Medium founder and CEO Ev Williams disclosed today in a blog post that his four-and-a-half-year-old company is eliminating 50 jobs and shutting down offices in New York and Washington, D.C. In a philosophical letter to the public, he recounted how his team's ultimate goals had gotten off course thanks to the monetization model known as advertising. "We set out to build a better publishing platform—one that allowed anyone to offer their stories and ideas to the world and that helped the great ones rise to the top," Williams wrote. "In 2016, we made big investments in teams and technology aimed at attracting and migrating commercial publishers to Medium. And in order to get these publishers paid, we built out and started selling our first ad products. This strategy worked in terms of driving growth, as well as improving the volume and consistency of great content." While it appears Medium is doing away with its sponsored posts ads product, he wrote that 2016 was his company's best year in terms of key metrics. For instance, published posts jumped roughly 300 percent year over year, and monthly visitors reportedly reached 60 million in December, representing a 140 percent year-over-year increase. Medium, a digital storytelling platform, has even attracted scores of public figures—most notably President Barack Obama—to get their messages out. Meanwhile, publishers of all sizes have been able to try to make money off their Medium stories, which have been sponsored in... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'
[ AdWeek | 2017-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Catching industry observers off-guard, Shelfie—the Canadian bundler of ebooks with customers' print editions—quietly announces its service is folding. The post Canada’s Shelfie, Formerly BitLit Media, Is Shutting Down Its Service appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers expressed dismay, confusion and surprise at the 'New York Times' decision to eliminate some bestseller lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As part of its effort to revamp its coverage of publishing, the 'New York Times' has eliminated a number of bestsellers lists, among them graphic novels/manga and mass market paperback lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pearson plans to launch its own print rental program for courseware and reduce ebook rental prices by up to 50% as it bids to accelerate its shift to digital. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Friday, Donald J. Trump, liar, con man, bigot, serial assailant, former reality TV star, failed casino magnate, failed football team owner, failed airline owner, failed magazine publisher, failed steak salesman, and loser of the national popular vote, will be sworn in as the 45th president of... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2017-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Medium, the online publishing company started by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, is changing its business model and cutting a third of its staff.The company, which has raised $132 million in venture capital from investors including Greylock Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, relied on the same... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ad Age "Media Guy" columnist Simon Dumenco's morning media roundup for Jan. 5:Donald Trump's spokesman says he checks the president-elect's Twitter account first thing in the morning because "it drives the news." (Oh, you don't say?!) Bernie Sanders drove the news -- or at least scored one of... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Blaming a decline in sales, the romance ebook retailer AllRomanceebooks.com will shut down all operations by the end of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As we wind down for the holidays, we're looking back at the stories that were most popular among Adweek.com readers over the course of the year. Today, we look at stories from our Technology channel. 50. Facebook Vertical Video Ads Just Went Live and Are Evidently Producing Great Results 49.... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2016-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google could be facing a fine up to $4bn after being sued for allegedly not allowing employees to post opinions about the company or write novels without getting their employer to sign off on the final draft. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From colouring and picture books for children to work by adult authors including Maira Kalman, new project will celebrate the library’s role in the life of the cityA treasure trove of rare books, manuscripts, maps, photographs and more are set to fire the imaginations of authors in a new venture... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The agreement will create and publish a program of print and ebooks for adults and for children, inspired by the library’s collections. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a long-awaited first move toward U.S. copyright reform, the House Judiciary Committee this week backed the creation of an autonomous Copyright Office. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After 17 years as the associate publisher of Annick Press, Colleen MacMillan will retire on February 3, and Annick will close its Vancouver outpost at the end of December. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Months into Hearst/Verizon co-ownership, the pop culture magazine goes all-digital to focus on growing video presence. The post Complex Shuts Down Print Magazine appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2016-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The iconic San Francisco publisher and distributor is getting out of the distribution buisness after December 2016 and will focus on its publishing operations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 33-year publishing veteran will oversee all content and sales operations for the company's 40-plus brands. The post EnsembleIQ Taps Jeff Greisch as Chief Brand Officer appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2016-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House has announced that it will pay half of the dues for a membership to PEN America for any member of its staff wishing to join the free speech organization by December 31, 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TIME stocks up on staff, TEN expands its automotive events team, and more... The post New York Media Loses Its Publisher | People on the Move — 11.9.16 appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2016-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In April, a batch of small publishers migrated to Medium in the hopes that the platform’s network effect would increase their reach. But seven months after the move, ComScore and Alexa data show that most of these publishers have seen their traffic decline. "It was never my intention to move to... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2016-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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