Innovation
How mRNA went from a scientific backwater to a pandemic crusher — www.wired.co.uk
mRNA’s cellular messaging system could turn our bodies into medicine-making factories. Artificial mRNA, designed & created in a petri dish & delivered to the cells of sick patients thru tiny packages called nanoparticles, instructed the body to heal itself.
Researchers are developing color-changing stickers for masks to detect COVID-19 — www.cbsnews.com
The test would be similar to that of a home pregnancy test, with users being able to quickly tell if COVID-19 molecules were detected on their breath.
Google AI Blog: Google Research: Looking Back at 2020, and Forward to 2021 — ai.googleblog.com
An interesting look at #AI at Google.
Pinterest: How AR elevates our data strategy — venturebeat.com
These Companies Want to Charge Your Electric Vehicle as You Drive — www.wsj.com
Several automotive, utility and infrastructure companies are testing technology that promises to allow electric cars, buses and trucks to charge on the move.
Hyundai Motor and Apple Inc plan to sign a partnership deal on autonomous electric cars by March and start production around 2024 in the US — www.reuters.com
Technology
Twitter launches ‘Birdwatch,’ a forum to combat misinformation — with your help — www.nbcnews.com
Twitter unveiled a feature meant to bolster its efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation by tapping users in a fashion similar to Wikipedia to flag potentially misleading tweets.
Twitter added ‘state media’ labels to Chinese government twitter accounts — this study says that had a real impact on reach — chinamediaproject.org
RT @benedictevans via @cnmediaproject
Google Maps is adding COVID19 vaccine sites — thenextweb.com
With COVID19 vaccines beginning to make their way around the world, there’s a glimmer of hope for this pandemic to end sometime within the next year. Searches for “vaccines near me” have increased fivefold, according to Google, so in the coming weeks, the company will begin to make vaccination locations available on Google Maps.
Facebook News launches in UK following deals with publishers
Stories from the Guardian, Daily Mail, Economist and more will appear in a dedicated feed. #Facebook #NewsBusiness
Facebook reportedly considers hitting Apple with antitrust suit — www.cnet.com
The social network may allege that Apple abused its power through its App Store rules. #Facebook #Apple
Facebook and Apple Are Beefing Over the Future of the Internet
www.wired.com
It turns out Tim Cook blames Mark Zuckerberg for undermining democracy too.
Amazon suing EU antitrust regulators for allowing the Italian competition watchdog to pursue its own case against Amazon over the way it selects sellers, arguing that this should be wrapped into an EU investigation
How disinformation evolved in 2020 — www.brookings.edu
Facebook and Twitter are increasingly aggressive in attributing disinformation operations to specific actors, and disinformants are evolving in response. via @BrookingsInst
How Social Media’s Obsession with Scale Supercharged Disinformation — hbr.org
Facebook and Twitter’s business models have led to astronomical growth — but at what cost?
Apple just released a security update for your iPhone. Download it now. — mashable.com
The security updates for both your Apple iPhone and iPad fix vulnerabilities that may have been actively exploited by hackers.
Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature will be enabled by default and arrive in ‘early spring’ on iOS
Apple has shared a few more details about its much-discussed privacy changes in iOS 14. The company first announced at WWDC in June that app developers would have to ask users for permission in order to track and share their IDFA identifier for cross-property ad targeting purposes.
Apple now requires app makers to include “privacy labels,” which list the types of data being collected in an easily scannable format — www.nytimes.com
Requiring that app makers list the data they collect reveals a lot about what some apps do with our information (ahem, WhatsApp) but creates confusion about others.
Hudson to introduce Amazon’s Just Walk Out tech in airport stores — www.retaildive.com
How 2020 killed the Instagram brand — digiday.com
ICYMI #instagram
Microsoft patent details tech that could turn dead people into AI chatbots
ICYMI
Publishing & Media
Instagram Adds Content Publishing API, Enabling Business Accounts to Schedule Posts
Instagram added a Content Publishing API (application-programming interface) to its Graph API Platform, making it easier for businesses to publish content to the Facebook-owned photo-and video-sharing network.
As Audiobooks Boom, Publishers Get Inventive With Sound-Only Recipes, Puzzles, How-Tos — www.wsj.com
Audiobooks’ rise in popularity is giving publishers confidence to move beyond lean-back listening.
Spotify Tests Audiobooks With ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘Jane Eyre’ and Other Literary Classics — www.hollywoodreporter.com
Nine classic audiobooks — including Cynthia Erivo’s narration of ‘Persuasion’ and Hilary Swank’s reading of ‘The Awakening’ — are now available on Spotify. #audiobooks #Spotify
Tegna Buys Locked On Podcast Network, Startup Focused on Pro and College Sports Teams
Tegna acquired Locked On Podcast Network, a startup that produces some 160 daily shows for pro sports and college teams. #podcasting
SPAC boom could finally provide an exit ramp for digital publishers like Buzzfeed and Vice Media
www.cnbc.com
Digital media companies may be the latest industry to use SPACs as instruments to go public.
A Safety Guide for Artists
artistsatriskconnection.org
A Safety Guide for Artists explores topics such as defining and understanding risk, preparing for threats, fortifying digital safety, documenting persecution, finding assistance, and recovering from trauma
WSJ launches resource to highlight difference between news and opinion — talkingbiznews.com
RT @michellemanafy The Wall Street Journal launched a new resource designed to educate readers on the standards and ethics that are fundamental to its journalism and also highlight the differences between its news and opinion sections.
Interview: New York Times explains the in-house adtech it is using to prepare for the death of third-party cookies — www.pressgazette.co.uk
Capitol riot arrests: See who’s been charged across the U.S.
RT @jsrailton Amazing: @USATODAY just released an *illustrated* & searchable database of arrests & charges from the #Capitol. Props to the team that assembled it. Huge task. And kudos for making your database public, so helpful to the rest of us. h/t @JaymeKFraser
PostScript Type 1 fonts end of support for Adobe applications
Attn designers, production ppl: Adobe will no longer support Postscript Type 1 fonts as of 2023 (Photoshop will end support for Type 1 fonts in 2021.) — better check your InDesign archives! #InDesign #Design#Production #print #publishing
‘Not just the Zoom happy hour’: Why publishers are adding benefits to lift employee peace of mind — digiday.com
A challenge facing employers is making sure that employees are taken care of and feel like they’re still a part of a (mainly remote) team.
Publishers join literary agencies in running spring ‘rights fairs’ — www.thebookseller.com
Hachette UK, Pan Macmillan and a number of literary agencies will run their own “digital rights fairs” in March to make up for the rescheduling of the London Book Fair and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
Hachette launches Feminist Book Box subscriptions service — www.thebookseller.com
RT @thebookseller .@HachetteUK launches Feminist Book Box subscriptions service, with the first box out in time for International Women’s Day, developed in conjunction with @ViragoBooks, showcasing writing from the imprint under the theme of “forgotten women from history”!
Condé Nast to open first immersive beauty specialist Allure Store in New York City — www.licensing.biz
Condé Nast has detailed the upcoming launch of its first Allure Store to New York City’s Lafayette Street.
Condé Nast Vogue Café Bejing — www.fipp.com
RT @FIPPWorld Translating the 2D digital print experience into a physical space is all about creating those touch points — those recognisable moments consumers associate with #Vogue.
How Kids Television Became the Most Heated Front in the Streaming Wars — variety.com
RT @michellemanafy As more consumers move to streaming-video services, however, kids properties are taking on new importance — and many major entertainment outlets, both traditional and upstart, are gearing for battle.
NBCUniversal is bringing its live events to Twitter users globally — www.cnbc.com
The deal is an effort to expand both the media company’s and social media giant’s advertising and audience reach.
Twitter acquiring newsletter publishing company Revue (which I use for this newsletter) — www.axios.com
MT @sarafischer Deal marks Twitter’s first step into long-form. Also is Twitter’s first foray into subscription revenue. Revue to remain standalone company
Facebook is reportedly building a newsletter tool for indie writers — www.engadget.com
Facebook is building its own newsletter tools, according to The New York Times. The social network is reportedly working on the initiative to offer more services to independent writers and journalists as part of the Facebook Journalism Project. It’s still in its very early stages, but NYT’s sources said the tools could have features similar to what other newsletter services have. #Facebook #newsletters
LSC Communications to Close Spartanburg, S.C., Printing Plant, Impacting Over 400 Workers — www.piworld.com
LSC Communications plans to permanently close its eastside Spartanburg, S.C., printing plant located at 300 Jones Rd. next month, impacting more than 400 workers employed at the one-time RR Donnelley printing operation.
Seattle’s newest bookstore, Oh Hello Again, has a novel system: categorizing books by emotions — www.seattletimes.com
Stepping into Oh Hello Again on Capitol Hill, the pattern-seeking part of your brain might yelp. The books are not arranged alphabetically or into typical bookstore sections.
How a book club helped vaccinate a small town — www.washingtonpost.com
RT @MichelleObama The Fabulous Ladies Book Club is an example of what is possible when people come together to help their community in times of need. Their incredible organizing work has helped so many people in their town get the COVID-19 vaccine. Way to go, ladies!
Book club friends start community refrigerator to help hungry in Skowhegan — www.centralmaine.com
The idea of “freeges,” short for “free food refrigerators,” took root in New York City and has spread across the nation, allowing donors and beneficiaries a veil of anonymity.
‘Game of Thrones’ Animated Series in Early Development at HBO Max— variety.com
An animated “Game of Thrones” series is in the very early development stages at HBO Max, Variety has confirmed with sources.
‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel ‘Tales of Dunk and Egg’ in the Works at HBO— www.hollywoodreporter.com
HBO is in early development on ‘Tales of Dunk and Egg,’ based on a set of novellas by George R.R. Martin that take place 90 years before ‘Game of Thrones.’
Chicago Bookstore Launches National Black Literacy Day — www.publishersweekly.com
Semicolon Bookstore in the Windy City is launching National Black Literacy Day this February 14 and asking others to celebrate too.
Free anthology of black authors to be given to all primary schools in England — www.bbc.com
The initiative will provide a copy of the collection to all primary schools in England.
Fiction prize renamed in honor of Margaret Atwood and late partner Graeme Gibson
www.theguardian.com
The Writers’ Trust of Canada has relaunched its annual fiction award as the Atwood Gibson prize, which Atwood says would have left him ‘very tickled’
Archaeologists Unearth Egyptian Queen’s Tomb, 13-Foot ‘Book of the Dead’ Scroll — www.smithsonianmag.com
The team also discovered dozens of sarcophagi, wooden masks and ancient board games
Resources & Opportunities
BlackCreatorsInKidLit Auction — www.32auctions.com
Silent auction ‘Funding for BlackCreatorsInKidLit’ hosted online at 32auctions. @BCinKidLit
Susan M. Haas Fellowship
RT @cordjefferson In the seven years since I left Gawker to work in TV, I’ve had dozens of journalists reach out to ask how they might get into entertainment. Today, I’m launching a fellowship to help unemployed or underemployed journalists get into film and television.
Jobs and internships in comic books right now — twitter.com
PAID entry-level publishing fellowships and internships
RT @k_alexis_s Interested in a publishing career? Here’s a list of PAID entry-level publishing fellowships and internships for 2021. If you know of any others, please let me know and I’ll add them here.
Scholarships — The Type Directors Club
MT @arabictype You should check out the 2 @typedirectors scholarships for students! Both have a Feb 26 deadline and are meant to support women and minorities.
Evaristo to mentor emerging writers of color in Sky Arts project — www.thebookseller.com
Bernardine Evaristo is collaborating with the Royal Society of Literature to create a mentoring award scheme for emerging authors of color as part of a £300,000 Sky Arts project.
MT @KrogerChefbot
1. Snap a pic of the food you have
2. Tweet your photo to me (@KrogerChefbot)
3. I’ll grind my gears and send back tasty recipes
Galentine’s/Valentine’s Day 2021 — Molly Oliver Flowers
MT @WMG_NYC Support the WMG Scholarship fund and an indie business! Treat yourself or surprise a friend on #GalentineDay with the beauty of flowers from Molly Oliver!