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While I focus on Technology, Innovation, and Publishing, because I have a platform, I also flag items that I think are important, which you might have missed, and try to include a bunch of resources & opportunities. Please let me know what you think.

Important Items

New COVID Vaccine Available

At CVS: https://www.cvs.com/scheduling/patient-lookup?lob=rximz&flow=vaccine&icid=cvs-home-s1-l1-vaccinations

Walgreens https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/schedule-vaccine

Rite Aid https://www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/scheduler

Uninsured? Experts Explain How to Get Your Free COVID Shot Before the Money Runs Out

The Bridge Access Program was launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in September 2023 to provide free COVID-19 vaccinations to the estimated 25 million to 30 million adults in the U.S. without health insurance. The CDC has not given a firm deadline for the end of the program beyond “August 2024.”

https://www.kqed.org/news/12000297/uninsured-experts-explain-how-to-get-your-free-covid-shot-before-the-money-runs-out

U.S. will again offer free at-home Covid tests starting in late September

Americans will soon be able to use COVIDtests.gov to request four free tests, administration officials told reporters. The tests will be able to detect the currently circulating Covid variants, most of which are descendants of the highly contagious omicron variant JN.1.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/23/covid-tests-us-will-offer-free-at-home-kits-starting-late-september.html

Are You Registered to Vote?

Several states have been purging their voter rolls. Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State announced earlier this year that he wanted officials to remove all inactive voters from the rolls. Inactive here doesn’t mean that these individuals have never voted. Per officials in Ohio, inactive means individuals have changed their mailing address and didn’t vote for four years or they have not changed their address but not voted in six years.

In Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that the state would make deregistration easier through a digital portal, which means that any person who has enough personal information about someone else can simply log on and remove them from the rolls.

Check your voter registration status here. You need to do this sooner, rather than later. Once you have verified your registration status, take a screenshot and save it to your phone. No registered voters can be removed from rolls 90 or fewer days from the election. Use this screenshot if you are challenged at the polls.

https://bookriot.com/?p=576084

This Election Will Determine the Fate of Libraries

The United States has seen an unprecedented attack on librarians and libraries over the past three years, and the hate is growing as we head towards the presidential election. Librarians are community helpers who provide resources for all. And the rapid spread of misinformation and hate towards librarians on social media platforms, and by talking heads in the media, is causing chaos in our nation’s libraries. It’s also cause for a rise in anti-library legislation by extremists. Via @abmack33.

https://time.com/7011430/libraries-election-stakes-amanda-jones-essay/

Technology

Condé Nast Signs Deal With OpenAI

The media company joins The Atlantic, Axel Springer, Vox Media, and a host of other publishers who have partnered with OpenAI.

https://www.wired.com/story/conde-nast-openai-deal/

Authors have sued the AI firm Anthropic for alleged copyright infringement

Anthropic projects it will generate more than $850 million of revenue in 2024. “Anthropic’s commercial gain has come at the expense of creators and rightsholders.” While the suit notes that Anthropic has not shared details about its training corpus for Claude, the complaint asserts that Anthropic has admitted to using “the Pile,” which lawyers described as “an 800 GB+ open-source dataset created for large language model training” and allegedly includes a controversial collection called “Books3,” said to be a trove of pirated books.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/95768-authors-sue-ai-firm-anthropic-for-copyright-infringement.html

How A.I. Can Help Start Small Businesses

Entrepreneurs say use of artificial intelligence for a variety of tasks is accelerating the path to hiring and, ideally, profitability.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/18/business/economy/ai-business-startups.html

Meta’s ad biz booms with AI

Advertising made up 98% of Meta’s revenues in Q2 of this year. A Meta-commissioned study of over 1 million U.S. advertisers, found that one dollar of investment per advertiser will now generate $3.71 in return for that advertisers’ business, a 12% increase since 2022. Ad impressions across delivered Meta’s family of apps (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads) increased by 10% year-over-year during the second quarter of 2024. The average price per ad increased by 10% year-over-year. More than 50% of the content people see on Instagram is recommended by AI.

https://www.axios.com/2024/08/20/meta-ai-ad-business

Walmart executives say generative AI is 100 times more productive at updating product pages than people

https://www.modernretail.co/technology/walmart-executives-say-generative-ai-is-100-times-more-productive-at-updating-product-pages-than-people/

Upgrading Our AI Quotient

By @rishad

https://open.substack.com/pub/rishad/p/upgrading-our-ai-quotient

South Korea’s AI textbook program faces skepticism from parents

The tablets are scheduled to be introduced next year, and by 2028, teachers are supposed to be using these AI textbooks for all subjects except music, art, physical education and ethics. In response, more than 50,000 parents have signed a petition demanding that the government focus l ess on new tech and more on students’ overall well-being: “We, as parents, are already encountering many issues at unprecedented levels arising from [our children’s] exposure to digital devices.”

https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/18/south-koreas-ai-textbook-program-faces-skepticism-from-parents/

Google just made a $250M deal with California to support journalism — here’s what it means

https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/24/google-just-made-a-250m-deal-with-california-to-support-journalism-heres-what-it-means/

Publishing & Media

“A lot of us are gone.” How the push to diversify publishing fell short

Lisa Lucas was among the big hires meant to shake up the industry. Her departure, alongside other prominent Black editors and executives, has led some to question publishers’ pledge to diversify.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/21/books/publishing-diversity-lisa-lucas.html

Are Bookstores a Waste of Space?

HT @publishingtrend They are community-building spaces w practitioners of bibliotherapy. They introduce people to books to overcome grief or minister to confusions about life choices or personal identity.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/08/26/a-history-of-the-american-bookstore-evan-friss-book-review

Children and young people who read comics were more engaged with reading

HT @NoetheMatt In a study of 64,066 children and young people aged 8 to 18 from across the UK: Nearly twice as many children and young people who read comics in their free time told us that they enjoy reading compared with those who didn’t read comics in their free time, more of those who read comics rated themselves as ‘very good’ or ‘good’ readers compared with those who didn’t read comics, and more of those who read comics told us that they read something daily in their free time compared with peers who did not read comics. Children and young people told us that they read comics because they were accessible and engaging, supported their wellbeing, and provided opportunities to learn about different cultures.

https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/children-and-young-peoples-engagement-with-comics-in-2023/

There’s Never Been a Better Time to Pick Up a Book About Media Literacy

In the same way that no one thinks they’re influenced by ads, most people feel confident that they can spot misinformation and disinformation in media — and most people are wrong.

https://bookriot.com/?p=575456

The Hidden Racism of Book Cover Design

HT @LauraB7 The publishing industry’s troubling reliance on visual stereotypes

https://thewalrus.ca/the-hidden-racism-of-book-cover-design/

39 Literary Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Fall

https://lithub.com/39-literary-movies-and-tv-shows-to-watch-this-fall/

No Joke: The Onion Thinks Print Is the Future of Media

The satirical site is hoping a newspaper with fake stories and fake ads will lead to real money.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/16/business/media/the-onion-print-paper.html

Sullivan City’s first-ever public library transforming community

HT @ALALibrary In a small town in Texas, a school librarian turned mayor leads the charge to build the town’s very first library.

https://myrgv.com/local-news/2024/08/13/sullivan-citys-first-ever-public-library-transforming-community/

Most Americans Oppose School Book Bans and Restrictions

More adults are concerned about their students’ access to material being restricted than they are their students browsing or borrowing books with so-called “inappropriate” content. They also trust school library workers to select, acquire, and share materials in the school library, with 78% confident in the skills of library professionals.

https://bookriot.com/?p=576560

Wisconsin’s ‘banned book queen’ tracks book challenges and worries about widespread bans

HT @sljournal Last year, Wisconsin was the second-leading state nationally in the number of school library book removals, according to a new report she and others wrote for PEN America. A big reason for that was one parent in the Elkhorn Area School District who requested a review of 444 books….“For a young person … sometimes the school library is the only safe place for them,” Magnusson said. “That’s the only place they can get (a book) and be safe and learn about their world. It’s awful when that is closed to them.”

https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-school-book-bans-libraries-tasslyn-magnusson-report

TN Principal advises teachers to not use classroom libraries due to new law

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/mid-south/classroom-libraries-tennessee-book-law/

The Attacks on Our Libraries

Via @abmack33

https://x.com/abmack33/status/1827401019803811980

Resources & Opportunities

Discuss the Do’s and Don’ts of Career Pivots with with WMG Fundraising Co-Chair Carol Hoenig

WMG Members: Join the waitlist for this in-person dinner w Fundraising Co-Chair Carol Hoenig. 9/18 6pm.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-5843584

Discoverability: Get Your Content/Services in Front of Your Target Audience

Join WMG for a tips-filled hour about improving the discoverability of your books, media, services, websites, or other content in a modern, noisy AI-powered marketplace. 9/19 6-7pm ET. FREE for WMG members; $15 for non-members.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-5835394

Walk & Talk in Central Park with WMG co-President Jennifer Perry

WMG Members: Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to walk & talk with Co-President Jennifer Perry, a superb Central Park history buff. 9/28 10:30am.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-5843548

ALA seeking proposals for its Library as Literacy Centers initiative

MT @ALALibrary The ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services is seeking proposals for its Library as Literacy Centers initiative, a multi-year project aimed at transforming libraries into key literacy hubs. Proposals are due by September 16, 2024.

https://www.ala.org/advocacy/literacy/odlos-seeks-proposals-library-literacy-centers-initiative

Volunteer at the 2024 Brooklyn Book Festival

MT @BKBF Calling all readers! We’re looking for volunteers for #BKBF24! Join us on Children’s Day (Sep 28), Festival Day (Sep 29), or both! Your could be an author escort, line manager, info booth assistant and more! Register at the link below by September 1st.

https://brooklynbookfestival.org/volunteer/

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Technology * Innovation * Publishing Newsletter #306