Technology • Innovation • Publishing — Issue #204
Important Items
Just 3 Weeks Post-Roe, The Stories Emerging Are Worse Than Anyone Imagined
jezebel.com
We knew it would be awful. We knew pregnant people’s lives would be threatened. We didn’t know it would all happen so fast.
South Carolina bill outlaws websites that tell how to get an abortion
RT @PENamerica As the fall of #RoeVWade triggers a flood of new legislation, an adjacent battleground is emerging over the future of internet freedoms and privacy in states across the country.
Roe’s Reversal is Affecting Patients’ Access to Meds (And They’re Not Seeking Abortions)
ICYMI Patients w autoimmune diseases are being denied the drug methotrexate, which treats their conditions but is also known to cause pregnancy loss. via @theSkimm. What happens if patients are male or post-menopausal? If they could get it, it would be discrimination, right?
How Will Big Tech Respond to the end of Roe? Look Abroad
Meta and Google’s content policies restrict abortion rights groups worldwide, YouTube bans abortion ads globally, and Google bans abortion ads in many countries.
Men Make 48% More Than Women in the Gig Economy, Study Finds
Even in the freelancing industry, women are falling behind men on wages. “All of the research on negotiations shows if women negotiate under the same exact verbal script as a man, a woman is seen as cold and selfish.”
Innovation
How Crypto Is Evolving the Future of Books and Publishing
HT @publishingtrend A nice round-up of some #Web3 and #Crypto initiatives in book publishing
We’re one AI and brainwave experiment away from x-ray vision
Researchers at the University of Glasgow are working to combine artificial intelligence + human brainwaves to identify objects around the corner — objects that humans can’t normally see because it’s around a corner. It’s called a “ghost imaging” system. #AI
Exploring the Metaverse
MT @TheTiltNews In the #metaverse, people want gamified, contextual experiences. They want to carry their digital persona across the metaverse and the real world. And they want skin in the game. People see no boundaries between their digital & real-world activities. Via @HarvardBiz
Hearst UK takes events business into the metaverse with Cosmopolitan on Roblox — pressgazette.co.uk
Arkive is building the world’s first decentralized museum
HT @paulkbiba Arkive’s goal is to create a community of everyday people who want to curate, own and create culture by opening access to an exclusive asset class: museums.
Apple iPhone Patent with lasers — www.forbes.com
These could be used for different functions such as biometrics, used for the detection of particulate matter and therefore be able to report air quality, and used in gaming. And it it hints that Apple may be thinking of using lasers for part of the camera’s operation. #Apple
Meta launches AI knowledge tool based on open web content
The Meta research team has open sourced Sphere, which is currently based on 134 million public web pages. #AI
Amazon launches cancer vaccine clinical trial in partnership with Fred Hutchinson
www.cnbc.com
Amazon is listed as a collaborator on a filing for an FDA-approved clinical trial, which seeks to develop vaccines to treat breast and skin cancers.
Since September, Time has created more than 20,000 TimePiece NFTs, generating a $10 million profit and $600,000 for charities — www.cnbc.com
Outside Magazine Wants the Metaverse to Take a Hike
Outside Interactive is leaning into Web3 with an “anti-metaverse” NFT platform. “Our underlying goal is to get people outside.” The fitness lifestyle media company’s “anti-metaverse”platform will give users incentive to ski, run, bike or hike using NFTs and other rewards.
There’s a “Museum of Failure” in Sweden which highlights 150+ failed products. It’s meant to show that innovation requires risk-taking and failure.
MT @TrungTPhan Here are 10 gems you may not remember.
The Great Fiction of AI
A fascinating look at #AI fiction writing tools like Sudowrite, which proposes plot twists, rewrites in specific tones, suggests metaphors, and more.
YOU = Start-up
MT @rishad It may be time to do the RE-IMAGINING exercise. Four simple steps to unleash, create, build. Imagine you are a new competitor trying to disrupt or replace you. With all your assets, none of your legacy thinking and limited constraints what would you do?
Technology
Minecraft Is Banning NFTs Because They Create ‘Scarcity and Exclusion,’ Contrary to Platform’s Values
variety.com
Minecraft notified players that “integrations of NFTs with Minecraft are generally not something we will support or allow.”
As AI language skills grow, so do scientists’ concerns
MT @michellemanafy More about the @BigScienceLLM Open-science Open-access Multilingual Language Model.
Postmedia signs deal with Google to be compensated for news articles
HT @michellemanafy Google says more than 1,500 publishers from around the world are participating in the program. Postmedia, which publishes the National Post & newspapers and news sites around Canada, is the latest publisher to join.
Analyzing Apple’s growth strategy: The business moves hinting at the secretive $2T+ giant’s strategic future — www.cbinsights.com
From digital health to AI, we look at where Apple is acquiring, investing, and partnering. Discover the Apple strategy map.
Apple agrees to pay $50 million to settle issues related to its ‘butterfly’ keyboards
Meta Hit With Massive Piracy Lawsuit Over Epidemic Sound Royalty-Free Music
HT @paulkbiba Epidemic Sound has hit Meta with a massive copyright lawsuit after its royalty-free content was hosted by Meta & viewed billions of times.
Facebook is revamping its home feed to feel more like TikTok — www.theverge.com
Facebook splits the Feed on iOS and Android into Home, a TikTok-style tab with recommended content, and Feeds, a chronological tab of followed pages and people.
Instagram is making almost all videos Reels and will show them to way more people
From now on, if you post a public video on Instagram, unless it’s really long (over 15 mins), it will become a Reel, and you are just one algorithmic choice away from having a viral moment, which feels more like a TikTok kind of consideration. Videos under 90 seconds from public accounts will be recommended to others.
Nearly half of Gen Z is using TikTok and Instagram for search instead of Google, according to Google’s own data
HT @miralsattar A Google executive said the company’s data shows TikTok and Instagram are a threat to Google Search with Gen Z, and Google is working to keep up.
SoundCloud, Warner Music Group Strike Deal on Fan-Powered Royalties
WMG’s artists w songs on SoundCloud can get paid based on the number of individuals streaming their music. This is something most people believe already exists but doesn’t with any streaming platform.
Amazon is slowly turning Alexa into a totally automated virtual assistant
Amazon is automating Alexa through routines, assistants and universal commands. At its Alexa Live developer event, Amazon announced new tools that make it easier to build useful skills and easier to teach people how to find and use them.
Amazon is buying primary care tech provider One Medical for $3.9B
ICYMI Amazon plans to acquire primary health care provider One Medical, which offers in-person, digital, and virtual services, for about $3.9B in an all-cash deal.
A 700,000 square-foot Amazon warehouse in Nebraska was supposed to create 1,000 jobs, but is sitting empty as the company delays opening new facilities
www.businessinsider.com
Amazon will delay the opening of a new Nebraska warehouse even though construction was nearly finished, adding to a growing list of warehouse delays.
Reddit’s advertising policy seems to differ from subreddit to subreddit
RT @michellemanafy A Reddit spokesperson told @MarketingBrew that every new subreddit is labeled no_ads until it goes through a “manual human review” to gauge if it’s considered safe. Subreddits labeled as some_ads require advertisers to “opt-in or opt-out of ads.
Collaboration and customization in Ads Creative Studio — blog.google
MT @TheTiltNews Google’s free Ad Creator Studio lets you customize 100s of versions of single display or video ads based on audience, location, language, or another context. You also can use this as a central repository for ads you want to use outside Google.
YouTube will let creators sell products directly through a Shopify partnership
www.theverge.com
YouTube and Shopify are partnering to allow YouTube creators to link their storefronts on the platform and display products. YouTube also announced it would expand live shopping features to all eligible creators.
InDesign in denial or in decline? Then innovate! — colecandoo.com
RT @colecandoo InDesign’s Innovation saw it overtake Quark Xpress, but is that innovation still there? With users scripting their own solutions and competitors catching up, InDesign’s developers should definitely take notice of their user voice, community and challenges.
Publishing & Media
TikTok launches virtual book club, starting with Austen’s Persuasion
www.thebookseller.com
TikTok has created a virtual book club for users to find new titles and read along together, starting with Jane Austen’s Persuasion, first published in 1817.
Amazon Self-Publishers Eye Emerging Legal Arena to Fight Piracy
news.bloomberglaw.com
Self-published authors must constantly battle counterfeits when they choose to publish with Amazon, a vertically integrated powerhouse that they don’t always find responsive to or proactive about infringement claims. A new small-claims court could provide a fresh avenue to recover revenue lost to counterfeit sales, but Amazon’s restrictive author contracts and the sheer number of third-party sellers on the platform spur questions about how effective any after-the-fact legal remedy can be.
Sample query letters, book proposals, a guide to looking up agents, and more
From Literary Agent @ericsmithrocks.
Dana Canedy to Step Down As Simon & Schuster Publisher to Write A sequel to her memoir “A Journal for Jordan”
lunch.publishersmarketplace.com
CEO Jonathan Karp will “resume my previous role of publisher for the foreseeable future.”
Welcome to the library of the 21st century
www.cbsnews.com
No shushing here! The modern library is more than just a repository of books — they’re public spaces designed to foster connections while keeping pace with technology and the needs of the community. Come check it out!
Libraries must stop pretending they can be neutral about human rights
prismreports.org
Library workers should proactively strengthen policies and practices to fight book bans and prioritize social justice
Op-Ed: Why inappropriate books are the best kind
RT @PENamerica “Part of the joy of reading — its essential fiber, if you will — is the way it can disturb us, disrupting our preconceptions and easy pieties.” Check out @davidulin’s @latimes op-ed in response to the spread of book bans across the country.
It’s not just books: Comics grapple with bans amid growing culture wars
RT @PENamerica Librarians, lawyers and comics experts gathered for panel discussions at this year’s @comic_con to discuss the challenges faced by comic books as a surge of book bans sweep the country.
Web Comics Are Bringing in New Readers
Web comics have exploded in popularity, in part by tapping into an audience the industry had long overlooked: Gen Z and Millennial women. The stories they offer are mostly free and scroll vertically on smartphones, where readers under 25 live.
Picture Books Center Joy While Portraying Disability — www.slj.com
Normalizing disability can and should begin in childhood, with nuanced and joyful representation. These creators are doing just that. Via @sljournal.
Hong Kong Book Fair Opened with Fewer Political Books
MT @PENamerica Hong Kong’s annual book fair opened, with several publishers of political books prevented from taking part in the fair and others saying they had to be cautious about what they exhibited.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwell, Is Book Aid International’s New Patron — publishingperspectives.com
Taking up the late Duke of Edinburgh’s patronage, Camilla now advocates for Book Aid International’s work of providing access to books.
Michelle Obama’s THE LIGHT WE CARRY Publishing Globally by PRH November 15, 2022 — global.penguinrandomhouse.com
House of the Dragon — Game of Thrones Prequel coming in August to HBO — ew.com
The cast and creators of ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel ‘House of the Dragon’ go back to the heyday of the Targaryen empire in Westeros… and the civil war that tore it all down. #ReadTheBook1st #teamPRH
Being well read could be the best defense to early onset Alzheimer’s
How to get back in the habit of reading
www.vox.com
There are many great reasons to develop a practice of reading, even when your brain feels like mush.
Book Twitter Will Always Be at War With Itself
“Swiss army knife that keeps adding blades” — How publishers are using newsletters to multiply audience and revenues
Newsletters are “the old medium that never quite went away, the publisher’s swiss army knife that keeps adding blades,” states the latest edition of FIPP’s annual Innovation in Media Report.
Why publishers are investing in their archive content
The Atlantic has just launched 165 years of historic archive content.
Publishers: 4 strategies to grow and retain digital audiences
HT @TheTiltNews Rolling Stone UK’s digital director offers four strategies on finding and keeping audiences Strategies to discover and retain digital audiences are one of the biggest focuses for today’s digital publishers.
Money magazine, once a prominent Time Inc. title, is profitable again in online-only form as a niche consumer finance brand
HT @mediagazer The former print journal, now online only, has built a business providing answers to search queries.
Mel Mag Lays Off Entire Staff, Again
RT @michellemanafy MEL, which focuses on men’s culture through a hipster lens, has been owned by Recurrent Ventures since 2021. Today, Recurrent, which also owns media brands liked Field & Stream and Domino, laid off the entire staff
MIT Press Opened the Access to 3,480 books
MT @RobertaArielli There are 196 #linguistics books, and 3,480 books in all disciplines, and counting. Via @mitpress.
Byron Allen is acquiring Black News Channel out of bankruptcy for $11 million as he seeks to revive the cable news network — www.wsj.com
Using front page ads, editorials, Gannett lobbying Congress to help them compete with Google, Facebook
American Journalism Project invests $3.15 million in three local, nonprofit news organizations — www.theajp.org
RT @michellemanafy The American @journalismproj announced $3.15 million in new support for three nonprofit news organizations: Verite, a sister newsroom of Mississippi Today launching this fall in New Orleans, ICT (formerly Indian Country Today) & NYC’s THE CITY
Twenty-five newsrooms will receive $20,000 grants to deploy an improved publishing solution, in third year of Knight initiative in partnership with News Revenue Hub
A New Kind of Partnership: Journalists and Civil Society Organizations Are Teaming Up
HT @mediagazer A look at collaborations between media outlets and civil society organizations, which are becoming more common as a way to bolster investigative work.
On Twitter, The NY Times Dips a Toe Into Live Audio
www.nytimes.com
The newsroom sees Twitter Spaces, a live audio platform on the social media app, as a staging ground. It might be less polished, “but it also has that reality.”
Resources & Opportunities
NaNoWriMo
MT @diversebooks #StoryIsPower! This summer, @nanowrimo and WNDB have teamed up to invest in our shared creative community and deepen our commitment to joy and social justice. We aim to raise $40,000 for various initiatives, including:
- fighting book bans sweeping the U.S.
- broadening access to creative writing globally
- continuing to build an inclusive, creative community that celebrates storytelling as an important lever for equity & justice
BIPOC Editorial Training Program at Sourcebooks
HT @EditorChrista If you live in the U.S., you can apply for this remote, stipend-paid 10 week program. They are accepting resumes until 8/19. #teamPRH
Publishers: Submit to The Walter Awards
MT @diversebooks Publishers: we are accepting submissions for the 2023 Walter Awards! Every year, WNDB honors outstanding diverse books and buys 2000 copies of the winning titles to distribute to schools/libraries across the US.
Banned Books Week digital assets from the American Booksellers Association — www.bookweb.org
Support the right to read, and help spread the word about Banned Books Week September 18–24, 2022 with these social media graphics, posters, handouts, and more!
Attn. Female and Non-Binary Podcasters
International Women’s Podcast Awards extended to 7/25 Midnight BST (5pm EST).
Online Festival of Creative Operations 2022
MT @HSCreativeOps We are excited to announce the Festival of Creative Operations 2022 will be returning online this September! Brands/Agencies can currently register for free for the event. Join the LinkedIn event to be kept up to date. #FestivalofCreativeOps
Attn. Designers
Share your info and a portfolio of work to be considered for a spot on the Adobe 2022 CoCreate: MAX Team. All creators are welcome, and all positions are paid.
Latinx Illustrators Interested in Book Cover Design
RT @LatinxinPub Are you a latine artist/illustrator interested in book cover design? Fill out this form so we can connect you with our LxP community members in the publishing industry!
Teachers, Librarians, Booksellers, and Changemakers! — sites.prh.com
RT @PenguinClass Looking to #TeachChange in your class for #BacktoSchool2022? Bring @TheAmandaGorman & @lorenlong’s CHANGE SINGS into your class or library! Get FREE activities, videos, guides, and more! #teamPRH
#AAJA22
RT @PENamerica If you are attending @aaja’s annual conference in LA, make sure you don’t miss PEN America’s @ViktoryaVilk and @JejeRMohamed’s workshop on how to protect yourself from hacking & doxing on 7/27 at 10AM PT! #AAJA22 #FightOnlineAbuseNow
Reading Rocks! Join NYPL Dance Party NYC — www.nypl.org
RT @nypl One day, five boroughs — join us on Aug 6 for #DancePartyNYC, a joyous citywide festival of music and movement! #FestivalOfNY
Voter Information: Get Informed & Vote — www.nypl.org
RT @nypl Register to vote in the NY State Primary Election! July 29 is the final voter registration deadline. Check your voter registration status.
