Forget Zuckerberg – the tech giants don’t have to own the future | John Harris

Facebook, Google and Apple make the headlines, but there are many inspiring startups to dissipate the sense of techno-dreadA quarter of a century ago, the Canadian author Douglas Coupland published his third novel. Microserfs was the tale of a group of young Microsoft employees who decide to exit the realm of Bill Gates in Washington state and chase a dream of their own in California places that, back then, sounded like the epitome of futuristic magic: Palo Alto, Menlo Park. As well as prescient flashes of the world to come – “Beware of the corporate invasion of private memory,” warned one of its protagonists – what always stuck with me was its air of techno-optimism, perfectly crystallised right at the end, when the central character’s mother has a stroke and is rescued from silence by a set-up attached to an Apple Macintosh. She communicates via such staccato sentences as “I am here”, and “I feel U”; the novel’s closing pages capture her and her family marvelling at the fact that she has become “part woman/part machine, emanating blue Macintosh light”.The book was published in 1995, when computers suddenly offered an ever-expanding window on to the world. Many of us had no doubt that the leap from old to new represented nothing but progress. By the start of this decade social media platforms were being hailed as a means of individual and collective emancipation. But where has this faith in the future gone? Related: The rise of technology in care: how will it affect... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What Every Tech-Savvy Marketer Should Know About the Future of Programmatic Advertising

Premium programmatic is a hot concept, and it's catching on. The ad industry's top brands are embracing more automation for digital campaigns—Cadillac, Tory Burch, CBS—and publishers are too. Instead of open exchanges where low-quality advertisers compete for low-quality Web inventory, a more... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google and Facebook: voracious giants with the power to create the future

The internet powerhouses are using their billions to challenge in sectors far removed from their original business modelsThe webs biggest consumer companies make the bulk of their incomes, and have built up vast assets, from targeted advertising. It accounts for around 90% of Facebooks revenue... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four Questions for...'Harry Quebert' Editor John Siciliano

PW catches up with the editor of "The Harry Quebert Affair," John Siciliano, to discuss high expectations, the difficulty of importing blockbusters and the fact that, occasionally, something French can be fun. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadian Tech Forum Looks to the Future

BookNet Canada’s annual three-day tech forum, which took place March 3-6, drew people from across the country's publishing scene, as well as some as far away as Malta, to discuss the future of writing, reading, and publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Read Harry Potter books in a few hours? New tech may make it possible

A new technology that is set to make its debut in April could one day make it possible for users to read Harry Potter books in just a few hours.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dow Jones Turns to Tech for Future Face-Off with Bloomberg

When News Corp strikes out as a stripped-down publishing company in late June, its future fate will hinge on the performance of Dow Jones, a subsidiary that houses the flagship Wall Street Journal and a mish-mash of consumer and business products. ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Future Is Not Edible: the Future of Food According to Sci-Fi

Science fiction has a lot to say about where we'll be concerning things like technology, but what does it have to say about our food? Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-04-13 10:34:00 UTC ]
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Stage anthology 21 Black Futures asks: What is the future of Blackness?

21 Black Futures, a new stage anthology by CBC and Toronto's Obisidan Theatre Company, brings together 63 Black artists from across the country to answer the question "What is the future of Blackness?" Its creation also directly addresses, and... Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2021-02-16 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook rolls out high-tech ad registry with a low-tech twist

Facebook is rolling out its Canadian political ad registry today with a low-tech twist — a bid to prevent people based outside of Canada from running ads in the upcoming federal election. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2019-06-10 08:00:00 UTC ]
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Tech We’re Using: Sliding Backward on Tech? There Are Benefits

"I find that many new technologies are actually far less efficient than the tools they attempt to replace," said Pamela Paul, editor of The New York Times Book Review. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Blake and Rosie Virgo leave John Blake Publishing

Founder John Blake and m.d. Rosie Virgo are stepping down from their roles at John Blake Publishing.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You're a legend Harry! The Harry Potter books turn 20

We dug into the archives to find the first Kiwi review of Harry Potter, but the earliest seems to be from 1999.  Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2017-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2017: Neil Patrick Harris, Lemony Snicket, and Chris Harris Create Magic

In an event billed as “A Fortunate Stage Talk,” actor Neil Patrick Harris, of "Doogie Howser" and "How I Met Your Mother" fame, who currently stars as Count Olaf in the TV adaptation of "A Series of Unfortunate Events," will reunite with Chris Harris (no relation), who was the executive producer... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Virgo memoir to John Blake Publishing

Snooker player John Virgo of BBC "Big Break" fame is publishing his memoir with John Blake Publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Smith adds York St John to its Aspire scheme

John Smith & Sons Group has done a new deal with York St John University for its Aspire Bursary Management scheme. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Happy birthday, Harry Potter! A look back at Harry's special days

The birthday of Harry Potter falls on July 31 (which also happens to be the birthday of J.K Rowling). In the Potter universe, the days are usually eventful ones. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Summary and Analysis of John Cheever’s ‘The Worm in the Apple’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The short stories of John Cheever (1912-82) are among the greatest American short stories of the twentieth century. His Collected Stories runs to 900 pages and contains tales which are by turns realist, borderline magic-realist, and downright... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2024-04-17 14:00:45 UTC ]
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Suzanne Herz Returns to Penguin Random House as John Grisham's Publisher

John Grisham's longtime publisher will return after a buyout to oversee the publishing strategy for the John Grisham brand, "which will now live alongside the sales and corporate marketing teams," PRH CRO Jaci Updike wrote in a memo. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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