Innovation
Pikmin game by Pokemon Go creators coming this year — www.cnet.com
Niantic, the developers behind Pokemon Go, is bringing out a new Pikmin game this year. It’s one of two upcoming collaborations with Nintendo.
Scientists developed a clever way to detect Deepfakes by analyzing light reflections in the eyes — thenextweb.com
This sounds promising — let’s hope that it works: #AI
How Snapchat’s AR capabilities are boosting its commerce efforts — www.modernretail.co
More quietly, Snapchat — much like TikTok — is also positioning itself as a more commerce-friendly space. #AR
Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset will reportedly weigh less than an iPhone
www.theverge.com
Apple’s long-rumored mixed reality headset could weigh less than 150 grams, according Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, which would make it much lighter than many other headsets on the market.
Technology
Facebook’s Looking to Launch Audio-Only Rooms to Hook Into the Social Audio Trend — bizinstant.com
Yes, Facebook’s Clubhouse clone is coming, and it could be here very soon, according to a new discovery in the back-end code of the app. As you would expect, with the sudden rise of audio social, Facebook has also been working on its own live audio meeting rooms feature. #Facebook
YouTube’s new tool will warn creators if they’re using copyrighted content — www.theverge.com
YouTube’s new copyright tracking tool, Checks, will help creators spot and sort out copyright claim disputes before they ever publish the video. This will help creators earn as much ad revenue as possible. #copyright
Intel to spend $20 billion to build two new major chip factories in Arizona amid the global chip shortage — www.cnbc.com
Intel also said on Tuesday that it will act as a “foundry,” or a manufacturing partner, for other chip companies.
Motorola phones will now include endangered languages from Latin America — www.theverge.com
Motorola has added support for two new indigenous languages spoken in the Amazon — Kaingang and Nheengatu — as part of a larger effort to make technology more accessible. They’ll both be available on all Motorola Android devices with Android 11.
Amazon to Stream Yankees After Covid-19 Derailed 2020 Plans — www.bloomberg.com
Amazon.com Inc.’s pandemic-delayed plan to stream the New York Yankees launches April 18, part of the online giant’s growing portfolio of sports broadcasts.
Amazon quietly builds a grocery chain during pandemic — www.digitalcommerce360.com
ICYMI HT @BISG The first Amazon Fresh store opened to the public in LA in Sep. Store №11 opened in March, and Amazon is working on at least 28. It’s testing “Just Walk Out” cashierless shopping tech at an Amazon Fresh location in IL.
Amazon delivery drivers have to consent to AI surveillance in their vans or lose their jobs
www.theverge.com
Amazon delivery van drivers now have to sign “biometric consent” forms to continue working for the company. AI-powered cameras installed in vans collect information about drivers’ speed, location, and potential safety problems — like drowsy or distracted driving.
Union creates hotline for disgruntled Amazon staff
www.bbc.com
Unite urges workers to come forward to voice complaints about hours, pay, targets and breaks.
Update: Slack Backtracks on Its New DM-Anyone Feature After Realizing It Can Be Used for Harassment
DC Circuit Shuns ‘Garamond,’ Setting Lawyers Abuzz Over Favorite Fonts — www.law.com
ICYMI The appeals court issued a notice titled Preferred Typefaces for Briefs that essentially declared — but did not mandate — Garamond a dead letter. #fonts #typefaces #design
The New York Times just sold an NFT for more than half a million dollars — www.theverge.com
RT @mediagazer The Kevin Roose column in NYT that was auctioned as an NFT has sold for around $560,000, with proceeds going to NYT’s Neediest Cases Fund
The NFT Craze Offers Easy Money — And Hard Copyright Questions
NFTs are giving rise to new forms of copyright infringement, but also be key to providing artists with a means to earn money on the Internet. #NFT#copyright
People Are Stealing Art and Turning It Into NFTs — www.vice.com
The blockchain-based art collecting craze is fueling theft that artists are struggling to keep up with.
Are non-fungible tokens dead already? Time releases 3 NFT covers — adage.com
The digital assets riff on (and include) the newsweekly’s famous 1966 “Is God Dead?” typographical treatment.
Third-party cookie replacements fall short of consent and transparency promises — digiday.com
New means of tracking people online haven’t caught up to notifying them when these systems capture individuals’ email addresses. “Salon presumes they’ve given consent to use that personal information to produce a pseudonymous identifier under a privacy policy that states in general terms that the publisher uses that information for marketing and advertising purposes.”
Excelsior Pass | COVID-19 Vaccine — covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov
Excelsior Pass is a free platform for businesses & individuals in NY that can be used to easily access secure proof of a recent negative COVID test or vaccination.
Publishing & Media
News Corp Nears Deal to Buy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Consumer-Publishing Arm — www.wsj.com
The deal would add a portfolio of high-profile novels from authors such as George Orwell, Philip Roth and J.R.R. Tolkien to News Corp’s HarperCollins Publishers division.
This is your industry and your future. You can decide where it will go from here…
Another great long read from @rishad. My fav quote: “I would redefine the future of your business not as “news” or “newspaper” or “content” but rather as a leader & key partner in facilitating and re-aggregating community information, history and voices for civic, retail and commercial purposes”
How Covid-19 Supercharged the Advertising ‘Triopoly’ of Google, Facebook and Amazon — www-wsj-com.cdn.ampproject.org
MT @edwardroussel Google, Facebook, Amazon now control 90% of the U.S. digital ads market, up from 80% pre-pandemic, siphoning money out of TV. The shift to e-commerce will further consolidate their gains. The three tech giants now collect more than half of all ad dollars spent in the U.S. The pandemic economy got them there.
NBCU Expanding TV Shopping With Instagram, Facebook, More Retailers — wwd.com
NBCUniversal struck a new deal with Facebook and Instagram as part of its larger efforts to scale its e-commerce opportunities to extend shoppable opportunities on social. With the new deal, a rise in “live shopping” and social shopping related to NBC TV shows seems inevitable.
News Corp to Buy Investor’s Business Daily for $275 Million — www.wsj.com
ICYMI RT @NiemanLab “IBD has nearly 100,000 digital subscribers across its platforms, and that digital represents more than 90% of IBD’s revenue and subscriptions.”
New York Times Eyes $100B Games Market and Games That Spelling Bee & The Mini Will Offset News Slowdown — www.bloomberg.com
A veteran of FarmVille and Words With Friends looks to entice more subscribers with non-news diversions. NYT had 840K games subscribers at the end of 2020, up 40% YoY, and more than 28M people had played one of its games last year, up 16% YoY.
How Publishers Can Find the ROI from Rights
via @copyrightandtec
Goodnight Ninja? Knuffle Blobfish? Children’s Books Get the Algorithm Treatment — www.wsj.com
HT @LWShanley ICYMI Epic, a digital reading platform, tracks what kids are searching for on its site and uses that data to create new books; ‘Bug is higher on the list than crocodile’
Paper beats pixels on most picture books, research finds — hechingerreport.org
HT @LWShanley A new analysis of all the research on digital children’s picture books helps to answer the question of whether digital or paper is better.
The new IKEA Audio Catalog is now an audiobook — goodereader.com
IKEA has hit upon a new idea to reach out to potential buyers — audiobooks.
Infographic: Periodic Table of Literary Villains — the-digital-reader.com
MT @ManliusLibrary From Mephistopheles to Count Dracula and Lady Macbeth to the Queen of Hearts, we love to hate the bad guys. Here are some famous scoundrels and criminals, ranked according to a version of Dante’s circles of hell.
Tencent, Warner Music to Launch Joint Venture Label in China — variety.com
RT @mediagazer Tencent Music and Warner Music to expand licensing agreement with a joint venture record label in China; Tencent became a 20% owner of Universal Music last year.
Daily Mail publisher rejected Google deal because ‘money not adequate and terms too restrictive’
RT @mediagazer
‘Departures’ Plots Digital Course As It Departs Meredith
TIME Magazine eyes crypto payments for subscriptions
finance.yahoo.com
TIME Magazine plans to lean into surging demand for digital currency and art, currently two of the hottest trends in the global economy.
Google Play Books now has new tools to make reading easier for kids
How Books Can Address Economic Inequality — www.publishersweekly.com
Publishers discuss the demand for books on economic disparity and how it relates to race, gender, education, and social justice.
Lerner Partners with Read Woke to Launch Book Series — www.publishersweekly.com
Lerner Publishing Group and Read Woke nonprofit founder Cicely Lewis are partnering on a new line of books to help librarians and educators lead teens in thoughtful conversations about timely and difficult topics.
Announcing DiverseVoices, Inc. — DiverseVoices, Inc. — diversevoicesinc.org
MT @beth_phelan i’m so excited to *officially* announce DiverseVoices, Inc, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization: @_DiverseVoices! we’re so excited to bring more programs into publishing to make the industry more inclusive of marginalized authors/illustrators!
Resources & Opportunities
For Everyone — News Literacy Project — newslit.org
RT @waltmossberg The @NewsLitProject isn’t just for schools and students anymore. We have a whole new set of resources for people of any age.
Webinar — Publishing Now ’21: Looking Forward
www.westchesterpublishingservices.com
MT @PublishersWkly Back by popular demand, @westchesterpub & PW’s #webinar on how the #publishing industry strategizes amid & after the pandemic. Hear experts from: @draccah @sourcebooks @PrincetonUPress@lwshanley @Legend_Times_ #publishingindustry #workfromhome
Newburyport Literary Festival — newburyportliteraryfestival.org
MT @hhharlow Event registration is open! Start building your schedule for the 16th annual Newburyport Literary Festival, happening online April 23–25. Over 100 authors, poets and speakers! All virtual. Registration is freeeeee. #nbpt #litfest
Poetry Organizations from Across the United States Join Together to Offer Programs on the Theme
MT @POETSorg The 25+ orgs of the #PoetryCoalition have launched “It is burning./ It is dreaming./ It is waking up.: Poetry & #EnvironmentalJustice”, the coalition’s 5th annual initiative. Each org will offer programming on the theme of #EnvironmentalJustice.
Creative Nonfiction Grant
MT @WhitingFdn Applications are now open for the $40,000 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant! We welcome applications for works of history, cultural reportage, biography, memoir, the sciences, and more. Find out more and apply here by April 26, 2021
WIRED Resilience Residency — www.wired.com
RT @michellemanafy Geared toward professionals whose careers have been upended by forces from climate change to tech, @WIRED’s Resilience Residency offers a way for non-journalists to report powerful stories from their changing fields & start conversations about the future.
WNDB Internship Grant Program
MT @diversebooks WNDB’s 2021 Internship Grant application is OPEN! Are you of a diverse background & looking to work in children’s OR adult publishing? We’re offering $3,000 grants, at least 20 for children’s publishing & at least 10 for our NEW adult program!
Supporting Diverse Voices: Princeton U Press Book Proposal Development Grants
RT @PrincetonUPress We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Supporting Diverse Voices: Book Proposal Development Grants, an endeavor built on the recognition that mentorship networks and other intellectual lineages have often been amplified to the exclusion of already underrepresented voices.
Women in Animation Spotlights Women of Color for 2021 Mentorship Program — variety.com
Women in Animation partners with Black N’Animated, LatinX in Animation, and Rise Up Animation for mentor program
Mentorship Program BIPOC of Publishing in Canada
MT @BIPOCPub It’s here! We are now accepting applications for the 2021 BIPOC of Publishing Mentorship Program, for both mentors and mentees! Find the application form and information on our website. DEADLINE APRIL 5, 2021 at 11:59PM!
Juneteenth Book Fest — twitter.com
RT @JuneteenthBkFst Juneteenth Bookfest is coming back! Authors, publishers, book people of all walks! We’re inviting folks who want to be part of this year‘s festivities to get in touch as we finalize programming for 2021. Bother us, at JuneteenthBookfest @ Gmail dot com! We welcome it.
Annabelle Gurwitch in Conversation with Sandra Tsing Loh 4/13
Looking forward to laughing with y’all at a fun-filled virtual event w these hilarious ladies: Annabelle Gurwitch in conversation w Sandra Tsing Loh on April 13 — members and non-members welcome! @LAGurwitch@SandraTsingLoh @WMG_NYC #readwomen
Y Combinator Startup School — www.startupschool.org
Attn. Startup Founders: Learn basics of starting a startup w free online program & global community; Weekly live video chats w/ other founders; With Y Combinator, Stripe, Digital Ocean, Amazon AWS
Miss art museums? The Louvre just put its entire art collection online— edition.cnn.com
There is nothing like spending a rainy afternoon at a museum, soaking in the beauty and wonder of art and history. Now the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum, is letting you do that right from home.
Meet Your Mayor: Find the Candidates Who Say They’ll Build the Future NYC You Want — www.thecity.nyc
RT @NicDawes There are plenty of easy labels for New York’s mayoral candidates, but it is harder to know who really matches your policy priorities. We’ve built a tool to help.