Technology • Innovation • Publishing — Issue #98

Kathy Sandler

7 min readJun 8, 2020

By Kathy Sandler • Issue #98 • View online

Please scroll down to the resources section — hope you find it helpful!

Innovation

How certification can promote responsible innovation in the algorithmic age thenextweb.com • Share

How Baidu’s AI produces news videos using just a URL thenextweb.com • Share

Facebook wants to make thought-hearing glasses www.protocol.com • Share

Pinterest adds a ‘Shop’ tab to its Lens Camera search results to showcase matching in-stock products As more retailers are bringing their products online via Pinterest, the company this morning is launching a new “Shop” tab in its Lens camera search results that will show the matching in-stock merchandise similar to a photo you take of something offline in the real world or even uploaded as a screenshot. techcrunch.com • Share

Technology

Predictive modeling technology was designed to perpetuate racism for decades HT @nycmedialab www.technologyreview.com • Share

There’s software used across the country to predict future criminals. And it’s biased against blacks. HT @nycmedialab Researchers and journalists have played a vital role in highlighting the lack of transparency and the algorithmic unfairness across the country. ProPublica’s recent look at machine bias in criminal justice system algorithms showed that only 20% of people predicted to commit violence actually went on to do so. Flipping a coin in the courtroom would have been far more effective at predicting recidivist behavior. “The formula was particularly likely to falsely flag black defendants as future criminals, wrongly labeling them this way at almost twice the rate as white defendants.” www.propublica.org • Share

Kids now spend nearly as much time watching TikTok as YouTube in US, UK and Spain techcrunch.com • Share

Facebook begins placing labels on posts by ‘state-controlled media’ thenextweb.com • Share

Publishing

#PUBLISHINGPAIDME You may have seen a lot about the disparity for publishing advances and marketing for black authors using this hashtag on Twitter. Here is a link to add more info and see a spreadsheet. docs.google.com • Share

54 Black-Owned Bookstores That Need Our Support It’s imperative that we do all we can to fight systemic racism. If you’re looking to support Black-owned businesses, find a Black-owned bookstore near you. www.epicreads.com • Share

Raise Anti-Racist Kids with Board Books for Younger Children A book roundup from my friend, @miralsattar, who writes alternative modern fairy tales with diverse characters and a lot less violence. bearilybear.com • Share

As Audiobook Market Grows, Narrators of Color Find Their Voice Audiobook publishers are increasingly hiring narrators of color, a response to a broader range of stories and desire for the voice talent to reflect that diversity www.nytimes.com • Share

Apple News+ will have Audio Stories soon Apple News+ will have audio editions of major stories within the next month — a subscriber only feature. goodereader.com • Share

Washington Post makes major move into local news The @washingtonpost has signed all 30 of McClatchy’s local news outlets to its Zeus Performance product. www.axios.com • Share

Business

Amazon’s New Competitive Advantage: Putting Its Own Products First RT @LWShanley “Amazon has 45 private-label brands with a total of 243,000 products available” -> Brands have long been able to bid for the premier slot at the top left of Amazon’s listings, but during the pandemic the online retailer has begun using this position for its private-label items, raising antitrust concerns. www.propublica.org • Share

Shanghai Fashion Week: The first entirely digital fashion week This is a trend to watch — Consumers could buy directly through ecommerce. fashionunited.uk • Share

Resources

Smart idea from Lauren Zalaznick — donate to a charity based on this bingo.

@PocPub looking for POC mentors in editorial, agenting/scouting, marketing, publicity, and design. E-mail sabasulaiman.com/#/contact

Apply to be a Girls Write Now Mentor or Mentee by 6/8 RT @girlswritenow For over 20 years, Girls Write Now has been committed to fighting injustice and creating an inclusive space for NYC teen girls and gender non-conforming youth. Join our movement and apply to be a mentee or mentor by Monday, June 8! www.girlswritenow.org • Share

We Need Diverse Books Walter Grants RT @diversebooks We are still accepting Walter Grant applications! WNDB will award 10 grants of $2000 each to unpublished diverse writers and illustrators. diversebooks.org • Share

#DrawingWhileBlack Directory 2020 MT @abellehayford The #drawingwhileblack directory is now updated! This is a great resource to find a black artists in fields like Illustration, Animation, Graphic Design, Comics, etc! Please check it out! docs.google.com • Share

Pineapple Street on Twitter: “At Pineapple, we’re committed to amplifying Black voices. We’re offering free one-on-one sessions for Black creators who want podcasting advice. That can mean pitch feedback, script notes, business advice, tech training, etc. Email Hiya@pineapple.fm to schedule your session!” twitter.com • Share

Elle Keck on Twitter: “I often don’t feel like I have a lot of power in publishing but that is my privilege talking. I must recognize the power that I have and use it. My DMs are now open-if you are a Black romance author who is unagented, please DM me” twitter.com • Share

Molly Cusick on Twitter: “Starting today I will be accepting submissions from unagented Black writers in the picture book, middle grade, and YA fiction categories. This is an open-ended offer. THREAD: (1/5)” twitter.com • Share

Jess Haberman on Twitter: “At O’Reilly, we’re committed to sharing the knowledge of Black innovators in tech. I’m offering free 1:1 sessions for Black tech experts who want publishing advice or pitch feedback, or who want to pitch a book or online training. DM me to schedule a call.” twitter.com • Share

Jess Zimmerman on Twitter: “Hey y’all, I have a little budget flexibility right now and can pay Black authors above our usual rate for essays about books/writing/storytelling media. Does not have to be about race/violence/protests though other topics may take longer to pub…. Email jess@electricliterature.com with a brief but thorough description of the piece you want to write — not just topic, but point.” twitter.com • Share

RT @africanvoices Please join @africanvoices @reelsisters for an interactive online workshop on protecting your writing, films, music & art in the marketplace! Learn how to copyright & trademark your creative content on June 9, 2020! www.eventbrite.com • Share

RT @cavecanempoets Cave Canem seeks a Development Manager who is passionate about fundraising, grants management, donor engagement and the literary arts! cavecanempoets.org • Share