Algorithms routinely come up with ‘recommendations’ for anti-vax ‘bestsellers’ or juices that cure cancerIt’s a truism that we live in a “digital age”. It would be more accurate to say that we live in an algorithmically curated era – that is, a period when many of our choices and perceptions are shaped by machine-learning algorithms that nudge us in directions favoured by those who employ the programmers who write the necessary code.A good way of describing them would be as recommender engines. They monitor your digital trail and note what interests you – as evidenced by what you’ve browsed or purchased online. Amazon, for example, regularly offers me suggestions for items that are “based on your browsing history”. It also shows me a list of what people who purchased the item I’m considering also bought. YouTube’s engine notes what kinds of videos I have watched – and logs how much of each I have watched before clicking onwards – and then presents on the right-hand side of the screen an endlessly-scrolling list of videos that might interest me based on what I’ve just watched. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-08-08 16:00:12 UTC ]
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Paperback editions of books by Amazon Publishing UK author Mel Sherratt are being stocked locally... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Austrian, Swiss and German authors have sent an open letter of protest to Amazon, protesting the use of 'authors and their books as a bargaining chip to exact deeper discounts.' Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 1,000 writers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have signed a letter to Amazon saying that the company has made Bonnier-published books less available and manipulated Amazon's recommended reading lists. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If Amazon believes in readers and Hachette believes in authors as much as they say, it's imperative they end their fight as soon as possible, argues Tanja Tuma. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Some Washington Post book reviews currently have a 'buy it now' link to Amazon embedded in the text, but a Washington Post spokesperson says the buttons are a mistake and that they're meant to go on the side of the page. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Over the weekend, the 'New York Times' reported on a letter of protest, from authors in Germany, about a terms dispute between Amazon and the local publisher, Bonnier. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Whispersync for Voice, Amazon’s feature which allows for synchronised reading and listening... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why are some of the world's most widely read authors now at daggers drawn with Amazon? The answer lies in Jeff Bezos's chief lieutenant, now the most powerful man in publishingEarlier this year, Amazon threw a party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to celebrate the launch of Alpha... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'This is about as close as one can get to the Ministry of Truth and its doublespeak: turning the facts inside out to get a piece of propaganda across,' Bill Hamilton, executor of the Orwell estate, said. Amazon recently wrote a letter criticizing publisher Hachette, with which it is engaged in a... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'This is about as close as one can get to the Ministry of Truth and its doublespeak: turning the facts inside out to get a piece of propaganda across,' Bill Hamilton, executor of the Orwell estate, said. Amazon recently wrote a letter criticizing publisher Hachette, with which it is engaged in a... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Lee Child has come out swinging in the manner of Jack Reacher on The Passive Voice website... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Internet retailer accused of using tactics from Orwell's 1984 in war of words with the publisher HachetteRepresentatives of George Orwell have described Amazon's selective quoting of the Nineteen Eighty-Four author as "dystopian and shameless" and "as close as one can get to the Ministry of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has released a new device for local businesses to take credit and debit card transactions... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As the start of the fall semester nears, the college bookstore market is heating up with the launch of a second Amazon co-branded online school store at Indiana's Purdue University. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon is using “authors as collateral damage and using customers as pawns”, author... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Bloomberg View Leonid Bershidsky suggests the 'war' between Amazon and publishers is ultimately pointless, since the future of reading lies elsewhere. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Celebrities like Hillary Clinton have been sharing some of their favorite reading locations. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon is to launch its first ever staffed customer order pickup locations at the campus of an... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a statement about its dispute with publisher Hachette, Amazon cited '1984' author George Orwell – while failing to understand the author's words, critics charged. Meanwhile, Amazon appears to be entering into a dispute with Disney. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The tussle between Amazon and the publishing conglomerate has been raging since spring. Heres an update on the fightA corporate boxing match broke from the ring and swelled into all-out rumpus last weekend, as readers and authors took sides in Amazon and Hachettes fight over the publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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