your first stop, but SearchEngineJournal has uncovered ten alternative image sources, of moderate cost or even free. Check out #7 for free, historic media files in the public domain. 

That big glass eye 
If, like 45% of American households, you have a smartTV, it’s possible your TV is watching you. The New York Times reports that enabling Samba Interactive TV allows the company to gather data about your viewing and send targeted ads to other Internet-connected devices in your home. What, you didn’t read their 6,500- word terms of service? 

Oh, the humanities
How do you prepare your kids for jobs that don’t exist yet? FastCompany.com has some surprising advice: A liberal arts education may be the best antidote to automation. English majors, rejoice!

50 ways to hide those lovers
A self-appointed Bowdler in Berkley, Michigan, has been taking the videos of the “Fifty Shades” movie trilogy off the shelves of the public library and hiding them, apparently to prevent patrons from checking them out. Librarians are calling it censorship and are not amused, reports the Detroit Free Press.

Sorry, wrong number
Speaking of movies, a short-lived error on the part of Sony captured the attention of social media when the company tried to upload a movie trailer to YouTube and accidentally posted the entire 90-minute movie instead. Quipped one Redditor, “Another trailer that spoils the entire film.” ArsTechnica shared the story.

 News from UMSI

A new website launched on Social Media Day, June 30, by the University of Michigan and the UMSI Center for Social Media Responsibility,  socialintegrity.umich.edu will promote good digital citizenship and provide resources, tools, news and advice. Read more or watch the video.