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Drag queens Lil Miss Hot Mess (left) and Sister Roma join other activists for a news conference at San Francisco City Hall on Sept. 17 to speak out against Facebook's rule on using legal names for profiles.

Drag queens Lil Miss Hot Mess (left) and Sister Roma join other activists for a news conference at San Francisco City Hall on Sept. 17 to speak out against Facebook's rule on using legal names for profiles. Eric Risberg/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Eric Risberg/AP

Society

Facebook Requires Real Names. What Does That Mean For Drag Queens?

Dozens of queens' profiles were deactivated recently because they used stage names. Facebook says requiring real names curbs abuse, but LGBT groups say it's restricting — for drag queens and others.

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An Aymara woman prepares to take part in a pageant in La Paz, Bolivia, in 2013. Jaqi-Aru, a community of volunteers is working on translating the Facebook interface in the indigenous language of Aymara.

An Aymara woman prepares to take part in a pageant in La Paz, Bolivia, in 2013. Jaqi-Aru, a community of volunteers is working on translating the Facebook interface in the indigenous language of Aymara. Juan Karita/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Juan Karita/AP

Social Web

For Rare Languages, Social Media Provide New Hope

Linguists and native speakers around the world are turning to Facebook, Twitter and other sites to help pass indigenous, minority and endangered languages on to new generations.

Our readers wrote in on how they tried to take a vacation from their smartphones.

Our readers wrote in on how they tried to take a vacation from their smartphones. Christian Wheatley/iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption Christian Wheatley/iStockphoto

Society

We Asked, You Answered: Going To Extremes To Disconnect On Vacation

Giving up digital devices — even if for just a few hours or days — is a struggle. Whether it was to catch up on the news or peek in on the World Cup, NPR listeners found it tough to kick the habit.

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Facebook says that starting soon, ad targeting will "include information from some of the websites and apps you use," making ads more relevant to users' interests.

Facebook says that starting soon, ad targeting will "include information from some of the websites and apps you use," making ads more relevant to users' interests. iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto

Privacy & Security

Facebook Ad Targeting Will Use Even More Of Your Data

It will start drawing on Web browsing data to determine what ads users see, while allowing them to edit their own data profiles. Privacy advocates say the changes put too much burden on consumers.

"People are grappling with identity when they become parents, and they're also grappling with identity in terms of who we are online," says psychologist Daphne de Marneffe (not pictured).

"People are grappling with identity when they become parents, and they're also grappling with identity in terms of who we are online," says psychologist Daphne de Marneffe (not pictured). Jonathan Ross/iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption Jonathan Ross/iStockphoto

Society

What Those Baby Photos On Social Media Can Teach Us About Moms

Today's babies are part of the first generation with their entire lives documented on social media. Researchers are finding lessons in the streams of their photos.

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Twitter CEO Dick Costolo says the company has to bridge the gap between the brand's global awareness and user engagement.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo says the company has to bridge the gap between the brand's global awareness and user engagement. Ethan Miller/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Industry

Twitter CEO Hopes To Attract Users By Clearing The Clutter

Dick Costolo calls the @ sign "scaffolding" that gets in the way of clear communication. And he says Twitter has to bridge the gap between the brand's global awareness and user engagement.

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It would take more than 1,000 1,200-page volumes to contain the content of Wikipedia, but PediaPress has made an example volume to show what it might look like. "Our goal is to allow everyone to explore the physical dimensions of Wikipedia," says PediaPress founder Christoph Kepper.

It would take more than 1,000 1,200-page volumes to contain the content of Wikipedia, but PediaPress has made an example volume to show what it might look like. "Our goal is to allow everyone to explore the physical dimensions of Wikipedia," says PediaPress founder Christoph Kepper. PediaPress hide caption

itoggle caption PediaPress

Social Web

Printing Wikipedia Would Take 1 Million Pages, But That's Sort Of The Point

A German-based group called PediaPress estimates that a print version of the ever-evolving, online encyclopedia would fill more than 1,000 1,200-page volumes. Now they just need $50,000 to do it.

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A woman looks at her smartphone as she walks by a banner of Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Istanbul on March 21. On Thursday, Turkish court orders banned Internet users from accessing Twitter, but the social media company posted instructions on how to tweet from a phone.

A woman looks at her smartphone as she walks by a banner of Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Istanbul on March 21. On Thursday, Turkish court orders banned Internet users from accessing Twitter, but the social media company posted instructions on how to tweet from a phone. Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images

Social Web

So You Want To Evade Your Country's Twitter Ban? A Workaround

Governments can block sites that they deem dangerous, and for Turkey, that now includes Twitter. How does it work? And how are Turkish residents using it anyway?