Technology • Innovation • Publishing — Issue #105
Innovation
A Code-Obsessed Novelist Builds a Writing Bot to Keep Track of Complex Narratives. The Plot Thickens — www.wired.com ICYMI Vikram Chandra, the author of Sacred Games, created Granthika to keep track of complex narratives. It could change the future of storytelling. #publishing #innovation
AWS launches Amazon Honeycode, a no-code mobile and web app builder — techcrunch.com ICYMI AWS launched Amazon Honeycode, a new, fully managed low-code/no-code development tool that aims to make it easy for anybody in a company to build their own applications. All of this, of course, is backed by a database in AWS and a web-based, drag-and-drop interface builder.
Amazon launches Alexa Conversations in beta, lets developers deep-link skills to mobile apps — venturebeat.com
During Alexa Live, a virtual event for Alexa vendors and developer partners, Amazon unveiled tools designed to enable new Alexa voice experiences.
Amazon is testing its Scout delivery robots in Georgia and Tennessee — www.engadget.com
Amazon expands tests for its Scout delivery robot to Atlanta and Franklin, Tennessee.
Forbes is working with a digital ad video platform to create branded and shoppable content for its website
TikTok Adds ‘Gamified Brand Effect’ Templates to Help Businesses Create More Engaging Promotions — www.socialmediatoday.com
How Pixar uses AI and GANs to create high-resolution content — venturebeat.com RT @RickKing16 Pixar’s machine learning concept called “deep learned super resolution” relies on generative adversarial networks to streamline rendering.
Researchers show FingerTrak, a hand tracking wristband for AR/VR input — venturebeat.com
Cornell’s SciFi Lab has revealed a wristband that uses thermal cameras and a deep neural network to determine the wearer’s hand and finger poses in 3D.
The Spatial Web and Web 3.0 What business leaders should know about the next era of computing — www2.deloitte.com HT @therlabnyc As the Spatial Web/Web 3.0 unfolds, forward-thinking leaders should understand how the next era in computing can transform businesses and create new value.
Technology
Spotify now supports video podcasts — www.theverge.com
Spotify is officially launching video podcast support in all markets that support podcasting on the platform. The company is only making video available for select shows, so not all creators can upload footage.
Instagram tests letting people run their own personal fundraisers — www.theverge.com
Instagram is testing personal fundraisers on its platform starting in the US, UK, and Ireland. This means people can raise money for their own use directly from their profile.
Messenger’s new privacy controls let you secure your chats via Face ID or Touch ID — techcrunch.com Facebook’s messaging app is adding new privacy controls. Initially, this will include App Lock for iOS, which allows users to lock access to their private chats by way of the device’s built-in security mechanisms, including Touch ID and Face ID.
The easiest way to start meditating is now in… Snapchat? — mashable.com Headspace Minis are a new way for Snapchat users to practice mindfulness meditation from within the Snapchat app.
In Rivian, Amazon may have ‘bespoke automobile’ at its service — www.freightwaves.com
Amazon’s investment in electric truck maker Rivian accelerates e-commerce giant’s path to zero-emissions logistics dominance, while altering the balance of power in the electric vehicle marketplace.
Ireland donates its contact tracing app to the Linux Foundation — www.nearform.com RT @newsycombinator
Fox to Show a Virtual Crowd for Televised Baseball Games — apnews.com
This does not seem like a good idea bc pandemic — seeing a maskless crowd.
Regulating technology — www.ben-evans.com RT @benedictevans A new essay: regulating technology. We regulate lots of things, from food to airlines, and now, we’re going to regulate tech. But that means global platforms collide with local regulators, and lots of complexity. This will probably be expensive.
Publishing
NetGalley App Launched
concierge.s3.amazonaws.com ICYMI @NetGalley now has an audiobook and ereading app. I see from Twitter comments that it needs some work, but hopefully a good start. #audiobooks #loveaudiobooks
Audio Revenue Predicted to Overtake Ebook Sales by 2023
myemail.constantcontact.com RT @BoSacks
Tin House leads the latest VIDA Count (again), with NYTBR gaining ground
Barnes and Noble is no longer selling tablets — goodereader.com
Publishers May Have to Scramble If Buyers of LSC’s Assets “Wind-Down” Contracts
lunch.publishersmarketplace.com The bankruptcy of printer LSC and effects on book publishers.
Diverse Representation www.diverserepresentation.com RT @DiverseRep We provide a database of Black agents, managers, attorneys and publicists
Bluestockings Bookstore Looking for New Home — bluestockings.com
New ‘Festival of Licensing’ to Connect Global Licensors and Licensees Virtually — www.publishersweekly.com
The Global Licensing Group has canceled the live version of its London-based Brand Licensing Europe trade show, scheduled for October. Instead, it is launching a global, month-long, virtual Festival of Licensing from October 6–29.
How 2020 has changed our reading lives: Part 1 — company.overdrive.com How has the turbulence of 2020 changed your reading habits? OverDrive chimes in with how current events have impacted their reading lists.
Hearst Magazines president Troy Young has left the company after reports of harassment and ‘toxic’ culture
www.businessinsider.com #magazines #publishingnews
Hearst Magazines Ramps Up Membership, Paywall Rollout — wwd.com
Cosmo Unlocked launched earlier this month, offering readers unlimited digital access for $2 a month.
Google Hands Out Nearly $40 Million to Boost Local News — www.bandt.com.au
Editorial Planeta México in Exclusive Deal With Subscription Service Scribd — publishingperspectives.com Adding some 1,000 titles to its catalogue, the Planeta books bring Scribd’s Spanish-language offer to more than 85,000 titles.
The second wave of media layoffs is here — digiday.com RT @Tech4Pub
Tow Center: since the pandemic began, 100+ outlets have suspended print editions, limited runs, consolidated sections, or discontinued print production entirely — www.cjr.org RT @mediagazer
Business
Analysis of The New York Times acquiring Serial Productions from @nwquah of HotPod
hotpodnews.com New York Times acquiring Serial Productions. This American Life will remain an independent operation, but will collaborate. #podcasting
‘The downloads are back’: Podcasting finishes the first half of 2020 strong — digiday.com RT @DCNorg After a short, sharp drop, podcast downloads have leapt back up to their pre-covid levels, and advertisers keep coming in.
Podcast creators find it challenging to raise ad revenue while preserving high listener engagement; Vox experiments with sponsored show segments or mini-series — digiday.com
Spotify is launching podcast charts to help people discover new shows
TikTok is launching a $200 million fund to pay creators for their videos — www.theverge.com TikTok is launching a major creators fund to help its personalities make a living while creating videos for the platform. It’s a different monetization strategy than YouTube has for its creators.
Walmart is rolling out its Amazon Prime rival this month — here’s how the two members-only subscription services stack up
www.businessinsider.com Walmart+ is a new subscription service that seems custom-made to compete with Amazon Prime, but the two offerings have subtle differences.
Amazon Met With Startups About Investing, Then Launched Competing Products
www.wsj.com RT @rishad “They are using market forces in a really Machiavellian way,” said Jeremy Levine, of Bessemer Venture Partners. “It’s like they are not in any way, shape or form the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing. They are a wolf in wolf’s clothing.”
Google Shopping eliminating commission fees for retailers + opening its platform to 3rd-party providers such as PayPal and Shopify.
www.mediapost.com RT @MediaPost
Amazon does away with the Dash Wand — www.cnet.com
Amazon’s grocery-scanning shopping assistant will no longer be supported.
Resources & Opportunities
Spotify Creative Director Starts Free Ad School Exclusively for Black Students — www.adweek.com Spotify creative director Oriel Davis-Lyons and The One Club start a portfolio program.
Centering Black Creators — www.authorsguild.org RT @AuthorsGuild Monday, 7/27/20, we will host Centering Black Creators, part 2 in “Black Voices: Pushing for Change in Children’s Book Publishing,” a series exploring the journeys of Black authors and illustrators. Join us (DON’T FORGET to register via the link.)
margins. conference | the word — www.thewordfordiversity.org RT @beth_phelan [margins.]: August 1–2, a virtual conference where writers from the margins gather ourselves together to support the growth and development of healthy careers and writing communities. Join @wordisdiversity https://thewordfordiversity.org/margins
New Nieman Visiting Fellowships to focus on newsroom representation, coronavirus coverage
nieman.harvard.edu RT @SarahScire This year, @niemanfdn is tailoring its visiting fellowships to address racial justice and the pandemic. Comes with financial, programmatic, and training support and you can work remotely. Apply now through September 25.
2020 National Book Festival — www.loc.gov RT @nationalbook The 20th annual @librarycongress National Book Festival will be held online September 25–27, featuring many familiar #NBAwards faces including @colsonwhitehead, @geneluenyang, @KaliMaFaja and many more
Submissions Open for PEN America Literary Awards Until 8/15
pen.org RT @PENamerica Submissions for the PEN America Literary Awards are now open! 20 categories award fellowships, grants, and prizes for outstanding writing in fiction, essays, poetry, plays, and more. Learn more and apply now. #PENlitawards
Short Story Award For New Writers — mastersreview.com
Rock Bottom Remainders Support Binc with ‘Don’t Stand by Me’
Virtual Equality Lounge® free events with SAP & Deloitte — The Female Quotient
www.thefemalequotient.com MT @femalequotient Join us for a series of virtual conversations with @sap and @deloitte focused on creating inclusive workplaces, supporting female small business owners, and breaking down systemic inequalities through the power of partnerships
The Disinformation Industrial Complex — www.nycmedialab.org Streaming: Tuesday, July 28, 2020 @ 11:00am EDT From disinformation and privacy to health side effects and anti-trust concerns, the social media giants face big questions ahead. How can we understand this emerging, shadowy industry in an election year? And what is the right role for government in solving these problems? What are the priorities and outlook for change in the US and abroad? Moderator: Sarah Kopit, Social Media Czar and Global Managing Editor at Bloomberg Speakers: Renée DiResta, Technical Research Manager at Stanford Internet Observatory, Jonathan Corpus Ong, Associate Professor of Global Digital Media at UMass Amherst, and Craig Newmark, Founder of craigslist & Craig Newmark Philanthropies
Teaching Google to understand people with Down syndrome, one voice at a time. — projectunderstood.ca HT @bmetrock Awesome initiative from @GoogleAI and @CdnDownSyndrome to collect voice samples from the adult Down syndrome community to improve speech recognition for everyone. #voice #inclusion
Queens Drive-In: Nightly film screenings Wed-Sun — www.queensdrivein.com RT @MovingImageNYC We’re thrilled to announce the Queens Drive-In, presented in partnership w/ @RooftopFilms and @nysci. It opens this August in the heart of the borough at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Be the first to learn about upcoming shows and tickets by signing up at https://queensdrivein.com.
Summer Reading 2020: Book & Kit Distribution — www.nypl.org RT @nypl The Library is partnering with the @nationalbook Foundation and the NYC Department of Education (@NYCSchools) to provide free books and kits with the NYPL’s #SummerReading activities and reading tracker to New York families
Cengage Offers Free College Math Boot Camps
campustechnology.com RT @STEAM_Universe @CengageLearning offers free college math boot camps. #STEAMUniverse #STEM
Map of Universities In Person/Online/Hybrid
public.tableau.com RT @quinnanya Thanks to the @chronicle for making the data about universities’ fall plans easily available for download! I put it on a map, added in some data about student population, and… *gulp*. #COVID19 #C19VFC
Dyson releases more free science experiments for kids in quarantine — www.fastcompany.com RT @FastCompany You’re probably out of craft ideas by now. Introduce your kids to engineering for free.
COVID-19 Response Challenge — transitinnovation.org Questions? Sign up for the info session on July 27th, 12:30pm ET. Apply by August 16, 2020. RT @NYUEntrepreneur How can we make transit safer, healthier and more responsive amid the COVID-19 pandemic? Have an idea? This opportunity may be for you!
