Last Monday night, Mark Zuckerberg published a post announcing Facebook's new initiative to bring Internet access to the developing world. The blueprint for internet.org mapped out how Facebook and a host of phone company allies might connect an additional 5 billion people online through more affordable access, increasing data efficiency, and investing in local business infrastructure. It came with a video that depicted IRL social interactions in developing countries, along with a soundtrack cut from a JFK speech and soft, inspirational piano tones. As the Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal deftly pointed out, no one can call this ignoble, or unreasonable, even. Simply put, increased Internet access is a good idea––though the other message Facebook was trying to sell, the one that equated the company with peace and progress, was hokey at best. But there's another facet of Internet access that Internet.org does not address, and that's Internet inequality right at home, in cities that otherwise rank as some of the most "connected" places on the planet. New York City is already well–known for its ample (and growing) income inequality. But on Wednesday, Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer put out a report showing that the city's public schools and libraries vary widely when it comes to its broadband speeds. The report revealed that over 75% of New York City schools had maximum download speeds of 10 megabits per second, 100 times slower than the 2020 goal outlined by President... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2013-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel Homegoing told the story of two branches of a Ghanaian family, one descended from a woman who marries a white slave trader and whose line stays in Ghana, another descended from her half-sister who is captured and sent to America in bondage. Gyasi’s second novel... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-09-11 11:00:00 UTC ]
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New York Comic-Con is taking its mammoth real-world presence into a new virtual space, dubbed the Metaverse. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion Spring will publish journalist Florence Wilkinson's debut Wild City, a non-fiction book that looks at the wildlife in cities. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-09 19:50:39 UTC ]
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Why aren’t there more Science Fiction Black writers? There aren’t because there aren’t. What we don’t see, we assume can’t be. What a destructive assumption. —Octavia E. Butler, in Octavia E. Butler: Telling My Stories. A small good thing amid the unrelenting horror: This week, almost fifty... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-09-03 16:37:21 UTC ]
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David Benioff and D B Weiss, creators of HBO’s "Game of Thrones", are adapting Cixin Liu’s science fiction trilogy The Three-Body Problem for Netflix. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-02 17:51:43 UTC ]
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Fresh off of adapting a book series that did pretty well as a TV show, Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are bringing another trilogy of novels to the small screen. Along with Alexander Woo (The Terror: Infamy and True Blood), the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-09-01 15:20:58 UTC ]
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Under the August 31 order, the closely watched case over book scanning and lending is to be ready for trial by November 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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My memoir is not unique. But only in the sense that my story unfolds with New York City as the backdrop, where so many other stories have unfolded and will continue to unfold long after I’m gone. That’s the beauty of this multilayered city: it unravels you, and no one’s unraveling is alike. Yes,... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-25 11:00:12 UTC ]
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ReedPop, organizer of New York Comic Con, scheduled to be held October 8-11 at the Javits Convention Center, has canceled the annual in-person 2020 event and plans to partner with YouTube to produce an all-digital version of the giant pop culture convention. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The show is partnering with YouTube for the con, which is usually at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-08-11 17:11:03 UTC ]
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The Boston Book Festival has announced that a short story by Grace Talusan is the 10th annual selection for its One City One Story initiative. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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During a 30-minute Zoom press conference on July 22, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle urged the four major publishers suing over the organization’s book scanning efforts to consider settling the dispute in the boardroom, rather than the courtroom. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Many authors and agents say that lower advances for authors of color highlight institutional racism in publishing—but some white industry insiders say it’s more complicated. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Graywolf Press, located five miles from where George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, is donating $25,000 from the sales of its books that address racism to five local organizations selected by junior staff. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Responding to the newly formed Black Writers’ Guild, all five of the biggest publishers say they will make more room for black authors and staffThe “big five” UK publishing houses have separately acknowledged that “change is not happening fast enough” and that they must do a lot more to address... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-17 12:45:22 UTC ]
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Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library initiative, which made more than 1.3 million books available online for free, will end early as publishers sue for copyright infringement. The nonprofit began offering free books during March as the coronavirus pandemic forced Americans to quarantine... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-12 14:06:26 UTC ]
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The nonprofit has said its National Emergency Library was a public service to people unable to access libraries during the pandemic, but publishers and authors accused it of theft. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-06-11 19:56:08 UTC ]
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Michelle Alexander and Ijeoma Oluo among those on list, marking first time top 10 entries are primarily titles on race issuesGeorge Floyd killing – latest US updatesBlack American authors, including Michelle Alexander and Ijeoma Oluo, have surged to the top of the latest New York Times’... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-11 18:10:43 UTC ]
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Dr. Ibram X. Kendi pointed out on Twitter last night that books about racism (including two of his own, How to Be an Antiracist and Stamped from the Beginning) are making up a significant portion of the New York Times bestseller lists. “The resistance is from the loudness of demonstrations to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-11 14:11:24 UTC ]
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