Innovation
Why Snap is leveraging augmented reality technology to get a leg up in the social commerce arms race
In recent years, the social commerce space has gained momentum with shoppable, virtual try-on technology. #AR
Is it time to hire a chief metaverse officer?
Brands are entering the metaverse through virtual stores, AR, gaming and digital fashion shows. While many have relied on external partnerships, an internal expert or team might be on the horizon. #metaverse
Hearst launches virtual blimp in the metaverse in a bid to show advertisers virtual co-branded opportunities
Hearst builds a Youth+Wellness Group Airship to show advertisers opportunities for virtual experiences that can reach young female gamers. #metaverse #magazines #advertising
TikTok Launches First NFT Collection with Lil Nas X, Grimes and More
Via @phillystylezine #NFTs #TikTok
Snapchat released a tool called Run for Office to help young people get their names on local ballots — www.nbcnews.com
RT @amandalitman HUGE: @runforsomething is partnering with Snapchat — which reaches 90% of 13- to 24-year-olds in the US — to help recruit young people to run for office. This is a big deal and an incredible step forward in our work expanding who leads this democracy.
Solving Problems By Leveraging Photography — rishad.substack.com
RT @rishad One can learn to be a better problem solver by learning from great photographers . Frame the problem correctly. Expose and illuminate it with the right input and data while ensuring timely decision making. Edit the solution appropriately.
Technology
Twitter sells MoPub mobile ad network to AppLovin for $1.05 billion
Twitter said it’s selling it MoPub mobile advertising network to game developer AppLovin for $1.05 billion in cash.
Instagram ditches the IGTV brand, combines everything but Reels into an ‘Instagram Video’ format
Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently said it was “no longer a photo-sharing app,” noting the company was prioritizing a shift into video amid significant competition from TikTok and YouTube.
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp Go Down Again for Some Users
All of Facebook’s main products — Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook — were inaccessible to at least some users around 3 p.m. Eastern time on Friday after a massive outage for hours on Monday.
Facebook Lost About $65 Million During Hours-Long Outage
www.forbes.com
The company brings in about $13 million in sales per hour.
Facebook Renews Its Ambitions to Connect the World
The social media behemoth outlines plans to bring speedy internet access to hard-to-reach places. #Facebook
Twitch Hack of 135 GB of Data Includes How Much Its Biggest Streamers Make
ICYMI via @motherboard #Amazon
Amazon’s Fastest, Freest Shipping Plan: Department Stores?
Amazon mall — they’re planning a 30K square foot store #Amazon
Amazon opens first UK non-food store with products including books
Amazon opened its first non-food store in the UK, which will sell around 2,000 of its most popular and best-rated products, including books. It’s the first outside the US, where there are already more than 30 outlets. Via @thebookseller. #Amazon
Amazon introduces Amazon Glow, an interactive, video calling device for kids and families — techcrunch.com
ICYMI via @techcrunch #Amazon
Amazon CEO Says Video Games Could Become the Largest Entertainment Business
Video games could end up being Amazon’s largest entertainment category over the long haul, according to CEO Andy Jassy. via @technology#Amazon #gaming
Google Search Wants to Curate Big News. It Could Be a Minefield.
RT @mediagazer Google is working on Big Moments, a Search feature that contextualizes and highlights the most authoritative facts about major events in real time. By @bysarahkrouse.
Publishing & Media
‘The Beginning of the Snowball’: Supply-Chain Snarls Delay Books
Shipping delays, printer backups and worker shortages are forcing publishers to postpone new titles and leaving booksellers in a lurch for some old ones. By @Liz_A_Harris.
The great book shortage of 2021, explained
Supply Chain Challenges: Put Your Book Orders In Now For The Holidays
ICYMI HT @BISG The global supply chain is struggling, and it’s impacting print books. Here’s what’s going on and what you can do. #SupplyChain#BooksMakeTheBestGifts
Bestsellers may be harder to come by as book sellers struggle with supply chain disruptions
ICYMI HT @BISG Publishers are warning book lovers that supply chain disruptions are impacting book production and distribution. Via@businessinsider #SupplyChain
NYPL Announcement: No More Late Fines, Ever — www.nypl.org
MT @nypl Say goodbye to late fines! NYPL has eliminated all late fines, past and future. Get a fresh start at the Library! #GoodbyeFines
Imprints: Melinda Gates Pairs with Flatiron
lunch.publishersmarketplace.com
Via @PublishersLunch
Wiley Acquires J&J Editorial
lunch.publishersmarketplace.com
Wiley has acquired J&J Editorial Services, a scholarly publishing services company founded by Jennifer Deyton and Julie Nash in 2008.
Texas school district pulls books by acclaimed Black author amid critical race theory claims
HT @PublishersWkly The Katy Independent School District, near Houston, pulled books by the acclaimed Black children’s author Jerry Craft after some parents objected.
In Focus: Immigration in Book Publishing — www.publishersweekly.com
Publishers discuss immigration and the role of book publishing in understanding the American experience.
How Amazon Changed Fiction?
HT @PublishersWkly. Via @newrepublic
No lovers allowed in top French book prize after ethics scandal
Rapper Noname Opens Radical Hood Library in Los Angeles — www.revolt.tv
HT @PublishersWkly via @revolttv
A public library in Virginia is using a robot to get kids to read. — www.wfxrtv.com
Russia audiobook market grows 4X in 2021
“The next five years will be the most successful in the history of audiobooks” — Boris Makarenkov, Storytel RU. Via @thenewpubstd.
Transit riders in the Las Vegas metropolitan area can now access free movies, eBooks, audiobooks and magazines
ICYMI HT @BISG
A Tale of Two Authors: Determining Ownership Rights of Novels Adapted for Theatre
HT @BISG The US Court of Appeals for the 1st vacated the district court’s opinion that Roberto Ramos Perea, the playwright who adapted the novels of prominent Puerto Rican author Enrique Laguerre for theatre, was not a proper copyright owner. #copyright
10 Ways To Turn Podcast Episodes into Great Blog Content
MT @TheTiltNews Turn your podcast into a blog article. Think about formats such as Q&As, lists, as-told-to, deep dives, how-to, briefings, etc. It can attract audiences and search engines. Via @PodReacher HT @growthmarketr
Magazine Publisher Meredith Agrees to Be Sold to Barry Diller’s IAC
RT @WSJ Barry Diller’s IAC has reached a roughly $2.7 billion deal to buy magazine publisher Meredith, a bet on online publishing that will combine brands like People, Better Homes & Gardens and Investopedia.
Recurrent Ventures, owner of Popular Science and MEL, raises $75M from North Equity, expects to make 2–4 acquisitions this year and a close to 30% profit margin
HT @mediagazer. By @perlberg.
Cosmopolitan magazine launches virtual shopping event amid uncertain holiday season
Cosmopolitan Magazine partnering w checkout platform Bolt for online shopping event, hoping to capitalize on the rush of shoppers looking to get a jump start to their holiday shopping. #ecommerce #magazines
Vogue Café opens in Bangkok
The new Vogue Café in Bangkok joins Conde Nast’s portfolio of branded property under its global licensing division. #magazines
Cosmo publisher Hearst UK reveals plunging revenue and £13.4m loss in Covid-hit 2020
HT @BoSacks. Via @pressgazette
Hearst Launches Level Up Ventures for Black and Latinx-Led Startups, Modeled on Its Hearstlab Accelerator for Female Founders
Ozy Media CEO claims his scandal-ridden company will reopen, but doesn’t explain how
Carlos Watson says Ozy Media is not shutting down after having “good conversations” with investors and advertisers and Friday’s announcement was “premature.” By @jbursz.
People fall for easy falsehoods even when they’re told they’ll earn money for answering correctly
RT @michellemanafy The brain has a tendency to link repetition with truth. Repeating news headlines — even if they are of false items — can cause people to increase their belief in that item.
Pandora Papers: An offshore data tsunami
The story of how the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists spent more than a year structuring, researching and analyzing the more than 11.9 million records in the Pandora Papers leak. They exposed the offshore secrets of wealthy elites from more than 200 countries and territories and include more than 330 politicians and 130 Forbes billionaires, as well as celebrities, fraudsters, drug dealers, royal family members and leaders of religious groups around the world. Via @ICIJorg
Gannett and the Death of Local Newspapers
RT @ariannahuff “We don’t often stop to ponder the way that a newspaper’s collapse makes people feel: less connected, more alone. As local news crumbles, so does our tether to one another.”
BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 are developing a joint streaming service to defend against US tech giants and a planned overhaul of TV laws in UK
RT @mediagazer. By @tw_seal.
Resources & Opportunities
Quiz: Which Famous Fictional Monster Are You? — bookriot.com
Horrifying answers await in our famous fictional monster quiz that will spell out whether you’re more Wicked Witch or Frankenstein.
Literary Arts Emergency Fund Panel Self-Nomination Form
RT @nationalbook Apply to be a panelist for the Literary Arts Emergency Fund! Individuals who represent a broad range of literary and cultural viewpoints, backgrounds, and work experiences based across the US are encouraged to apply!
2021 Legacy Awards Ceremony Registration
MT @HurstonWright On Friday, October 15, join us as we celebrate the best in Black literature during the 2021 Legacy Awards, hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. This year’s ceremony is virtual and tickets are free!
Sign up today for this crucial #DEI discussion. Learn how to make a more inclusive workplace as a better ally + how to heal from racial trauma in the workplace, including biases, micro-aggressions, and workplace inequities. With @MindaHarts & @mbrianaepler in convo w @jkhoey @WMG_NYC. FREE for all. 10/20 7–8pm ET #Diversity #DiversityandInclusion#antiracism. Books avail from @ShakeandCoBooks.
Spook It Up with Women of the Haunt Industry
Now this looks fun! Sign up today for FREE @WMG_NYC virtual Halloween how-to w celeb makeup artist Stacia Gorsuch 10/26 6pm ET! Come for Stacia’s ghoulish demo + stay for spirited book chat w @JanKnuth2 (owner of a professional haunted house) & LaNelle Freeman (co-owner Texas Haunters Convention), with moderator @jkhoey and WMG’s own @CandiWords.
Are you a writer looking for tips on pitching story ideas to global or niche digital outlets? A publicist who wants to improve on the success rate of engagement for your press releases? A brand-builder keen to understand how digital media is or is not like pitching to traditional news outlets? Ck out this awesome virtual @WMG_NYC panel FREE for members, $15 non-members. 11/8 6:30pm ET. With @MeenaGanesan @FiveThirtyEight, @AnnaHalkidis @parentsmagazine, Diane Di Constanzo @ Millie, Moderated by @zaharahill @Blavity.
National Book Awards Finalists Reading
MT @nationalbook Join us on November 9 for the #NBAwards Finalists Reading, in which all the Finalists will read from their work. The event, hosted by @TheNewSchool, is online, free, and open to everyone.
ALA Accepting Applications for $2 Million in NEH-Funded Covid-19 Relief Grants — www.publishersweekly.com
The American Library Association invites libraries to apply for COVID-19 relief funding thru Humanities Grants for Libraries. Up to 200 US libraries of all types (public, tribal, K-12, academic, special, prison) will receive $10K.
Supply Chain Survivor Shirt to Benefit BINC — www.bonfire.com
MT @NEIBAbooks We’ve created a new t-shirt design to benefit the @Bincfoundation — and this one has national appeal! Makes a perfect stocking stuffer, employee appreciation gift, or hanky to dry your tears! Our Bonfire store is open through October 20.
Employee Retention Tax Credit
RT @ABAbook Booksellers, don’t forget to take advantage of the Q3 Employee Retention Tax Credit (worth up to $28,000 per employee for 2021). The tax credit can be claimed on quarterly tax filings.
Fellows Program | Tory Burch Foundation
MT @ToryBurchFdn We’re looking for 50 incredible women entrepreneurs for the 2022 #ToryBurchFellows program. A 1-year virtual fellowship, $5,000 business education grant, and access to a network of peer founders for women-owned businesses in the U.S.