Innovation
Is this the world’s largest virtual fashion show? — www.bbc.com
I just saw a chart that said Gen Zers report feeling more like themselves online than offline. Besides gaming, they’re checking on their avatars and shopping for them in the #metaverse.
Art Basel Meets the NFT Cool Kids — techonomy.com
NFTs continue their invasion of the art world, most recently at Art Basel. The rich, newly-rich, and JPEG-rich converged in proximity to Basquiat et al. #NFTs
NFT Market Generated Over $23 Billion In Trading Volume In 2021 — www.forbes.com
JPEGs going out for tens of millions of dollars, legacy auction houses selling blockchain-based artworks and accepting cryptocurrency for payment, fashion brands issuing digital wearables…2021 will certainly go down in the annals of crypto history as the year of NFTs.
Lessons from Hollywood’s Digital Transformation
HT @Personanondata Some good food for thought on digital transformation #digitaltransformation
Technology
That Fun TikTok Video? It’s Actually an Ad. — www.nytimes.com
ByteDance Sees TikTok Become Internet QVC — Advertisers have been searching for the digital equivalent of home shopping channels. Brands are flocking to the platform like never before, drawn by its more than 1 billion users and its algorithm, which can make an ad seem like just another video. #Advertising #TikTok
Pinterest Adds Option to Reply to a Comment with an Idea Pin — www.socialmediatoday.com
HT @TheTiltNews Pinterest creators can interact with their audiences through the new “Reply with new Idea Pin.” You can include a visual element along with all relevant context to help your fans.
Big tech versus surveillance mercenaries
HT @benedictevans Last month Apple sued NSO (the company behind Pegasus spyware), for making, selling and operating highly sophisticated hacks for anyone who could pay. Now Facebook has published a report about NSO and six other companies, and said that it notified 50k people who were targeted. ‘Big tech’ can’t stop Iran or India from wanting to hack dissidents, but it is trying to change the financial, reputational and career consequences for the hackers-for-hire companies, employees and perhaps investors.
AWS suffers third outage in December
Failure in northern Virginia data center affected Slack, Epic Games among others.
Taboola teams with Microsoft to launch a real-time service that lets advertisers bid for ad inventory across the open web
The open web is being evaluated for ways it can give content creators independence from massive tech platforms. By @sarafischer.
Publishing
Amazon, Lee Child & John Grisham Win $7.8m Judgment Against eBook Pirates
HT @davewiner Amazon, Penguin Random House and authors including Lee Child and John Grisham have been awarded $7.8m following an eBook piracy lawsuit.
Book challenges in Texas have some librarians worried for their jobs but this group is fighting back — www.cnn.com
RT @shannonrwatts Library professionals in Texas are building a grassroots movement called #FReadom to fight back against the huge wave of book challenges in the state, and to create a space for school librarians to support one another. #txlege
Texans now challenging books in local public libraries
HT @draccah Some Texas residents are asking for greater say in what titles appear on public library shelves.
It’s 2021 and once again they’re banning books. What message does that send?
www.theguardian.com
My work is among 850 inclusive titles a Texas lawmaker wants out of school libraries — 62% are LGBTQ+, says author Juno Dawson
The most popular US library books of 2021 — qz.com
In 2021, Americans read diverse titles and authors from multiple genres.
‘Podcast Movies’? What do you call a podcast that presents a single, fictional story in 90 minutes?
Feature-length Fiction Stretches the Medium
7 Web/Magazine Publishers on What’s in Store for 2022
www.adweek.com
The publishing universe stands poised for another year of radical transformation
10 media execs, under the cloak of anonymity, predict 2022’s industry-shaking events
www.cnbc.com
Media executives anonymously predicted 2022’s industry-shifting events, including Bob Iger coming back as Disney CEO and Shari Redstone selling ViacomCBS.
Private investors plot Forbes buyout as SPAC alternative
MT @michellemanafy Investment firm GSV is working on a bid to buy Forbes Media at a $620 million valuation as an alternative to Forbes’ announced SPAC merger, Axios has learned. By @sarafischer and @imkialikethecar.
Gannett in Deal to Sell Sports, Concert Tickets
Gannett has teamed with TicketSmarter to provide tickets for sporting events, concerts and theater performances.
Why US publishers aren’t signing up to Google News Showcase
Resources & Opportunities
The Bronx is Reading Bookstore — ifundwomen.com
Let’s help @bronxisreading! In 2018, she crowdfunded to bring a festival to her community featuring best-selling & award-winning authors of color. Now, she’s raising funds to bring a children’s bookstore uptown. Spread the word!!
WMG has some great events coming up! Check them out!!
WMG Mastermind Group for Career Growth 1/13 at noon
The pandemic has made some of us rethink career choices and priorities. Are you thinking of making a change? Do you want to put your dream job description out there in the universe and get some help finding the contacts to make it happen? Come bounce ideas off of your WMG peers, who represent a very wide range of media professionals eager to share concrete advice and lend a hand, a shoulder, or whatever you might need to take your next step. This is a FREE, confidential, members-only virtual event. @WMG_NYC
FREE event: Unfollow Your Passion: What rules to forget (and flat-out ignore) when writing your book in 2022
Is one of your new year’s resolutions to finally start (or finish) your book? There’s tons of advice out there on how you “should” do it. But quite often, the advice doesn’t free up creativity; it constricts it. Join us for a fun evening that’s part discussion and part book launch with WMG member Terri Trespicio, author of Unfollow Your Passion: How to Create a Life that Matters to You (Atria Books, December 2021), and Richelle Fredson, founder of Purposeful Platforms and former head of publicity at Hay House. Come discover a fresh and nonlinear approach to crafting, sharing, and promoting your work. FREE virtual event for all! 1/19 7pm EST.
The State of Book Publishing: NYT Publishing Reporter Alexandra Alter in conversation w Maris Kreizman
We’re excited to welcome Alexandra Alter, publishing reporter for The New York Times, and Maris Kreizman, essayist, critic and host of The Maris Review on Lit Hub, for a far-ranging discussion on the seismic shifts in how we’re discovering, buying and consuming books and what the future holds for authors, publishers, retailers and readers. FREE virtual event for WMG Members, $15 for non-members. 1/26 6–7:30pm ET.
Breaking In: Career Opportunities In Branded Content
There are an estimated 56% more job openings in branded content versus traditional journalism. That’s why we see an uptick in journalists and editors wondering how to break into this kind of content creation. Another truth: creating content for brands can be fascinating and even fun — as either a gig or a career. In this session, we’ll cover: How to find a job or writing opportunity; what the work entails; and where the industry is headed. FREE virtual event for members, $10 for non-members. 2/1 7pm ET.