Technology • Innovation • Publishing — Issue #164

Innovation

Images with context. Free.

ai.googleblog.com

MT @fgilbane Google AI Blog:Announcing WIT: A Wikipedia-Based Image-Text Dataset via @googleai #AI

Apple Is Working on iPhone Features to Help Detect Depression, Cognitive Decline

www.wsj.com

ICYMI Apple wants to see if iPhones can help detect depression or tell whether a senior moment is something worse — a capability that would significantly expand its health portfolio via @WSJ #innovation

Amazon’s Astro home robot is like having Alexa on wheels — www.theverge.com 
Amazon has announced its long-rumored home robot and it’s called Astro. The Astro is a combination of many of Amazon’s strengths — virtual assistant, AI, robotics, home monitoring — in a single robot that can roam around your home. It’s available through a special invite system for $999.

NFT creators wanted: Ripple Labs is starting a $250 million fund to support them them

www.bloomberg.com

Via @technology #NFTs

British Museum to sell NFTs of 200 Hokusai works — including The Great Wave — www.theartnewspaper.com

The institution has partnered with French start-up LaCollection to auction the non-fungible tokens, coinciding with its exhibition of the Japanese artist’s work. #NFTs

Mark Cuban and Coinbase back Eternal, an NFT marketplace for trading Twitch streamer clips

techcrunch.com

via @techcrunch #NFTs

New trend report: Into the Metaverse

www.wundermanthompson.com

MT @WunThompson Our new report ‘Into the Metaverse’ covers everything brands and agencies need to know about this thriving digital realm — from what the metaverse is, to its implications for brands. #WunThompson#WTMetaverse #Future

How fashion is being brought to the metaverse

www.voguebusiness.com

HT @benedictevans Vogue on the fashion brands chasing the metaverse and NFTs #fashion #NFTs #metaverse via @VogueBusiness

Bain’s annual tech trends report

www.bain.com

HT @benedictevans

WPP Opens Augmented Reality Lab with Snap

www.adweek.com

Advertising giant WPP and Snap have opened the doors to The AR Lab, a new global partnership aimed at helping brands. Via @Adweek #Snap#Advertising #AR

Technology

Google’s upcoming search redesign may end up pushing more traffic to Google properties like YouTube — www.cnbc.com

Google’s upcoming search redesign may end up pushing more traffic to Google properties like YouTube, adding “visual ideas” to increase #commerce #Google

Soon Your Google Searches Can Combine Text and Images — apple.news

In May, Google execs unveiled experimental new #AI trained with text and images they said would make internet searches more intuitive. Wednesday, Google offered a glimpse into how the tech will change the way people search the web. #Google

Facebook is spending $50 million to ‘responsibly’ build the metaverse

www.theverge.com 
Facebook has announced a new $50 million XR Programs and Research Fund, which it says will be invested to help make the metaverse a safe place for everyone in the future with regards to inclusion and privacy.

Facebook is ‘pausing’ work on Instagram kids app after widespread criticism

www.theverge.com

The news follows damning reports from The Wall Street Journal that suggested Facebook knew how damaging social media could be on children.

How Apple built the iPhone 13’s Cinematic Mode — techcrunch.com

via @techcrunch #Cinematography #photography

AdTech Mess — warzel.substack.com

Look at the #adtech mess in the Martech 5000. It shows all the different vendors in the online advertising ecosystem-each tiny logo is a company. The moment you look at it, it all becomes clear: ‘We have no chance of knowing what’s happening to our data.’

Inside Amazon Flagship Fulfillment Center Where Machines Run the Show

www.bloomberg.com

Amazon’s flagship fulfillment center uses automation to send more than 1 million packages a day. What does that mean for human managers? via @BW #Amazon

‘Hey, Disney!’ Amazon and Disney welcome a new era of Alexa-like voice assistants — www.cnet.com

This “magical companion,” as Disney calls it, can bust out w jokes, trivia or sing-alongs. It summons the voices of characters with stories and interactive games-not just with Mickey, but also characters from the stories of Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel.

Amazon’s AI Cameras Are Punishing Drivers for Mistakes They Didn’t Make

www.vice.com

There have been lots of stories about Amazon delivery trucks driving too fast and causing accidents. So now Amazon has ML-based cameras in the trucks to try to spot dangerous driving, and drivers are complaining about false positives. #AI via @motherboard

Why the Big Three Can’t Win the Hybrid Multicloud Game

www.analyticsinsight.net

HT ⁦@fgilbane Everyone thinks the #cloud is nirvana, but maybe not always the solution

The Cost of Cloud, a Trillion Dollar Paradox — a16z.com

HT @gilbane via @a16z

Netflix launches free, first-of-its-kind Android mobile plan in Kenya — www.theverge.com

HT @benedictevans An experiment:Netflix making a 1/4 of its inventory available free on Android in Kenya, as a way to sell paid service. You can do this when you own all rights + have $0 marginal cost (No word on how data costs work, though.) via @Verge

Netflix buys its first game developer, Night School Studio

www.latimes.com

#netflix #gaming

Twitter for Professionals will begin to roll out this week for businesses and creators — techcrunch.com

HT @BoSacks. Via @techcrunch #Twitter

Clubhouse needs creators, but creators need cash

www.theverge.com

Clubhouse launched its Creator First program to pay people to create high-quality shows for the platform. However, six creators say they never did receive any sponsorships from the program and are now having to rethink how they use the platform. By @ashleyrcarman.

How To Prepare Your Organization For Transformation In A Post-COVID World

greg-satell.medium.com

The truth is that lasting change can never be built on any particular technology, program or policy, but rather must focus on shared values and a shared sense of mission. Via @Digitaltonto.

Publishing & Media

CAA to Acquire ICM

lunch.publishersmarketplace.com

Two leading talent agencies will combine, pending regulatory approval, as Creative Artists Agency announced Monday that it will acquire ICM Partners. A release notes, “ICM’s industry-leading books division superbly complements CAA’s content-driven motion pictures, television, and podcasting businesses, in addition to its speakers arm, and other divisions.”

James Patterson Funds $1.5 Million Worth of Scholastic Book Club Books for Low-Income Students — apnews.com

HT @PublishersLunch With a donation of $1.5 million from author James Patterson, Scholastic Book Clubs has launched “The United States of Readers,” a classroom program designed to address literacy inequity.

It’s time to start naming a book’s translator on the cover

lithub.com

France is trying to protect booksellers from Amazon. Is it a decade too late?

qz.com

HT @publishingtrend French lawmakers are coming to the defense of booksellers who continue to lose business to major retailers like Amazon with a law that would set a fixed minimum delivery rate for books. Via @qz#Amazon #regulation

New French Legislation On Book Shipping Would Force Amazon to Make More Money

lunch.publishersmarketplace.com

Book discounts in France are limited to no more than 5 percent by law and in 2014 they banned free shipping on discounted books. So instead Amazon and others have charged as little as one cent for shipping. Seven years later, the government has decided something must be done.

Faber Offers Personalized Poetry Collections, In Collaboration with Wonderbly

pagesmithbooks.com

RT @PublishersLunch

Netflix Confirms Success of Book Streaming — lunch.publishersmarketplace.com

Knights Of gets first public investor as 9 Story acquires stake — www.thebookseller.com

RT @thebookseller Nine Story Media Group has acquired a minority equity stake in @_KnightsOf, becoming the inclusive publisher’s first public investor, gaining exclusive first-look rights to acquire audio-visual, merchandising, theatrical and ancillary rights.

Educational Publishers Obtain Preliminary Injunction Against 60 Illegal Websites that Use Online Ads to Sell Pirated Content

www.businesswire.com

HT @PublishersLunch #ebooks #copyright #piracy

Google News Shh-owcase: Publishers break silence over secret deals behind $1bn scheme

www.pressgazette.co.uk

Via:@pressgazette #Google #NewsBusiness

Axel Springer commits to a target of 40% women in top management positions by 2026, raising the current 30% target

www.fipp.com

With the move, the company says it wants to send a clear message and is also working on measures to improve the visibility and representation of non-binary people. By @jaygavin.

After 125 Years, Hearst Brand House Beautiful Launches Its First Podcast

www.adweek.com

HT @DCNorg The five-episode Dark House will blend architecture, true crime and humor.

Ozy Media, Once a Darling of Investors, Shuts Down in a Swift Unraveling

www.nytimes.com

Chicago Public Media and the Chicago Sun-Times have signed a letter of intent allowing the nonprofit organization to acquire the paper

www.nytimes.com

Amazon Launches Ad-Based Streaming Service IMDb TV in the U.K.

variety.com

MT @mediagazer Amazon launches its ad-supported IMDb TV streaming service in the UK, three years after launching in the US. By @kjyossman.

Referral Programs Help Your Fans Market Your Content Business — www.thetilt.com

RT @TheTiltNews Fans should be rewarded for “selling” your content. That’s possible with a referral reward program, says @AnnGynn#contententrepreneur #creatoreconomy

Resources & Opportunities

FREE Virtual WMG Event 10/20 7–8pm ET

www.womensmediagroup.org

Biases, micro-aggressions, and workplace inequities: how can we heal from these traumas and how do we interrupt the cycle that prevents everyone from excelling? What are the strategies we can use to put painful career disappointments behind, and in doing so, thrive? What are the ways organizations and individuals can take responsibility for driving true change, based on equity and belonging? This event is open to members and non-members. @WMG_NYC

The Design + Accessibility Summit — creativepro.com

MT @CreativePro_com Join us online November 16–19 for The Design + Accessibility Summit, the essential HOW-TO event for design professionals who need to master #accessibility. You’ll learn techniques for building accessible documents with #InDesign#Acrobat#PowerPoint, and more.

WNDB Emergency Fund

diversebooks.org

MT @diversebooks The WNDB Emergency Fund for Diverse Creatives is accepting new applicants! We’ve updated our criteria so that even more diverse creatives can apply for grants (ranging from $500 to 1,000) during this challenging time.

Emergency Funding for Literary Organizations and Publishers

www.nationalbook.org

RT @nationalbook The three orgs behind the Literary Arts Emergency Fund — @POETSorg @CLMPorg & @nationalbook — will distribute $4.3M in a second round of funding to nonprofit literary arts orgs & publishers thanks to @MellonFdn. The application will open in November 2021.

#MarginsBookstores — www.thewordfordiversity.org

MT @wordisdiversity OCTOBER= #MarginsBookstores Month! Celebrate all month w/ bookstores, authors, & booksellers+keep an eye on our socials+site so you can join the festivities! THANK YOU to our sponsors! @Bookshop_Org @ChronicleBooks @BincFoundation @librofm@ReesesBookClub

Creative Writing Awards Competition Launches With New Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry — global.penguinrandomhouse.com

#InsidePenguinRandom #teamPRH #poetrylovers

Journalism Creator Summit — lu.ma

RT @NewmarkJPlus We’re excited to announce our Journalism Creator Summit happening on November 10! ​Join us for a deep dive into revenue and sustainability for journalism creators to advance their niche media ventures and make J doing it!

The museum where language comes to life — planetwordmuseum.org

Did you know that there’s a Planet Word Museum? HT @nybookforum@PlanetWordDC #amreading #amwriting #WordLoversUnite Planet Word is an immersive language experience located at the historic Franklin School in Washington, D.C. Ideal for all ages, Planet Word is a voice-activated museum (the world’s first!), and our interactive galleries and exhibits bring words and language to life in all sorts of fun ways.

NYC COVID-19 and Flu Vaccine Finder

vaccinefinder.nyc.gov

RT @MarkLevineNYC NYC’s covid vaccine finder tool now has a second tab…for flu shots. Its important that everyone get their flu vax this year so we avoid the risk of a “twindemic”. Find a location near you at https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov

Videos: Musicians Hosting Joyful, DIY Performances On Fire Escapes In Harlem — gothamist.com 
The shows have taken the concept of socially-distanced music performances and given it an unforgettable, urban backdrop.

New Venue ‘Brooklyn Made’ Has Created A Dream Oasis For Musicians— gothamist.com 
There are tons of amenities for touring groups, including four separate green rooms, an apartment filled with records and a vintage jukebox, outdoor spaces, and a private pool.