Innovation
KFC deploys autonomous 5G ‘food trucks’ in China — www.soyacincau.com
KFC rolls out Restaurant on Wheels with unmanned vehicles that’s 5G connected. Customers can collect their order after QR code payment is made.
Technology
Google could cut Australians out of upgrades — www.afr.com
Google engineers have been working on a secret project to exclude Australians from updates to its search function if the company does not agree with proposed laws to regulate how it deals with news publishers. #Google
WhatsApp’s new carts feature is aimed at simplifying in-app shopping— www.theverge.com
WhatsApp is introducing a new shopping carts feature that lets you order multiple items with a single message from businesses on the service. It works in conjunction with the service’s existing catalogs feature.
Netflix wants to help parents connect with their kids by explaining what they’re watching — www.theverge.com
Netflix is rolling out Kids Activity Reports and Family Profiles to help parents better connect with their kids and understand what they’re watching.
US govt, states sue Facebook for ‘predatory’ conduct — apnews.com
ICYMI Prosecutors called for Facebook to unwind Instagram and WhatsApp and for new restrictions on future deals. #Facebook
Israeli Surveillance Companies Are Siphoning Masses Of Location Data From Smartphone Apps — www.forbes.com
RT @WolfieChristl Today’s digital advertising based on selling user data to the highest bidder has been called the ‘largest data breach ever’, and yes: Two firms who sell targeted+mass surveillance to governments are hoovering phone location data from the ad/rtb bidstream
Reddit acquires TikTok rival Dubsmash — www.axios.com
It’s the latest tech giant to invest in a TikTok-like video feature.
Publishing & Media
‘We’re getting better at swarming the internet’: What publishers learned from the Cyber 5 — digiday.com
BuzzFeed’s gift guide rev soared >575%, thanks to plans to go bigger + start earlier — it produced >200% more gift guide content. Vox Media’s The Strategist had Cyber 5 revs 120% year/year, thanks to holiday guides + pieces it refines all yr. Via @digiday
Tech to Watch: OnlyFans — www.bloomberg.com
The OnlyFans app adding up to 500K users/day, paying out more than $200M/month to its 1M+ creators. It has 85M users, will generate more than $2 billion in sales this year, of which it keeps about 20%, which puts it on track for $400M in annual net sales.
The Axis Collision of Amazon Possibly Acquiring Wondery
What Amazon’s potential acquisition of podcast publisher Wondery means for Spotify, NPR, and iHeartRadio. Via @copyrightandtec #podcasting
What’s next for “The Daily” Podcast? — www.cnn.com
“The Daily” has more daily listeners than subscribers to the New York Times’s weekday print product. Its audience also surpasses many news shows on TV. The Times has built a “premium product and assembled it as the new front page.”
Ebooks to be archived for 1,000 years
HT @LauraB7 via @ebookscom
Saddle Up and Read Improves Kids’ Literacy One Farm Trip at a Time— bookriot.com
A conversation with Caitlin Gooch of Saddle Up and Read, a non-profit organization using equine activities to promote children’s literacy.
Atlas Holdings acquires LSC Communications
RT @BoSacks Atlas Holdings, the Greenwich-based private investment and equity firm, has completed its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of LSC Communications Inc., the largest manufacturer of books in the U.S. and a leading manufacturer and distributor of magazines, catalogs and office products.
The Trump Administration Is Trying To Force BuzzFeed News To Divulge Its Sources With A Subpoena — www.buzzfeednews.com
“This is embarrassing for ICE,” the former acting director of the agency said. “When you’re trying to intimidate the press, you cross a line.”
Report for America announces more than 300 reporter positions in 2021 — www.reportforamerica.org
RT @NiemanLab Report for America announced 64 new local news organizations as host newsroom partners. The program will place more than 300 journalists next year.
AT&T Fields DirecTV Offers Above $15 Billion Including Debt
AT&T has received bids for its DirecTV unit valuing the satellite-TV service at more than $15 billion, as the widely watched auction winds toward a resolution. Among the top bidders were Churchill Capital and private-equity firm TPG.
Sony to buy AT&T’s anime business for $1.18 billion to expand global footprint
Sony Corp will buy AT&T Inc’s animation business Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion, as Sony aims to beef up its entertainment content and distribution businesses.
Meredith braces for union battle at EW, Martha Stewart, Shape, People TV — nypost.com
The News Guild of New York said more than 90 percent of the editorial staff at Entertainment Weekly, Martha Stewart Living, Shape and People TV have opted to be represented by the union.
Adobe completes Workfront acquisition
AAR Officially Changes Name, Launches Nonprofit
ICYMI The organization representing literary agents, previously known as the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR), has officially changed its name to the Association of American Literary Agents.
Colorado’s Tattered Cover bookstore sold to local investors — apnews.com
Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan sold Tattered Cover bookstore to local investors and will become the country’s largest Black-led bookseller.
People who read books at bedtime sleep better. But they also seem to live more healthily and make more money. — www.sleepjunkie.org
HT @BISG Would you like to earn a higher income, eat better, and live life more fully? If so, then reading in bed could be an important component of making those healthy lifestyle changes. #amreading
Bad Sex in Fiction Award Is Canceled, as 2020 Was Bad Enough — www.nytimes.com
ICYMI Editors of the Literary Review, which has given the award for almost 30 years, said the public had been “subjected to too many bad things this year to justify exposing it to bad sex as well.”
KFC to air holiday ‘mini-movie’ on the Lifetime network called ‘A Recipe for Seduction’ — www.marketwatch.com
ICYMI — this is real (real PR). KFC to air holiday ‘mini-movie’ on the Lifetime network called ‘A Recipe for Seduction’
Resources & Opportunities
12 month Barbados Welcome Stamp — www.expatexchange.com
RT @ExpatExchange Barbados recently introduced the 12 month Barbados Welcome Stamp to enable people to easily live and work on the island for up to 12 months. @VisitBarbados #LoveBarbados #Barbados#BarbadosWelcomeStamp #DigitalNomad #GlobalNomad
Publicity 101 with Saraciea Fennell — www.pocinpublishing.com
RT @PocPub We’re excited to announce that we’ll be hosting our last event of the year! BIPOC publishing professionals and BIPOC aspiring publicists, come join the amazing @Sj_Fennell in a discussion and Q&A on the 101s of publicity in publishing!
ASME NEXT Awards for Journalists Under 30
ellieawards.secure-platform.com
RT@ASME1963 The ASME NEXT Awards were established in 2016 to support the development of print and digital magazine media. The awards honor outstanding achievement by magazine journalists under the age of 30. The deadline for entry is January 7.
You Are A Writer: A Career & Craft Workshop Series — pen.org
RT @LatinxinPub Writers! @PENamerica is hosting a FREE online workshops on the business of writing starting in January of next year!
Periplus Mentorship
RT @nicolesjchung Are you a Black writer, Indigenous writer, or writer of color looking for mentorship? You have a few more days to send your application to @PeriplusCollect
Roxane Gay is looking for essays
@rgay is starting a new project, part of which will include publishing an emerging writer twice a month, starting in January 2021. All essays will be paid a flat fee of $2,000.
Marie Claire Digital Fellow
RT @_JennyHollander “Hi, Twitter! Exciting news: We’re looking for a new @marieclaire digital fellow to start at the beginning of January. It’s a six-month placement, M-F, lots of writing involved, can be remote, and of course it’s paid. Please send me clips and questions: jenny.hollander@hearst.com.”
Announcing the Princeton University Press Diversify Publishing Fellowship
RT @PrincetonUPress We’re excited to announce the Princeton University Press Diversify Publishing Fellowship, a new initiative aimed at addressing a lack of diverse representation across the publishing industry. Applications open Jan 4
Free Virtual event w Esther Dyson, 12/17 9:30 AM
KettleSpace presents Breakfast With An Investor: Esther Dyson, Wellville — Thursday, December 17, 2020
WMG New Year Networking Ball — www.womensmediagroup.org
Ready to send off stress-aplenty 2020? Join @WMG_NYC for a one-of-a-kind virtual FREE members-only party to kick off 2021 with flair! This past year was chockfull of challenges, but we pulled through together to host 30+ virtual events and welcome 60+ new members. Come celebrate with us, get to know your new fellow members, and reconnect with old friends. We’ll have guided breakout rooms with festive themes for intimate networking, contests for Best Zoom Décor and Most Creative Cocktail or Mocktail, and we’ll be naming a Belle of the Ball. So, feel free to dress to impress…without having to leave the comfort of your home!