The Guardian view on social media’s metaverse: it may remain science fiction | Editorial

The online virtual reality experience that almost every tech giant today wishes to commercially exploit may not catch onIn the 1992 sci-fi dystopia Snow Crash, the author Neal Stephenson imagined a bleak 21st century where the collapse of the global economy had seen governments fall and their power replaced by a few giant businesses. The book is notable for prescience, anticipating the adoption of what was then seen as outlandish technologies like the wireless internet, cryptocurrencies and smartphones, as well as the rise of the gig economy. But it is the book’s prophetic vision of “the metaverse” that has revived interest in the work.That is because Stephenson described the online virtual reality experience that almost every tech giant today wishes to commercially exploit. Last October, Microsoft announced that users of its Teams online meetings app would be able to turn themselves into avatars – the term Stephenson popularised in Snow Crash – to encourage users into virtual interaction. Days later Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, rebranded his company as Meta, with a focus on the potential for virtual worlds. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2022-02-07 19:11:48 UTC ]
News tagged with: #global economy #wireless internet #gig economy #microsoft announced #mark zuckerberg #virtual worlds #science fiction

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The Guardian view on social media’s metaverse: it may remain science fiction | Editorial'

New jobs threat to IPC Media staff

Staff at the magazine publisher IPC Media are expected to bear the brunt of a redundancy programme ordered by its US-based parent, Time Warner, according to reports in America.Its publishing division, Time Inc, is seeking to cut 500 jobs from its 7,800 total in what is said to be its "last big... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #evelyn webster #horse hound #country life

Media Cashes In on Beatles 50th Anniversary in U.S.

"Who are the Beatles?" The question ricocheted across Twitter during the 2014 Grammy Awards, where Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunited to perform.It's an absurd question, even from those barely old enough to tweet. The Beatles' official Twitter account has more than 2 million followers. Paul... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #las vegas #half-century anniversary #publishing books #itunes store #hit stores

Facebook: 10 years of social networking, in numbers

Ten years today, the social networking giant has notched up some interesting numbers along the way• How Facebook became the world's biggest social network1.23bn monthly usersBy the end of 2013, Facebook boasted 1.23bn monthly active users worldwide, adding 170m in just one year. According to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #family guy #$1bn #mobile advertising

Ofcom should have final say on media takeovers, say peers

Committee says final decision on plurality issues should rest with regulator rather than secretary of stateA Lords committee has called for politicians to be stripped of the power to have the final say on large media deals, following the heavily criticised process surrounding News Corporation's... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #royal charter #licence fee #digital intermediaries

Facebook’s Looming Role as Media Kingpin

While Facebook is positioning Paper as a way for publishers to better reach -- and, hopefully, monetize -- mobile readers, Paper may make publishers too dependent on Facebook for traffic. The meteoric rise of sites like Elite Daily, Upworthy and Viral Nova shows how social-savvy publishers can... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #make publishers #meteoric rise #elite daily #substantial portion

Jerwood sponsorship for Fiction Uncovered

Fiction Uncovered, the annual prize highlighting works by British writers, is to be renamed the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiction uncovered #british writers

Aurum adds children's non-fiction imprint

Aurum Publishing Group has appointed Rachel Williams as publisher of a new non-fiction imprint,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #non-fiction imprint

Stars shine for Heat magazine's Gavin Reeve-Daniels | Media Monkey

There are very few occasions when bringing together the UK's celeb hack pack would be anything other than akin to juggling dynamite. But knives were sheathed and cutting comments zipped in a remarkable display of support for Gavin Reeve-Daniels, deputy editor of Heat magazine, who was diagnosed... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Federated Media Gives Up On Direct Sales, Puts Focus On Programmatic

The rise of programmatic advertising has wreaked havoc across digital media, giving media buyers far more leverage while pushing down the value of publisher inventory. It has also torn apart the traditional ad network business, which is one reason Federated Media, today announced it would stop... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #content marketing #lin media #undisclosed amount #difficult decision #executive chairman

Small presses growing translated fiction's readership

Innovative and energetic publishers such as And Other Stories and Dalkey Archive are finding new routes to a committed audience"We were dreaming of freedom; we woke up in capitalism," is Slovenian writer Drago Jančar's wry comment at the launch of Dalkey Archive's anthology of short stories,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #boyd tonkin

Tony Gallagher clings to the Telegraph reins on Twitter | Media Monkey

Deposed editor still has old job title in Twitter bio as he thanks 'the hundreds who have emailed/tweeted/texted/DMed me'After three days' Twitter silence, deposed Daily Telegraph editor Tony Gallagher has returned to thank the "hundreds" of well-wishers who mourned his defenestration. "To the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #job title #@gallaghereditor

O’Reilly Media Debuts Atlas at DBW 2014

O’Reilly Media is using this year’s DBW to launch Atlas, a new online service aimed at streamlining the workflow in digital publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reilly media #digital publishing

Global media mission arrives to investigate press freedom in Britain

Delegation from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers will investigate press regulationAn "unprecedented" press freedom mission to Britain by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) begins today.Representatives of the organisation are holding a series... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #public debate #far-reaching consequences #united kingdom #independent media #south africa

Evolve Media Hires Geoff Schiller Away from Hearst

Publisher of enthusiast consumer content Evolve Media, LLC has lured Geoff Schiller from his position as Hearst Digital Media’s chief sales officer to join the company as chief revenue officer. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

2014 in Digital Publishing: A View from the UK

Numerous experts from the UK publishing scene spoke with The Guardian about what evolution they anticipate for digital publishing in 2014. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital publishing

Telegraph Media Group made record £60m profit last year

The Telegraph Media Group made more than £60m last year, The Guardian can reveal. It is the third successive year that the company has managed to increase its operating profit.TMG is expected to report what amounts to a record figure formally in the spring when it files its accounts for the full... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #advertising revenues

Digital publishing: the experts' view of what's next

Industry luminaries scry the spins ahead in the helter skelter revolution at the centre of their businessAnna Rafferty, Penguin digital managing director"I predict more digital for publishers in 2014. I'm not being (completely) facetious, I mean more digitalness in all parts of the industry,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #iain pears #growing trend #kate wilson #nosy crow

'The Invention of Wings': What's fact and what's fiction

'The Invention of Wings' by Sue Monk Kidd is receiving rave reviews and was recently selected as the latest pick for Oprah Winfrey's revamped book club. But how much of the book actually comes from history? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #oprah winfrey