Gumroad faces backlash over alleged NFT ambitions

Just as many of the ugliest online fights begin these days, Brian "Box" Brown, an Eisner-winning illustrator and comic artist, sent a seemingly innocuous tweet. It read, in part, "my former regular freelance employer has let me know they'll be...Embracing NFTs 🙃 so...we had to part ways." The then unnamed business, Gumroad, shot back the next day with a now-pinned response denying it had plans to enter the controversial crypto-collecting space, and has since attacked detractors from its corporate account, provided conflicting information and alienated a growing portion of the artist community it serves. How did it get so bad?Gumroad, for the unfamiliar, is a digital goods sales platform, which hosts anything from art to ebooks to self-help courses. It was built in 2011 by then-19-year-old CEO Sahil Lavinglia, who is perhaps the only consistent figure within the company. Following a period of growth Lavinglia had to lay off staff in 2016 after failing to raise more money. The company survived, but as it is presently structured, Gumroad is something of an anomaly. The number of full-time employees, according to one the CEO's blog posts is "none. Not even me," preferring to maintain a contractor workforce. It also espouses a version of radical transparency, choosing to make its product roadmap and board meetings public. The image of an all-remote workplace free from deadlines or meetings belies a somewhat haphazard business. Some former workers seemingly signed no contracts... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2022-02-08 21:00:47 UTC ]
News tagged with: #user information #life choices #ebooks

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Academic publishing facing "unprecedented challenges"

Academic bookselling is experiencing “unprecedented challenges” with the rise of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Toshiba outlines ebook ambitions

Toshiba, which will launch its first dedicated digital reader on 10th February, is aiming to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Calls Murdoch's Piracy Allegations 'Nonsense'

News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch is talking nonsense, according to Google. Murdoch, a Twitter user for only the past several weeks, used the service to fire a barrage of accusations Saturday night against President Obama and Google. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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German book retailer to restructure to face digital challenge

The earnings of German book retailer Thalia's parent group Douglas Holding will be hit by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chinese Writers Sue Apple for Allegedly Hosting Pirated E-books

A group of Chinese writers has filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company's App Store sells pirated versions of the authors' works. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Book Readers Face Sticker Shock

Cheap new e-readers are expected to be one of the hottest gifts this holiday season. But new owners of Kindles and Nooks may be in for sticker shock on Christmas morning: The price gap between the print and e-versions of some top sellers has now narrowed to within a few dollars -- and in some... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hertfordshire SLS faces imminent closure

Hertfordshire School Library Service has become the latest service to face closure, sparking... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple, Book Publishers Face European Antitrust Probe

Apple's entry into the ebook business hasn't been a huge success, but it has still registered with European antitrust regulators. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Daunt: booksellers face same "crisis" as libraries

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beautiful Books facing administration

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple and US publishers face agency lawsuit

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Borders US could face liquidation

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Faces Claim for €295M Damages in French Court

A French publishing company has filed suit against Google, alleging anti-competitive practices and claiming €295 million (US$420 million) in damages. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Makinson confident as publishers face digital "flux"

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 22/06/2011 - 10:10 Publishers will play a bigger and more complicated role, but only if the link between the author and reader is "reconfigured", was among the conclusions from a panel of chief executives at Publishers Launch London. John... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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France faces battle over ebook pricing law

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Japanese book trade facing worst crisis since WWII

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 22/03/2011 - 16:31 The Japanese earthquake and tsunami has caused the worst disruption to the Japanese book industry since the Second World War, the president of the Japanese Publishers Association has said. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookthrift in Chesham faces closure

Written By: Lisa Campbell Independent bookshop Bookthrift in Chesham is closing after five years trading, blaming poor sales and more people buying online and in supermarkets. The four staff in the Chiltern Hills shop in Buckinghamshire will be made redundant when it closes, although its final... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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School library services face closure

Written By: Caroline Horn School library services (SLS) in Birmingham and Sutton are to close or substantially reduce the service they offer to schools, while in Greenwich the service suspended on a temporary basis in 2009 will not now be resumed. The news follows recent closures of services... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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