Mark Zuckerberg changed Facebook’s name to Meta last week – and launched a vision for his company that he claims will transform the way we interact with the internet and each other. So what exactly is the metaverse? And will it ever leave the realm of science fiction?When Facebook scheduled a major announcement for last week, news quickly got out that Mark Zuckerberg was planning to change the company’s name – and that he would explain how Facebook would move towards its next incarnation, the “metaverse”. But few expected he would set out a vision with such far-off ambitions – and show so little evidence of what it is doing today to get there. Zuckerberg’s presentation was derided in some quarters as wooden, narcissistic, dystopian, and unintentionally hilarious. But it was also a vastly ambitious and risky pitch for how the company will leave its present-day brand and focus behind to re-emerge as the leading player in a version of the internet that doesn’t exist today.So what exactly is the metaverse? What is the business case for Facebook’s pivot to such an undeveloped and complex technology? And how much was the decision to rebrand as Meta driven by the toxification of Facebook’s brand by months of damaging leaks from the US whistleblower Frances Haugen? In this episode, Nosheen Iqbal is joined by the Guardian’s UK technology editor, Alex Hern, who explains what we already know about the metaverse, its origins in science fiction stories, and its likely real-world... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-11-04 03:00:23 UTC ]
Penguin Random House has developed a range of Barbican-inspired Penguin Classics to coincide with a new Barbican exhibition, Into the Unknown: A Journey through Science Fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
For 33 years, Galaxy Press has been promoting the work of science fiction and fantasy writers and illustrators through the annual L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
BookNet Canada has issued four studies looking at the demographics for book buyers of biographies/autobiographies, detective fiction, science fiction and cookbooks, each showing trends for the genre. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Michael M. Levy, a scholar of science fiction and longtime 'Publishers Weekly' reviewer, died of cancer on April 3. He was 66. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Hodder and Stoughton has appointed Sam Bradbury, currently with Jo Fletcher Books, as editor with commissioning responsibilities in the area of science fiction, fantasy and horror, reporting to publisher Oliver Johnson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Better times are ahead, says writer Ahmed Khaled Towfik, who recently appeared at Dubai’s festival: the Arab world is readier for science fiction, he says. By Dennis Abrams | @DennisAbrams2 ‘Looking Good for Science Fiction’ t The National, Hala Khalaf asserts that “Arab readers don’t like... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A fuel-free engine is the stuff of science fiction for now, but scientists at NASA Eagleworks have published a peer-reviewed paper that suggests the ideas behind an EM Drive are worth testing further. Researchers at Eagleworks, a small NASA team task... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2016-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Science fiction and fantasy novelist China Miéville is to make a rare foray into non-fiction to pen a “labour of love” history of the Russian revolution for indie press Verso. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
As writers learn that tech giant has processed their work without permission, the Authors Guild condemns ‘blatantly commercial use of expressive authorship’When the writer Rebecca Forster first heard how Google was using her work, it felt like she was trapped in a science fiction novel. “Is this... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
British writer Adrian Tchaikovsky has won the Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction for his novel Children of Time (Pan Macmillan). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Neil Gaiman and N K Jemisin were among the authors announced as winners at the 2016 Hugo Awards for science fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A driverless air taxi to carry you over traffic in congested urban centers, ordered at the push of a button from your smartphone, may sound like science fiction, but Airbus believes it’s much closer to reality than you think. So close, in fact, that it hopes to test such a vehicle by the end of... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2016-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The author took to Twitter today to give an explanation for how to increase diversity in science fiction. It starts with publishing more writers of color. The post N.K. Jemisin Has a Plan for Diversity in Science Fiction appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2016-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
There is "a lack of awareness within the publishing industry about the rest of the country”, New Writing North c.e.o Claire Malcolm has alleged, whilst making the business case for signing more writers from the north of England. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Gollancz, Orion's science fiction and fantasy imprint, is partnering with Foyles for the Gollancz Festival 2016. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Easthampton, Mass., press is preparing to release an English language edition of what it is calling the world's first science fiction novel, 'The Chemical Wedding,' written in German in 1616. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The editors of the publication’s culture section have selected N.K. Jemisin’s 'The Fifth Season' as the first title to be read in the new group, which will focus on works of science fiction and fantasy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Iain Pears’ Arcadia (Faber & Faber), a story that can be read either as a print book or an app, is in contention for this year’s Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction, along with novels by authors such as Becky Chambers and Nnedi Okorafor. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
It's more than fitting that the first posthumous video for a David Bowie song would depict a psychedelic shot through the cosmos. "I Can't Give Everything Away," a standout track from his final album, "Blackstar," gets a gentle lyric video that recalls vintage animation and science fiction, and... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A show about the boundary-pushing art of radical Latin American women and another devoted to the science fiction of the Americas are just two of 43 exhibitions and events receiving $8.5 million in grants from the Getty Foundation as part of Pacific Standard Time: Los Angeles/Latin America,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this