Can Twitter co-founder take an 'evolutionary leap' into storytelling?

Collaborative publishing website Medium, which aims to reinvent the blog, secures first external investmentMedium, Twitter co-founder Ev Williams's online publishing venture, has no shortage of ambition – to reinvent the blog as a digital storytelling format and match the impact of the microblogging service, no less.Williams, who launched Medium in August 2012 with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, has said their aim is "re-imagining publishing in an attempt to make an evolutionary leap" by building a new platform from scratch that would put an emphasis on ideas, stories and collaboration. To achieve this, however, the company will have to get over several hurdles, not least addressing the confusion over Medium's perceived strategy and business model, summed up by Reuters media commentator Jack Shafer, who describes it – while not lacking potential – as up to now being "a mystery wrapped up in a hashtag concealed by a catchy URL".This uncertainty has clearly not put off investors: Medium, which employs 50 full-time staff, announced last week that it had secured its first external investment, a $25m funding round led by Greylock Partners, with participation from Google Ventures and individual investors. Initial funding for the platform came from Williams's investment vehicle The Obvious Corporation.Perhaps this enthusiasm shouldn't be a surprise. As well as co-founding Twitter, Williams launched blog publishing service Blogger in 1999 and Medium is, ostensibly, similar – with... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]

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NBF’s 2024 Literarian Award to Be Awarded as Planned

Following the publication of two articles critical of several titles in the Black Classic Press backlist, the National Book Foundation confirmed that it will move forward with honoring its founder, W. Paul Coates, with its lifetime achievement award at this year’s National Book Awards ceremony. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-11-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Court Orders Amazon E-book Monopoly Lawsuit to Proceed

A federal judge has held that “monopolization” claims against Amazon can move forward, finding that lawyers for a potential consumer class have plausibly alleged that Amazon’s conduct in the e-book market has led to “reduced competition” and “higher e-book prices." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Toppan Leefung Empowers Staff to Move Forward

The last decade has witnessed an incredible transformation at Toppan Leefung Printing Limited, with the company evolving from a printing corporation into a multifaceted and diversified conglomerate. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Music industry avoids legal battle with new streaming royalty deal

Music publishers, songwriters and musicians have struck a deal with streaming services for US mechanical streaming rates for 2023-2027, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has announced. The NMPA, Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and Digital Media Association... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-09-01 12:34:02 UTC ]
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Karp Defends Pence, Post Hill Decisions

After some employees began circulating a petition urging S&S to drop Post Hill Press as a distribution client and to cancel its publishing deal with former Vice President Mike Pence, CEO Jonathan Karp said the publisher will continue serving as Post Hill's distributor and will move forward... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Preparing for the Post-Sargent Era

After the sudden and unexpected loss of its CEO, Macmillan looks to move forward. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sharjah World Book Capital Leads Beirut Library Restoration Aid

As Beirut struggles to move forward, the Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi and Sharjah's World Book Capital program step in to help libraries. The post Sharjah World Book Capital Leads Beirut Library Restoration Aid appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-09-14 18:40:21 UTC ]
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U.S. judge rules John Bolton can publish book despite efforts by Trump administration to block it

A federal judge ruled Saturday that former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton can move forward in publishing his tell-all book despite efforts by the Trump administration to block the release because of concerns that classified... Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2020-06-20 14:56:06 UTC ]
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NBCC Board, Down to 9 Members, Begins 'Difficult Internal Work'

One week after the National Book Critics Circle released an anti-racism pledge following the publication, on Twitter, of an email critical of certain phrases in that pledge, a now-gutted NBCC board of directors has released a statement addressing how it intends to move forward. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Folio:’s Promise to Our Community During the Covid-19 Pandemic

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[ Folio Magazine | 2020-03-17 18:18:06 UTC ]
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NYT launches ‘The 1619 Project’ to examine the legacy of slavery in America

In August 1619, as colonist John Rolfe wrote at the time, “twenty and odd Negroes” who were captured and taken from Angola arrived on the Virginia coast; they were promptly sold to wealthy English landowners, setting the stage for slavery in America for centuries to come. To recognize the 400th... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-14 15:59:53 UTC ]
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The Publishing Industry Knows ‘Winter Is Coming.’ Here’s How It Can Move Forward

Graydon Carter, 25 years. Robbie Myers, 17 years. Cindi Leive, 16 years. Nancy Gibbs, 4 years as editor in chief and 28 more at the company. All four major magazine editors, at Vanity Fair, Elle, Glamour and Time, respectively, have stepped down from their positions within the month of... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2017-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Village Voice Is Killing Off Its Print Edition

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[ Advertising Age | 2017-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Judge says Twitter can proceed with lawsuit to increase transparency about government surveillance

Transparency reports about government data requests have become very common from tech companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google. But while these firms publish reports, their hands are tied when it comes to what they can reveal. Twitter wants to change that. A federal judge in California... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2017-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You May Not See Original Facebook-Exclusive Video Content From Publishers Until August

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[ AdWeek | 2017-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Domino Poaches Refinery29 Exec Nathan Coyle to Be CEO

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[ Advertising Age | 2016-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Sourcebooks, Diversification Drives Gains

Sourcebooks continues to move forward at a rapid pace, with company executives reporting a 20% sales gain in 2014 over 2013. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'If I Stay' author Gayle Forman discusses the movie adaptation of her YA book

'Stay' follows a teenage cellist, Mia, who must decide whether to die or move forward with life after becoming injured in a car accident. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hastings Merger Can Move Forward

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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