Technology • Innovation • Publishing — Issue #110
Innovation
Foursquare’s digital outdoor ads predict the best times to avoid the crowds — adage.com
People used to use Foursquare to find out where everyone was hanging out. Times have changed. Now, @Foursquare has a new partnership with @LinkNYC that alerts people to when not to go to overly-crowded places.
Amazon rolls out a new AR shopping feature for viewing multiple items at once — techcrunch.com
Amazon is rolling out a new augmented reality shopping tool, Room Decorator, that will allow you to see furniture and other home décor in your own space. It allows you to virtually add multiple products to the room at the same time. #Amazon #AR
Apple reportedly developing augmented reality content for Apple TV Plus — www.cnet.com
Apple plans to add augmented reality content to its Apple TV+ streaming video service. Elements of a TV show, like characters or objects, could be displayed on a viewer’s phone or tablet and integrated into the surrounding environment. #AR
Technology
Apple wants to change the way digital ads work. Facebook hates that idea. You’re in the middle. — www.vox.com
Apple and Facebook are fighting again. This time it’s about ads and privacy.
‘No way to properly manage frequency on two ad servers’: The ad tech hitch in Disney’s and ViacomCBS’s streaming upfront pitches — digiday.com
RT @faris Disney and ViacomCBS are addressing advertisers’ call to stop repeatedly showing people the same ad, but they’ll need to consolidate their ad tech to do so.
Here’s what we know about Google’s Kaleidoscope, a website that combines all of your streaming services in one place — www.fastcompany.com
Google has been working on a new platform called Kaleidoscope. It appears to be a website that combines all of your streaming services in one place — including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus, though conceivably Hulu, HBO Max, and others too.
A deep dive into Apple, Epic, and the App Store — stratechery.com
The App Store is not one thing: it is installation, payments, and customer management; the further Apple gets from iOS, the worse its actions are for users and developers. via @stratechery #Apple
Google launches the Open Usage Commons, a new organization for managing open-source trademarks — techcrunch.com
#opensource #trademarks #Google
Amazon envisions aerial drones pulling skiers and surfers across water, new patent filing reveals — www.geekwire.com
Publishing & Media
Amazon’s Audible Debuts Cheaper Service With Hollywood Stars — www.bloomberg.com
Audible rolling out Audible Plus at $7.95 a month, about half the price of the main plan. Includes original series from Hollywood talent, part of a drive to go beyond books and win over podcast listeners. #audiobooks #podcasting
Vivian Stephens Helped Turn Romance Writing Into a Billion-Dollar Industry. Then She Got Pushed Out. — www.texasmonthly.com
Now, as the Romance Writers of America reckons with its history of racism, will she finally get her due? #publishing
‘Take back some market share from Amazon’: Publishers are testing their own versions of Prime Day — digiday.com
With Amazon Prime Day delayed, publishers with commerce operations are creating their own shopping holidays
Publishing Professionals Push for Diversification Throughout Industry — www.publishersweekly.com
Beyond the hiring of diverse editors, four publishing insiders said in a conversation sponsored by the Aspen Institute that if the needs of BIPOC readers are to be met, the industry must bring more diversity throughout the book publishing ecosystem.
Serious Supply Issues Disrupt the Book Industry’s Fall Season — www.nytimes.com
Capacity issues at the two largest printing companies are among the factors creating havoc for authors and publishers.#bookpublishing #printing
‘It’s worth testing’: GQ is moving from recommending products to selling its own — digiday.com
GQ is looking to deepen its commerce revenue stream with the launch of its new e-commerce store, GQ Shop. #magazines #ecommerce
Flipboard brings its ad-supported ‘Flipboard TV’ video service to all users — techcrunch.com
News app Flipboard is further expanding into video with Flipboard TV, offering access to video from hundreds of publishers, including Dow Jones, Bonnier, Hearst, Gannett, Vice Media, Penske Media, Group Nine Media and Refinery29. #publishing #video
‘The second wave’: Publishers see the value of providing education through newsletter courses — digiday.com
The Wall Street Journal launched its first free, course-style newsletter, the Six-Week Money Challenge, this month. #newsbusiness #publishing
Wired Has Its Sights Set On The Gaming Audience With Planned Launch Of New Dedicated Game Coverage — www.adexchanger.com
In October, Wired will expand its gaming coverage with the launch of a dedicated new sub-vertical focused on everything gaming related. #gaming #media
Meredith Corp Launches Pet Brand ‘Daily Paws,’ Mars Petcare Signs As Launch Sponsor
The brand includes 3 newsletters, browser notifications and a dedicated hub
Vulture to Double Podcast Coverage — nymag.com
Including Nick Quah, from HotPod. #podcasting
Medium Will Start Offering Custom Domains Again
RT @mediagazer Medium says it had 1.2B page views in Q2 and now has “several hundred thousand” paying subscribers, will start offering custom domains again (@ev/ The Official Medium Blog)
News Publisher Trade Group Asks Apple For Better Deal
David Pecker leaves helm of National Enquirer owner American Media — nypost.com
The 68-year-old media tycoon has stepped down as chief executive of the supermarket tabloid’s owner, the company said in a statement. #magazines
120 Black-Owned Bookstores in America That Amplify the Best in Literature — www.oprahmag.com
RT @oprahmagazine We present to you our official directory of Black-owned bookstores in America. There are plenty to choose from so you can safely shop right now, no matter how much (or little) the nation is focused on a longtime continuing struggle.
Harlequin Launches Diverse Voices Scholarships — www.publishersweekly.com
Harlequin is developing a diversity scholarship program, the Harlequin Diverse Voices Scholarship, offering $2,000 in financial support to emerging writers.
Business
Amazon is delivering nearly two-thirds of its own packages as e-commerce continues pandemic boom — www.cnbc.com
Despite Amazon’s surge in volume and the gains it made in self-delivery, UPS and FedEx also saw a boost in volume in July, according to Ship Matrix.
Germany’s anti-trust authority has launched an investigation into Amazon’s relationship with third-party traders selling on its site — www.reuters.com
The Event Industry Is Being Confronted By Its Napster Moment — skift.com
Walmart is teaming up with Microsoft on TikTok bid — www.cnbc.com
Walmart said TikTok’s integration of e-commerce and advertising “is a clear benefit to creators and users in those markets.” #TikTok #Microsoft
Resources & Opportunities
Free Virtual Burning Man — journal.burningman.org
RT @burningman The gate to the Multiverse opens at 12:01am PST on Monday, August 31! Read on for a peek at some mind-blowing experiences you’ll find inside the eight Universes of the Multiverse, and find out how to get in, the tech you’ll need, and more.
Emerging Writer Awards — Key West Literary Seminar — www.kwls.org
RT @victorlavalle Emerging writers alert! Poets, short story writers, and novelists who haven’t published a book with a major publisher are eligible. Cash honorarium & trip to 2022 Key West Lit Seminar. Sept. 15 deadline. Get! It!
Udacity Pledge to Equality Scholarship — www.udacity.com
RT @udacity Apply for our Pledge to Equality Scholarship program! The scholarship is designed to increase educational & professional opportunities for underrepresented groups — starting with the Black community. Submit your app now!
Free college essay feedback to kids who can’t afford it — twitter.com
RT @lindsaycrouse Are you a kid from a low-income family applying to college? I’m a writer-editor & former Harvard admissions interviewer. This fall I’ll give free college essay feedback to kids who can’t afford it. (Independent from my NYTimes work.) Send me your essay Lindsay.crouse7@gmail.com
