Technology • Innovation • Publishing — Issue #196

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Innovation

MUM: A new AI milestone for understanding information

blog.google

Google working on #AI for complex searches, such as “I’ve hiked Mt. Adams and now want to hike Mt. Fuji next fall, what should I do differently to prepare?” — see how they break it down.

‘Quantum Internet’ Inches Closer With Advance in Data Teleportation

www.nytimes.com 
Scientists have improved their ability to send quantum information across distant computers — and have taken another step toward the network of the future.

Microsoft readies its latest ‘industrial metaverse’ pitch

www.zdnet.com

HT @neilperkin Microsoft is working on an enterprise “industrial metaverse,” which includes the ability to “model anything physical or logical, from simple devices or products to complex environments.” #metaverse

Second Life’s Mistakes Should Inform Today’s Metaverse

newsletters.theatlantic.com

Second Life has >600K MAUs after 20 yrs. This journalist has been embedded for almost the whole time + has lessons for the metaverse. All the big challenges + complex social structures of real life get “re-created in weird ways in a digital, social space”

All these images were generated by Google’s latest text-to-image AI — www.theverge.com

Google Imagen (like DALL-E) is a text-to-image generator tool that uses AI to figure out what you want and produces photorealistic output. #AI

Oura collaborated with Gucci to make an 18 carat gold smart ring

www.engadget.com

Oura, the startup that’s pushing the limits of how small a wearable can be, just announced a collaboration that could boost its profile considerably.

Introduction to systems thinking

www.gov.uk

HT @neilperkin The UK Govt Office for Sci created a guide on #SystemsThinking, incl how to use it to drive improved outcomes in complex situations. It incorporates an introduction to ST, useful frameworks and tools, and a case study bank.

Technology

Amazon opens first physical fashion retail store

www.reuters.com

Amazon.com Inc said it had opened its first brick-and-mortar clothing retail store, as people start to venture out to shop following easing COVID-19 curbs.

U.S. abortion rights threat fuels jump in crypto donations

news.trust.org

Cryptocurrency donations may offer donors more privacy, but nonprofits could face questions over persistent concerns about the environmental impact and transparency.

There are NFTs hidden in Netflix’s latest hit series

www.creativebloq.com

#NFTs

EBay is entering the NFT business, with an assist from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky

www.cnbc.com 
EBay is launching 13 limited-edition NFT collectibles, each of which contains a 3-D animated rendering of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky’s famous moves on the ice.

Apple’s upcoming iOS 16 is poised to upgrade lock screens, messaging and health features

www.bloomberg.com

Broadcom announces plans to buy VMware in $61B deal

www.cnbc.com 
The deal would be one of the largest technology acquisitions of all time.

Publishing & Media

Amazon Starts Monthly Book Club — www.publishersweekly.com

Amazon has launched Sarah Selects, a new book club whose monthly selections will be made by Sarah Gelman, Amazon’s editorial director for books. #Amazon#BookClubs

unburnablebook.com

To benefit @PENamerica’s work defending freedom of expression, @PenguinRandom is partnering with @MargaretAtwood & @Sotheby’s to offer an unburnable edition of the often banned novel. #TeamPRH

Utah Attorney General Provides Legal Framework to Fight Book Bans

www.slj.com

Is BookTok Changing the Way We Talk About Books?

bookriot.com

HT @publishingtrend #BookTok

Book subscriptions are showing little sign of slowing down after their boom during lockdown, those behind the services say, despite a spike in the cost of living

www.thebookseller.com

Kakao Merges Tapas Media Into Radish

www.prnewswire.com

How the Publishing World Is Muscling In on Hollywood Deals: For Authors, “The Future Is Multihyphenate”

www.hollywoodreporter.com

HT @publishingtrend Lit agencies and publishers are changing the rules and shortening the page-to-screen pipeline.

Kyla Zhao’s newsletter: What publishing staff hope authors will know

mailchi.mp 
Findings from Kyla Zhao’s survey for publishing professionals about their work conditions and the publisher-author relationship

Women over 45 love books — it’s time the book trade loved them back

www.thebookseller.com

HT @publishingtrend Patronised, pigeonholed and ignored, women over 45 are buoying up book sales but are rarely consulted or celebrated in publishing.

Presenting Pride in Your Words, Our First-Ever Zine — global.penguinrandomhouse.com

#TeamPRH #prideinyourwords @penguinrandom #PrideMonth

Through a Recession and a Pandemic, the Book Business Is Thriving in Buenos Aires

www.nytimes.com 
The Argentine capital has always been bookish. When hard times shuttered the big chain shops, book purveyors found a way to keep residents in fresh reading material.

Supply chains are never returning to ‘normal’

www.freightwaves.com

HT @BISG #SupplyChains

Archie Comics Navigates the Pandemic — www.publishersweekly.com 
Despite the pandemic, shutdowns, and supply chain problems, Archie Comics had one of its best years in 2021, its 80th-anniversary year.

Condé Nast is building a Web3 team to be at “forefront of culture” — www.voguebusiness.com 
Vogue publisher Condé Nast has launched a dedicated Web3 team, spearheaded by director of new business innovation Ciara Byrne. Key areas of opportunity include extended storytelling creator partnerships and member perks.

The Disappearing Title of Magazine Editor in Chief — wwd.com 
As the media landscape continues to evolve, so too do the titles.

Fashion magazine Elle launches two hotel brands

www.travelweekly.com 
Maison Elle is positioned as an affordable brand, and Elle Hotel is billed as a high-end hospitality concept.

Hearst Plans Debut of E-Commerce Platform

wwd.com

How More Inclusive Leadership Is Changing Newsrooms — www.hollywoodreporter.com

MT @michellemanafy Multiple editorial leaders emphasized their perception of inclusive coverage not as a niche, but rather a lens to be applied across all reporting.

How can publishers respond to the power of platforms?

www.niemanlab.org

HT @BISG Facebook & Google influence the structure of the entire digital media environment. How do they exercise this power, how have news organizations responded, + what does this development mean for the production and circulation of news? #NewsBusiness

SiriusXM to Air Audio Versions of Some MasterClass Sessions — www.hollywoodreporter.com 
SiriusXM is partnering with MasterClass to bring audio versions of sessions hosted by Bob Iger, Hillary Clinton, RuPaul, Issa Rae, and more.

Podcasting and NPR

pressgazette.co.uk

Podcasting has become an increasing focus for @NPR, with netting 107 million downloads a month. That figure marks a 55% increase on 2015 when it reported receiving 69 million.

Bloomberg Media will debut five new podcasts with iHeartMedia this year

digiday.com

Bloomberg Media and iHeartMedia are releasing five podcast shows this year, part of a three-year co-production and distribution podcast deal to create over a dozen new original shows. #podcasting

Conan O’Brien’s Podcast Company Sells to SiriusXM in Deal Valued Around $150 Million — www.wsj.com 
The sale of Team Coco comes as audio companies make deals with podcasters with large followings

Substack to Move Beyond Email Newsletters: Substack aims to build a “true alternative to the attention economy” while expanding into podcasts and videos. “We’ll see more formats.”

www.vanityfair.com

Candle Media is buying Exile, a Spanish-Language Media company that has deals to produce shows for Netflix, HBO and Amazon — www.nytimes.com

Resources & Opportunities

Elections calendar — Ballotpedia — ballotpedia.org

MT @Rachelrooo Here’s a handy tool to help you keep track of every local election coming up in your neck of the woods. #endgunviolence #notonemoreB#stopgunviolence #guncontrol #everytown #blacklivesmattera #gunsense#enoughisenough #momsdemand #VoteThemOut

90% of Americans Want Lawmakers to Take Steps to Prevent Gun Violence: Poll

www.bloomberg.com

Polling shows that 90% of Americans want their federal lawmakers to take steps to prevent gunmen from perpetrating horrific violence

www.thecut.com

MT @irin On the cover of the latest @nymag: This Magazine Will Help You Get An Abortion. A wildly ambitious, incredibly useful, regularly updated access map and much more practical reporting from @thecut, with an introduction from @irin.

42 States Have Considered or Passed Anti-Abortion or Anti-Trans Laws This Year

www.vice.com

RT @VICENews More than half of the people who live in the United States will likely not be able to make critical health care decisions by the November midterms. Millions may not be able to access reproductive care, including but not limited to abortion.

Then and Now: The Fight for Reproductive Freedom

www.eventbrite.com

Tue, Jun 7, 2022 at 7:30 PM free #teamPRH

NYC’s Lower East Side Pride Book Crawl Returns in June

www.shelf-awareness.com

Yu and Me Books

www.yuandmebooks.com

MT @wordisdiversity Check out Yu and Me Books, the first female owned Asian-American bookstore in NYC located in historical Manhattan Chinatown: https://buff.ly/36bnE8k Not in Manhattan? Peruse their online catalog: https://buff.ly/3vPnCxw

www.womensmediagroup.org

Are you an entrepreneur, intrepreneur, or dream of starting a biz? Sign up for this virtual event on 6/8 1pm ET. Free for @WMG_NYC members, $15 for non-members. With powerhouse women: @NOWaccountLara@LorinePendleton@cabotventures, and Terrez Thompson