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 ]
News tagged with: #move forward

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Can Twitter co-founder take an 'evolutionary leap' into storytelling?'

Publishers have room to innovate, says StoryGraph founder

There is plenty of space for companies to innovate, especially around community building and discoverability, The StoryGraph founder Nadia Odunayo has told FutureBook. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-20 11:43:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #community building

Tom Maschler, Bold British Publisher and Booker Prize Founder, Dies at 87

He fostered the careers of more than a dozen Nobel laureates, including Gabriel García Márquez, Nadine Gordimer and Doris Lessing. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-10-23 16:26:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #british publisher

The Hunter Biden story is a crucial moment: does Twitter care more than News Corp about fact-checking?

Tech firms, newly sensitive to fake news, stopped the story circulating. Now the global media giant has roared in outrageMedia organisations shouldn’t publish allegations unless they believe them to be true, after making appropriate checks. This is a normally uncontroversial principle of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-10-21 16:30:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tech firms #fake news #confidential sources #international stage #news corp

Anna McNuff wins £20K Kindle Storyteller Award

Anna McNuff has won this year's Kindle Storyteller Award for her account of a 5,500-mile cycling odyssey through South America. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-20 06:44:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #south america #kindle

Vietnamese Publishing House Co-Founder Arrested Ahead of Frankfurt Appearance

The IPA Prix Voltaire-winning author and former spokesperson is reported to have been arrested in Ho Chi Minh City. The post Vietnamese Publishing House Co-Founder Arrested Ahead of Frankfurt Appearance appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-10-07 14:25:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Fane becomes independent as founder reacquires majority stake

Literary events production company Fane has become independent, after its founder Alex Fane sealed a reaquisition of the 80% majority stake from Original Talent. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-05 22:09:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #original talent

Network to make children's publishing less London-centric, say CBN founders

The founders of Children's Book North have advised industry staffers in the north to network as they look to reduce publishing's London focus. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-30 20:38:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #make children #children's book #children's publishing

Trigger signs self-empowerment handbook from Smart Girl Tribe founder

Trigger Publishing will publish The Smart Girl’s Handbook, a "no-nonsense self-empowerment handbook" for women from founder and c.e.o. of Smart Girl Tribe Scarlett V Clark. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-28 02:23:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trigger publishing

Children's non-fiction poised for record year as Q3 sales leap 25%

Children's books have seen a boom during coronavirus-hit 2020 with non-fiction heading for a record year, according to Nielsen. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-24 11:31:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #record year

Reed Hastings, the Founder of Netflix, Keeps His Library in His Pocket

“They’re all on Kindle. Although I have to admit as a first-time author, when the hardcover book arrived, it felt really good to hold in my hands.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-09-24 09:00:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #first-time author

Audiobook Subscriptions: Audible and Podimo Join Storytel in Spain

Jumping from one to three major unlimited-subscription services for audio content, Spain's publishing market is growing fast. The post Audiobook Subscriptions: Audible and Podimo Join Storytel in Spain appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-09-21 16:07:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #spain appeared #audiobook subscriptions #audio content #publishing market #growing fast #audiobook

News Corp troops turn their fire on Catherine Andrews for daring to use Twitter | Weekly Beast

‘Mrs Dan’ called a ‘mean girl’ for liking positive tweets about her husband. Plus, AM and PM escape the big cities“A ban from Mrs Dan” were the words on the front page of the Australian on Thursday, pointing to a column inside that took issue with Catherine Andrews, the wife of the Victorian... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-09-11 02:08:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #victorian premier #front page #daniel andrews #news corp

AI Storytelling Game May Expand Publishing’s Horizons

Interactive storytelling took a quantum leap forward this year, and a video game called 'AI Dungeon' is right at the center of it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Lockdown diaries: the book club founder

It happened so suddenly. One moment I was at work, bleaching everything in sight, using extra splashes of Dettol - that infamous Caribbean Aunty staple with a distinct smell that will instantly take a first generation immigrant child back to memories of early Saturday morning cleaning sessions -... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-31 00:39:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lockdown diaries #book club

Ryall Leaves IDW to Launch New Storytelling Venture

IDW Publishing president, publisher, and chief creative officer Chris Ryall is stepping down from his current positions to join the World of Syzygy, a new storytelling venture formed by Ryall and comics artist Ashley Wood. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

'A visionary publisher': Tony Elliott, Time Out magazine founder, dies

Elliott developed his London listings and culture magazine into a ‘global media empire’Tony Elliott, the founder of the events listings magazine Time Out, has died after a long illness, the magazine has said.The 73-year-old set up the magazine in London in 1968 and grew it into a major... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-17 18:46:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #magazine founder #culture magazine #long illness #major publishing

In ‘Becoming Duchess Goldblatt,’ a Twitter celebrity is ready for her close-up — but her creator remains a mystery

“Becoming Duchess Goldblatt” blends a fictional character’s signature wit with an author’s real grief. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-07-08 15:28:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #duchess goldblatt #fictional character

'Know your audience and be direct,' Black Girls Book Club founders urge M&P delegates

Marketers and publicists have been encouraged to know their audience and be "direct" and "transparent" in their approach, in a keynote at The Bookseller's marketing and publicity virtual conference. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-08 06:40:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book club

Duchess Goldblatt Is a Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside a Twitter Account

“Becoming Duchess Goldblatt” is a memoir by the writer behind a beloved fictional character whose fans include Lyle Lovett and Celeste Ng. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-07-01 14:20:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #duchess goldblatt #twitter account #celeste ng #memoir