Innovation
Cool Mission to clean up pollution in space — www.nbcnews.com
Astroscale’s ELSA-d will test tech to capture objects in low-Earth orbit & move them to lower altitude to burn up harmlessly in atmosphere, helping reduce space debris.
YouTube tests product detection in videos — www.retaildive.com
Watch for eCommerce in YouTube videos.
Technology
Spotify buys Locker Room app’s maker Betty Labs in live audio push — www.reuters.com
Spotify Inc said on Tuesday it has purchased Betty Labs, the company behind sports-focused social audio app Locker Room, to accelerate its move into live audio. #Spotify
Even LinkedIn is making a Clubhouse clone — www.theverge.com
LinkedIn is joining the ranks of many other companies by building a Clubhouse-like social audio feature, the social network confirmed to TechCrunch. It will begin beta testing soon.
LinkedIn adds Creator mode, video profiles, and in partnership with Microsoft, new career training tools — techcrunch.com
Platforms vs. PhDs: How tech giants court and crush the people who study them — www.protocol.com
Facebook demanded that a New York University research project cease collecting data about its political-ad-targeting practices. NYU Ad Observatory launched last fall by the university’s engineering school.
Zero-click Google searches rose to nearly 65% in 2020
HT @benedictevans Zero-click Google searches were 65% of the total in 2020. Is the job to be done ‘answers’ or ‘ten blue links’
Did you know that the ads on Amazon now outnumber all other content? — www.marketplacepulse.com
Apple expands Apple Arcade with classic App Store games — techcrunch.com
Apple has announced an expansion for its subscription gaming service Apple Arcade. In addition to exclusive game releases, the company is adding two new categories — Timeless Classics and App Store Greats. In the “App Store Greats” category, you can find some well-known iPhone games that have been released over the past decade.
Microsoft won a nearly $22 billion contract to supply U.S. Army combat troops with its augmented reality headsets. — apnews.com
Zoom wants to be a platform — techcrunch.com
HT @benedictevans One clear sign of a maturing platform is when the company exposes to other developers the services it uses for its own tools. Zoom has been doing that for some time, introducing Zoom Apps last year and the Marketplace to distribute and sell these apps. The company introduced a new SDK (software development kit) to let developers tap into video services.
Apple backs start-up aiming to disrupt music labels
Apple led a $50 million investment in UnitedMasters, which looks to capitalize as more artists try to distribute music online.
Publishing & Media
Tencent’s e-book spinoff eyes North American expansion
China Literature, the ebook venture of the Chinese chat and gaming giant Tencent, has launched a North American platform, w more than 200K original English-language titles + 1K translated works. The company is launching a writing contest w min $200/month.
George RR Martin signs five-year, eight-figure deal for more HBO projects
Game of Thrones author also has a Netflix film on the way, but there is still no word of his finishing the fantasy series that made his name. #teamPRH
Tribeca Film Festival Announces Plans for In-Person 2021 Events — variety.com
MT @michellemanafy Tribeca Film Festival Announces Plans for In-Person 2021 Events “In 2021, the 12-day festival will be an outdoor celebration of movies and media.”
Scribd Audio is producing original audiobooks for the Spanish Market
via @goodereader
National Teen Book Club from HarperCollins UK
RT @PublisHerEvents ‘Educational equality charity Speakers for Schools is teaming up with Book Clubs in Schools and HarperCollins to found virtual book clubs for young people.’
Miranda Writes Books and Bar Coming to the Bronx
Serial Box Renames Itself Realm, Launches Free Podcast Strategy
variety.com
Serial Box is rebranding as Realm, and the audio-fiction company is now releasing original shows as free, ad-supported podcasts.
Meredith Is Said to Explore Sale of Local Television Stations — www.bloomberg.com
Meredith Corp. is considering selling its television stations, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would focus the media conglomerate on its magazine division.
How Good Housekeeping’s membership is changing the reader-publication relationship — digiday.com
Good Housekeeping is testing what a membership model looks like in conjunction with a subscription product. #magazines
Drew Barrymore Launches Drew Lifestyle Magazine — wwd.com
Drew Barrymore talks about launching her lifestyle magazine, which focuses on travel, food and beauty.
Best of New York 2021 — www.curbed.com
RT @mediastarnews New York magazine’s “Best of New York” franchise has turned into an online project — an expanding resource that could rival Yelp.
A potential deal between Axios and the Athletic would be part of a plan to create a larger company with a portfolio of digital-media publishers
Submit Your #NPRpoetry For National Poetry Month — www.npr.org
’Tis the season to fill our feeds; need not rhyme nor reason for our poetry needs: Help NPR celebrate with your original poems on social media. Each week, we’ll enlist poets to pick their favorites.
Resources & Opportunities
How to Get Accepted by a Writing Mentorship Program — www.janefriedman.com
MT @JaneFriedman Having a writing mentor can add rocket fuel to your progress as a writer. Here’s a list of mentorship programs available and how to best apply for one — by Pitch Wars mentor @julieartz
2021 Editor-Writer Mentorship
RT @wordisdiversity It’s time!! Our 2021 Editor-Writer #Mentorship is here!! We are thrilled to partner with seven amazing editors from Simon & Schuster for pic bk, mg, ya, adult fic, and adult non-fic pairings!! Apply April 5–30
Now open! Mentor applications for DVmentor and DVdebut! — diversevoicesinc.org
MT @_DiverseVoices Calling all agented marginalized authors/illustrators! Join us in building a community! We are now accepting applications for mentors in our first-ever mentorship programs! Read about DVdebut and DVmentor and find out how to apply here.
Volemos: The Meg Medina Grant
MT @scbwi Introducing: VOLEMOS, the @Meg_Medina grant. Open to Hispanic/Latinx/Ibero-American authors who are early in their career or not yet pubbed. One winner will receive $500 along with conference reg & a coaching session. Open to members. Deadline is 4/30.
New Grant Program Will Aid Indie Bookstores — www.publishersweekly.com
A new industry initiative to help independent booksellers and comic shops recover from the Covid-19 pandemic launched, with a $500,000 contribution from Ingram Charities and Ingram Content Group as well as significant gifts from Bookshop.org and four major publishers. The Survive to Thrive grant program hopes to raise a total of $2 million by the end of May to support indie bookstores. #teamPRH
Independent Bookstore Day — libro.fm
HT @diversebooks When you spend $15 at your local bookstore on April 24th, you can get a free select audiobook from @librofm#IndieBookstoreDay
Native Children’s and YA Writing Intensive — diversebooks.org
Black Girl 44 Scholarship
RT @DeeshaDyer The Black Girl 44 Scholarship is back. 105 Black women who served under @BarackObama will award 10 financial scholarships to Black women who are doing 2021 summer internships in politics & public service. Deadline is May 1, 2021.
DigiPublish Virtual Forum 2021
Free @W_F_Disrupt DigiPublish Virtual Forum on April 20.
Annabelle Gurwitch in Conversation with Sandra Tsing Loh
Join us! @WMG_NYC presents an evening w these hilarious ladies: @LAGurwitch in conversation w @SandraTsingLoh on 4/13 — all welcome! #readwomen #WomenSupportingWomen @jkhoey
Ever Given Ever Ywhere
evergiven-everywhere.glitch.me
Fun! (Just a little late….) RT @benedictevans Put That Ship on Google Maps, to scale, anywhere on earth.