Innovation
The Metaverse: New Study Offers a View from Inside — www.razorfish.com
HT @dianamurphyster Discover how Gen Z blends experiences across virtual and offline worlds and how brands can build meaningful interactions in this fascinating environment. “Despite the knowledge gap, brands should be paying attention because one thing is clear — money’s being spent in the metaverse”
DALL-E, the Metaverse, and Zero Marginal Content
stratechery.com
Machine-learning generated content has major implications on the Metaverse, because it brings the marginal cost of production to zero.
Deep Learning Is Hitting a Wall
nautil.us
What would it take for artificial intelligence to make real progress?
Behind Mark Zuckerberg big plans for AR glasses
www.theverge.com
The company Meta, formerly called Facebook, aims to release its first true pair of augmented reality glasses in 2024, along with a futuristic wrist device for controlling them.
Amazon is quietly developing a ‘new-to-world’ AR product
Amazon announces a $1B Industrial Innovation Fund to back companies of all stages developing customer fulfillment, logistics, and supply chain technologies
Technology
Amazon unveils Buy with Prime, which lets select third-party merchants use Amazon’s shipping and logistics network to fulfill orders placed on their own sites
Web3 and the Trap of ‘For Good’
HT @BISG Because decentralization doesn’t necessarily mean redistributing power, Web3 must make values integral to the architecture.
Why Snapchat’s Product Is Booming
bigtechnology.substack.com
The company withstood Facebook’s best swing, now it’s growing fast again. Here’s why.
Google gives Europe a ‘reject all’ button for tracking cookies after fines from watchdogs
www.theverge.com
Google is updating its cookie banners in Europe, giving users the option to reject all tracking cookies with a single click. Google was previously fined by French watchdog CNIL for steering users away from rejecting cookies.
‘Exploding Kittens’ gets show and mobile game at Netflix — www.latimes.com
This is the first time that Netflix is launching a game and adapting it into a TV show.
Why The Roku Channel Is Ramping Up Original Content Production
www.adexchanger.com
The Roku Channel started off as a licensed third-party content hub. But now, the channel’s courting original content to drive engagement and monetization.
Why Podcasters Will Be Stuck Doing Video
There is a battle brewing and traditional podcasters are not going to like it. By the end of the year, it’s going to be essential that podcasters are creating proper video versions of their shows.
Like Microsoft, Sony is working on letting partners insert ads into free-to-play PlayStation games, and giving players in-game items for watching ads
Is Coinbase’s New NFT Marketplace the Answer to Its Growth Problems?
www.bloomberg.com
Coinbase Global Inc.’s marketplace for nonfungible tokens is finally here in what could be key to reviving the crypto exchange’s growth prospects a year after its fizzling public debut.
How news publishers made $11m selling NFTs
Media & Publishing
Knock It Down:Journalism’s Barrier-Breaking Leaders of Color on the Past, Present, and Future of the Whitewashed Industry — www.bitchmedia.org
A digital map is helping LGBTQ people find queer-owned businesses near them — www.nbcnews.com
Charlie Sprinkman created Everywhere Is Queer, a worldwide map of LGBTQ-owned businesses, to help queer people find each other.
Research Project Suggests Ways to Make Publishing Carbon Neutral
lunch.publishersmarketplace.com
New Bill Politicizing Libraries in Kentucky is a Massive Alarm Bell for the Freedom to Read
ICYMI PEN America has issued a statement in response to a new bill passed by the Kentucky Legislature, Senate Bill 167, which would, in effect, politicize county library boards, allowing county executives to reject recommended appointees and take control of the boards through political appointees. The bill becomes law in January 2023.
Waterstones and authors raise money for Ukraine
www.theguardian.com
Bernardine Evaristo and Jasper Fforde are among the authors whose books will be sold to raise money for Oxfam’s appeal
BookTok Is Revitalizing the Publishing Industry, and POC Creators Are Leading the Charge
www.elle.com
How TikTok’s reader-centric community is championing for diversity both on and off the screen.
Library of Congress: Rare Book and Special Collections Division Digitizes 40 Years of Poetry Project Sound Recordings
HT @paulkbiba
They Made a Difference: 25 Book Business Change Makers — www.publishersweekly.com
Turning the spotlight onto 25 seriously consequential individuals whose mark on the industry as we know it today is indelible.
Paramount is making Nickelodeon content available in Ukrainian and offering it for free across Europe for child refugees. — worldscreen.com
Resources & Opportunities
A Conversation on Entrepreneurial and Multi Platform Journalism
RT @womenjournos Join NLGJA: the Association of LGBTQ Journalists and the Journalism and Women’s Symposium (JAWS) on Wednesday, May 4 at 7 p.m. ET for A Conversation on Entrepreneurial and Multi Platform Journalism.
Latinx Kidlit Book Festival 2022! — www.youtube.com
MT @LatinxKidLitBF The 2022 Latinx Kidlit Book Festival will bring you another year of spotlights on Latinx books & creators! Educational fun so you can celebrate diverse #kidlit in the classroom. Join us Oct. 13–14, during Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month for #LKBF22
National Teen BPL eCard
RT @Goodable The Brooklyn Public Library has announced that any teenager in America is now eligible for a Brooklyn Public Library card. Teens can sign out ebooks + audiobooks from wherever they live. The move is designed to combat censorship, with some titles listed as “always available.”
Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl Begins Next Week — www.nbcnewyork.com
Here’s what local bookstores are doing in Brooklyn to support small businesses affected by the pandemic.
Authors Guild Launches a Banned Book Club — www.publishersweekly.com
In response to the surge in book-banning efforts across the country, the Authors Guild has teamed with the book club app Fable to launch the virtual monthly Banned Books Club.
MT @wordisdiversity Calling all women and nonbinary #authors of color! We’ve partnered with @FeministPress in support of the #MeriwetherPrize! Open April 1- May 8! No fee to enter.
We Need Diverse Books Offers Banned Book Grants to Educators
www.publishersweekly.com
We Need Diverse Books has launched an initiative to provide teachers and librarians with $2,000 grants earmarked for purchases of banned books, author visits to schools, and other actions in support of books.
Firelight Media’s Documentary Lab
Applications open for Firelight Media’s Documentary Lab on Monday, 5/2, and close on 6/13. The 18-month program provides emerging non-fiction filmmakers of color with a $25,000 grant and mentorship, workshops, and networking opportunities.
Kids’ Inventions Journal
RT @miralsattar My daughter and I worked on an inventions journals for kids together. She’s 8, she designed the cover & interior. We are going to donate the royalties to help refugee families when anyone buys within the next ten days of Ramadan
Last chance to sign up for this week’s WMG event!
Attention Writers, Editors, and Agents: It’s this week! Don’t miss this event!! * Tell your friends — free for @WMG_NYC members, only $15 for non-members. * 4/27 at noon ET. Master Agent, CAA’s Mollie Glick (in convo w/ Christine Pride). Mollie will be sharing:
* The best advice for #authors crafting their pitch
* What a super agent wishes #publishers + #editors knew