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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MH Abrams, Norton anthology founder, influential critic, dead at age 102

Esteemed critic, teacher and tastemaker helped shape the modern literary canon and wrote one of the 20th century’s most acclaimed works of criticismMH Abrams, an esteemed critic and teacher who helped shape the modern literary canon as founding editor of the Norton Anthology of English... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #acclaimed works #helped shape #founding editor #norton anthology #english literature #give details


Turkey blocks Facebook, YouTube and Twitter; Zuckerberg caves in, Google fights back

Today Turkey blocked access to a number of websites including YouTube and Twitter. The ban came after the sites published images of a prosecutor being taken hostage at a court in Istanbul earlier in the week. Google has vowed to getting things back up and running, but it's not the same story for... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2015-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #court ruling


Twitter and Hachette partner on author videos

Hachette UK is working with Twitter to launch a series of videos featuring its authors talking about what they are writing live from their location using Twitter’s new Periscope app. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Facebook and Twitter shouldn’t be the only ones with native mobile video

Nikao Yang is the senior vice president of global marketing at Opera Mediaworks and senior vice president of business development and marketing. “Scrolling the feed” is the new flicking through TV channels with a remote. It’s the alternative to flipping the pages in a magazine. It’s even... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #global marketing #business development #tv channels


J.K. Rowling stays positive in her Twitter discussion with a fan

When a fan questioned Rowling's statement that she envisioned 'Harry Potter' character Dumbledore as gay, the author replied that 'gay people just look like ... people.' 'Amazing answer,' the fan replied. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twitter partners with Foursquare to add precise locations to tweets

Twitter is about to catch up to Facebook circa 2011. The self-styled information network recently announced it will partner with Foursquare to let you tag your tweets with specific locations. Until now, including your location in a tweet only added the general area you were in, such as a city or... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #video showing #facebook users


Controversy: Pearson Publishing Monitoring Students’ Twitter Posts

The New York Times reports that educational publisher Pearson has been “monitoring student media” to find possible "leaks" of the company's tests. The post Controversy: Pearson Publishing Monitoring Students’ Twitter Posts appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #twitter posts


HarperCollins Looks to Sell Books via Twitter

To mark the opening of the 'Insurgent' film, HarperCollins and Twitter are partnering to offer fans of Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy a discounted hardcover of the 'Insurgent' movie tie-in edition via Twitter links. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook, Twitter, YouTube? How ‘@TheBuzzer’ decides where to post its videos

"@TheBuzzer," a Fox Sports network show that exists almost entirely on social platforms, has reduced its output on YouTube over the past several months in favor of publishing videos directly to Facebook and Twitter. In doing so, it has found that Twitter is best for videos about breaking news... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #social platforms


Jean Vanier, L’Arche Founder, Wins Templeton Prize

Jean Vanier, who pioneered inclusive communities for the disabled who were previously isolated and institutionalized, has won the $1.7 million Templeton Prize. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twitter Launches Embeddable Video

Twitter on Monday began giving publishers the ability to embed Twitter video on their sites, meaning YouTube and Facebook now have some new competition in the category. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Founders of Electric Lit; Black Balloon Launch New Publishing Venture

Catapult will launch in fall 2015, with Padgett Powell's story collection, 'Cries for Help, Various.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twitter finally delivers group messaging and video

At its heart, Twitter seems to be suffering from some sort of existential crisis, struggling to work out if it's a social network, a messaging service or a publishing platform. Today sees the company launch two features that, if we're honest, only re... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2015-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #existential crisis #messaging service #publishing platform


Turkish government threatens to cut off Twitter access—again

Turkey’s citizens may once again find themselves without access to Twitter: According to the New York Times, that nation’s government has threatened to block access to the microblogging service within the country unless Twitter blocked an account belonging to a newspaper that published details... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #twitter account #published details


Facebook founder’s book club choice sends sales rocketing

Mark Zuckerberg’s selection of The End of Power by Moisés Naím sparks ‘seismic change’ in the book’s fortunes, with 18 months’ sales outstripped in daysHow to be a winner: the books that inspire Mark Zuckerberg and other high flyersWhy would Mark Zuckerberg recommend The End of Power? Facebook... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Now Trending on Twitter: Public Libraries

Using the hashtag #becauseofapubliclibrary, Ferguson (Mo.) Municipal Public Library library director Scott Bonner sparked an outpouring of library love from the Twitterverse after he tweeted “I was able to help our community.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook founder launches book club

A book club started by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has already had almost 140,000 "likes". Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2015-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Benay Founder Neil Charles Reshen Dies, 75

Neil Charles Reshen, an accountant and business manager who represented such entertainers as Willie Nelson and Miles Davis before founding the publishing management firm Benay Enterprises, died December 6 in the Bronx. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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INgrooves Founder Robb McDaniels to Resign

Robb McDaniels, founder and CEO of INgrooves Music Group, and who oversaw the launch of the company's ebook division, INscribe Digital, will step down at the end of 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #inscribe digital


Hachette Tests if Gumroad Can Sell Books on Twitter

Hachette has partnered with Gumroad, a company that enables direct sales through Twitter, to see if the social media platform can sell books. The post Hachette Tests if Gumroad Can Sell Books on Twitter appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #twitter appeared #sell books