May 10, 2021
Technology • Innovation • Publishing — Issue #144
Innovation
Can We Live to 200? Here’s a Roadmap — www.nytimes.com
43 advances that could radically extend life spans over the next 100 years.
Technology
Instagram will now let you auto-caption Stories with just a sticker — www.theverge.com
Instagram now has a captions sticker for Stories, which transcribes speech in videos that can then be edited. It’s rolling out for English first. #Instagram
Twitter Tip Jar, a new way to give and receive money on Twitter
MT @Twitter show your love, leave a tip now testing Tip Jar, a new way to give and receive money on Twitter 💸 more coming soon…
Eying a future subscription service, Twitter acquires the ad-free news startup Scroll
RT @NiemanLab The acquisition of Scroll — and, previously, the newsletter company Revue — are part of something called “Longform” taking shape at Twitter.
Twitter expands Spaces to anyone with 600+ followers, details plans for tickets, reminders and more
Twitter Spaces, the company’s new live audio rooms feature, is opening up more broadly. The company announced it’s making Twitter Spaces available to any account with 600 followers or more, including both iOS and Android users. It also officially unveiled some of the features it’s preparing to launch, like Ticketed Spaces, scheduling features, reminders, etc.
Clubhouse is funding 50 pilot audio shows from creators — www.theverge.com
Clubhouse has announced the first creators to benefit from its accelerator program. The audio-based social network is styling these shows as “pilots” and says today’s announcement covers just an initial cohort of creators.
Zoom’s Immersive View puts up to 25 people inside one virtual background — www.engadget.com
Zoom is launching Immersive View, a new feature that can assemble up to 25 participants in front of the same virtual scene. It’s similar to the feature in Microsoft Teams called “Together Mode.”
Twitter begins to show prompts before people send ‘mean’ replies
Deepfake satellite imagery poses a not-so-distant threat, warn geographers — www.theverge.com
Scary stuff! Deepfakes are usually associated with imagery of AI-generated people, but what about fake satellite imagery? Geographers say such deepfakes could be used to spread misinformation and even mislead the military.
Google’s Plan for the Future of Work: Privacy Robots and Balloon Walls
Neat designs! The company that helped popularize open office plans and lavish employee perks is trying to reinvent office spaces to cope with workplace sensibilities changed by the pandemic.
Thanks to Instagram, NYC Chefs Aren’t Sure If They Want to Return to Restaurants — ny.eater.com
Laid-off chefs used the platform to sell food during the pandemic. As restaurants reopen, many former staffers are reconsidering their career paths.
Crocs is giving away 10,000 pairs of shoes a day to health care heroes — www.goodmorningamerica.com
HT @thejossgroup Crocs is bringing back its “Free Pair for Healthcare” initiative to give free shoes to healthcare heroes.
EU accuses Apple of antitrust breach after Spotify complaint
EU regulators accused Apple of violating antitrust laws, alleging that Apple distorts competition for music streaming by imposing unfair rules for rival services in its App Store. The EU’s objected to Apple’s rules for music streaming services that compete with its Apple Music service, saying they end up costing consumers more and limiting their choices. The charges underscore the long-running feud over app payments between Apple and Spotify, which filed a complaint that sparked the investigation — one of four the company is facing from the EU. Regulators in Brussels are also investigating other big U.S. tech companies like Amazon and Google, amid a growing global movement to rein in their power. #Apple
Data leak implicates over 200,000 people in Amazon fake product review scam
www.zdnet.com
Names, email addresses, and PayPal details were exposed and left online.
Amazon poised to overtake Walmart as largest retailer by 2025
After update, only 4 percent of iOS users in U.S. let apps track them
ICYMI Data from Flurry Analytics shows that iPhone users are taking advantage of the iOS 14.5 privacy update that lets them limit ad tracking.
Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee of Vayner Media) launched his own NFTs
Publishing & Media
Hearst offers buyouts to all staffers in magazine sales and marketing — nypost.com
HT @BoSacks Hearst Magazines, which has mostly avoided layoffs since the pandemic began, said it will offer voluntary buyouts to all its sales and marketing employees as well as the iCrossing digital ad agency in the US. #Hearst #magazines
Verizon sells internet trailblazers Yahoo and AOL for $5B
ICYMI AOL and Yahoo are being sold again, this time to a private equity firm. Wireless company Verizon will sell Verizon Media, which consists of the once-pioneering tech platforms, to Apollo Global Management in a $5 billion deal.
Forbes Media Said in Talks to Be Acquired by GSV-Led Group
Forbes Media LLC has entered exclusive talks to be acquired by a group led by Michael Moe’s GSV Asset Management, in a deal that values the business-news publisher at more than $600 million.
Gray Is Said to Near Deal to Buy Meredith’s TV Stations
Gray Television is in advanced discussions to acquire Meredith Corp.’s 17 broadcast TV stations for more than $2.5 billion. A sale would allow Meredith to focus on its magazine division. #MagazineBiz #TVBiz
Meredith’s digital ads outpacing print for first time in its history
www.desmoinesregister.com
The media company’s digital ad revenue has now outpaced the print product for three consecutive quarters, going back to last summer
NBCUniversal Explores Streaming Its Sports Channels or Selling Them Off
www.wsj.com
Media giant has weighed options for its regional sports channels as the company tries to figure out a future for a business under increasing pressure.
Alden Global Capital has signaled it plans to saddle Tribune Publishing with debt that could further hollow out the company
The Athletic Halts Merger Talks With Axios, Eyes New York Times
The Athletic is no longer in merger talks with Axios, so the sports-media outlet has turned to the New York Times for a possible tie-up.
Twitter launches national campaign to boost local news — www.axios.com
Amid the pandemic, local news companies have suffered devastating financial blows. Twitter will launch a major advertising and social media campaign urging people to follow local journalists and support their work.
Exclusive: YouTube spending $7 million on 2 new journalism programs
www.axios.com
It’s the 1st time YouTube is funding journalism independently of Google’s $300 million Google News Initiative.
Historic Home of Warwick’s Saved After Friends Raise Millions — www.publishersweekly.com
More than 30 people raised $8.35 million to buy the building that houses Warwick’s bookstore in La Jolla, Calif., saving it from having to move from where it has operated since 1952. #LoveBookstores
Exciting Book Adaptations to Watch Out For
RT @nypl Read these books before they hit the big screen!
Stacey Abrams’s first three romance novels, written under the pen name Selena Montgomery, will return to bookstores next year — www.nytimes.com
Men Read Romance Subscription Box
MT @LyssaKayAdams Cool news! I’m launching a subscription box called Men Read Romance! Boxes don’t start shipping until August 1, but I have a wait list starting TODAY!!
Children’s Authors Show Off Their Treasures on ‘Antiques Roadshow’ — www.publishersweekly.com
ICYMI Jason Reynolds, the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Arthur creator Marc Brown, and cartoonist Mo Willems show off their literary treasures on special episodes of ‘Antiques Roadshow.’
How COVID-era Federal Writers Project became a proposed bill — www.latimes.com
Congressman Ted Lieu introduced the 21st Century Federal Writers’ Project act on May 6. It all started with an article by David Kipen in the L.A. Times
Discover Shelf Help — The New York Public Library’s new personalized book selection service
MT @nypl Don’t know what to read next? With Shelf Help, our expert librarians will pick five books just for you!
Resources & Opportunities
Pride Book Fest 2021 — twitter.com
RT @pridebookfest ✨📣ANNOUNCING 📣✨ 🏳️🌈 PRIDE BOOK FEST! 🏳️🌈 An independent book festival designed to celebrate LGBTQ+ authors, books, & voices! Our inaugural weekend kicks off JUNE 11th-13th! We have nearly 60 queer authors participating & THE COOLEST panels planned! Y’all are not even ready!
Vox Media Writers Workshop
MT @nycmariya Today, I launched the @voxmedia writers workshop, a free training and mentorship program that pairs editors & writers from @TheCut @NYMag @Eater @voxdotcom @verge @polygon @SBNation with aspiring journalists
Native Children’s and YA Writing Intensive — diversebooks.org
RT @WritersProgram The Native Children’s & YA Writing Intensive through @diversebooks offers an opportunity for reflection, conversation, celebration, and manuscript + career development to Native/First Nations writers. $100 reg; scholarships available. App deadline: 6/1
DiverseVoices Mentorship Program
MT @_DiverseVoices 1 week left to apply to our mentorship programs! We are especially looking for applicants to #DVdebut, the one in which seasoned book creators help marginalized book creators through their debut experience. apply here (deadline May 15)
Apply for Ed2010’s Mentor Matching Program for Recent Grads — Ed2010
MT @Ed2010News Here at Ed2010, we know that #mentorshipmatters. Join Ed’s Mentor Program for recent grads and junior editors and make career friendships that will last a lifetime.
BIPOC Mentorship Program — Transatlantic Agency
RT @leonicka: @TransLitAgency is starting a BIPOC Mentorship program for folks interested in learning more about becoming a literary agent & starting a career in publishing! Applications open June 1 and the program launches in the fall!
The New York Times Editing Residency — www.nytco.com
The new residency will foster the next generation of editors, giving them the tools and extensive training they need to help shape journalism in the future. Applications open in early June.
Re:Growth: A Celebration of Art, Riverside Park and the New York Spirit 6/5
Riverside Park Conservancy art exhibition event.
Come for the FREE screening, stay for the exclusive Q&A — www.womensmediagroup.org
Join @WMG_NYC on 5/20 from 6–8pm ET as we stream the meet-cute Hallmark film “Love to the Rescue” written by WMG member @sarahemontana + Q&A after the movie. Sign up today!
Auction for Margaret Atwood and Joyce Carol Oates in Conversation to Benefit The Pelee Island Bird Observatory
Join cagey wordsters and long-time friends Joyce Carol Oates and Margaret Atwood as they discuss writing and other matters of the literary life.
COVID vaccine sites in NYC — No appointment needed
RT @nycshotslots The city updated the walk-up poster and added lots of new sites. Any US resident 16 and older can show up to these locations without an appointment. Sites listed here take first and second dose walk-ups.
Chef José Andrés Will Offer Newly Vaccinated People $50 Gift Cards For His D.C.-Area Restaurants — dcist.com
