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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Hillwalkers fall foul of Twitter crackdown | Brief letters

Twitter and Russia | Men of letters | Swaths blasted | Evolving words | Robert Mugabe backwardsTwitter ruthlessly rooted out the duplicate accounts of a friend who was using one for himself and one for the hillwalking group whose Facebook page he moderates, and has banned him from returning. So... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Investment pulled on storytelling platform Oolipo

German publisher Bastei Lübbe has pulled its investment of mobile storytelling platform Oolipo, once heralded as "the offspring of a love-affair between Netflix, YouTube, and a Snapchat Story", after it failed to gain traction with users and capture the attention of further investors. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jacaranda founder named on 'influential black Briton' list

Jacaranda Books founder Valerie Brandes has been named one of the 100 most influential black Britons. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sandstone signs Vagenda co-founder Cosslett's debut novel

Sandstone Press has acquired The Tyranny of Lost Things, the debut novel from The Vagenda blog founder Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett which it says will "resonate with the millenial generation". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alma Books' founder Gallenzi signs novel with Rizzoli

Alma Books publisher Alessandro Gallenzi’s fourth novel, Mombello, the first to be written by him originally in Italian, will be published by Rizzoli in Italy in spring 2018. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Best of the week: Twitter live video lures publishers

This week, our top stories covered publishers’ interest in Twitter live video, Facebook’s sports streaming rights push and more. The post Best of the week: Twitter live video lures publishers appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As Facebook Live video dreams fade, publishers look again to Twitter

Twitter's approach to promoting and monetizing live video is winning fans among publishers. The post As Facebook Live video dreams fade, publishers look again to Twitter appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook and Twitter could face 'online abuse levy'

The government wants firms such as Facebook and Twitter to publish annual reports on abuse. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2017-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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140 Characters, the Defining Quirk of Twitter, Becomes a Relic of the Past

Twitter's 140-character limit died today after a long battle with Facebook. It is survived by brands, publishers and personalities, who will miss its insistence on wit and getting to the point.That's right: Twitter is expanding its character limit on text posts to 280 characters from 140,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2017-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Upstart 50 Creative: Matt Oehrlein and Gui Cavalcanti, Co-founders at Megabots

For decades, the creators of movies, comic books and video games have dreamed up a future where giant robots engage in combat. Inspired by their childhood fandom and aided by extensive expertise in robotics, Matt Oehrlein and Gui Cavalcanti decided to make that fantasy a reality. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2017-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hay House founder Louise Hay dies

Louise Hay, the founder of self-help publisher Hay House, has died of natural causes aged 90. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Louise Hay, Founder of Hay House, Dies at 90

Louise Hay, author and founder of self-help publisher Hay House, has died of natural causes. She was 90. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twitter will render children illiterate in 20 years says Jacobson

Novelist Howard Jacobson has said children may be illiterate in 20 years' time, thanks to the rise of smartphones and social media platforms such as Twitter. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Crossan | 'I'm not interested in lecturing anyone. I think of myself as a storyteller'

After a purple patch of prize wins with 2015's verse novel One, Dubliner Sarah Crossan returns with Moonrise. Fiona Noble reports. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Riot founder Hooson leaves to start charity

Anwen Hooson, co-founder and co-managing director of PR agency Riot Communications, is leaving the company to launch a performing arts charity.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Founder of Canada's Giller Prize Dies at 87

Jack Rabinovitch, the founder of Canada's richest prize for English-language fiction, the C$100,000 Giller Prize, died on Sunday. He was 87. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US publishers' revenues leap 4.9% in first quarter

US book publishing revenues have risen 4.9% for the first quarter of 2017 following higher sales in Adult books and higher education course materials, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) has reported. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Richer Sounds founder argues for 'ethical capitalism' with PRH

Richer Sounds founder Julian Richer is publishing two books with Penguin Random House. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leadbeater wins first UK Kindle Storyteller Award

David Leadbeater has won the inaugural £20k UK Kindle Storyteller Award for his self-published crime thriller The Relic Hunters. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twitter plans to shut down SnappyTV in favor of new TV-clipping tool

SnappyTV allows publishers to share TV clips across Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. Twitter is replacing it with a tool that only works for Twitter. The post Twitter plans to shut down SnappyTV in favor of new TV-clipping tool appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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