The proof that Facebook is broken is obvious from its very modus operandi | John Naughton

Despite employing a small army of contractors to monitor posts, it’s clear the company is no longer fit for purposeWay back in the 1950s, a pioneering British cybernetician, W Ross Ashby, proposed a fundamental law of dynamic systems. In his book An Introduction to Cybernetics, he formulated his law of requisite variety, which defines “the minimum number of states necessary for a controller to control a system of a given number of states”. In plain English, it boils down to this: for a system to be viable, it has to be able to absorb or cope with the complexity of its environment. And there are basically only two ways of achieving viability in those terms: either the system manages to control (or reduce) the variety of its environment, or it has to increase its internal capacity (its “variety”) to match what is being thrown at it from the environment.Sounds abstruse, I know, but it has a contemporary resonance. Specifically, it provides a way of understanding some of the current internal turmoil in Facebook as it grapples with the problem of keeping unacceptable, hateful or psychotic content off its platform. Two weeks ago, the New York Times was leaked 1,400 pages from the rulebooks that the company’s moderators are trying to follow as they police the stuff that flows through its servers. According to the paper, the leak came from an employee who said he “feared that the company was exercising too much power, with too little oversight – and making too many mistakes”.... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John F. Blair Has 'Minotaur' Sequel

The Winston-Salem publisher had a surprise hit 16 years ago with 'The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break' by Steven Sherrill. Next week the company will release a sequel, 'The Minotaur Takes His Own Sweet Time.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Recommended Reading: The political media machine on Facebook

Inside Facebook's (Totally Insane, Unintentionally Gigantic, Hyperpartisan) Political-Media Machine John Herrman, The New York Times Magazine A barrage of political links, ads and other content has filled up your News Feed over the last few months... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2016-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #inside facebook #recommended reading


Global Publishing Leaders 2016: John Wiley & Sons

Wiley was founded in 1807 and competes in three markets represented by its core divisions of Research, Professional Development, and Education. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EU proposals could see news publishers paid by Google and Facebook

Measures are part of a series of planned European commission changes designed to strengthen rights of creators and publishersNews publishers would have stronger rights to demand payment from digital giants such as Google and Facebook in exchange for using their content, under proposed European... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #original content #digital giants #record labels


Facebook Seizes Header Bidding to Challenge Google in Programmatic Ad Sales

A digital advertising battle royale is taking shape, as Facebook appears to be moving forward with plans to compete against Google for programmatic ad dollars that have historically been dominated by the search giant.Facebook has a simple strategy: bring advertiser demand from the Facebook... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #taking shape #moving forward #search giant #ad inventory #index exchange #audience network


John Murray prize-winning debut authors to tour Waterstones

John Murray is taking three of its "most exciting and lauded" debut writers, Andrew Michael Hurley, Lisa McInerney and Jessie Greengrass, on a nationwide tour of Waterstones bookshops in Bath, Liverpool and London this September. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook suspends Domain Insights, changing rules of the road for new publishers

As publishers try to figure out how much content to share on Facebook, the social giant is quietly making moves that may leave new publishers feeling as if they have no choice but to share content on it. As of this summer, publishers will no longer be able to sign up for access to Domain... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishers appeared #social giant


John Wiley & Sons buys software company Atypon for $120m

Academic publisher John Wiley & Sons has acquired Silicon Valley-based publishing software company Atypon in a $120m (£91.5m) cash deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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360i’s Bryan Wiener: Publishers should focus on doing what Google and Facebook don’t do

360i chairman Bryan Wiener believes publishers shouldn't try to compete head on with Google and Facebook. Instead, they should see what opportunities there are to seize in a large, growing market that Google and Facebook aren't focused on. One place to start is by cleaning up their sites from... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Well, That Didn’t Take Long: AdBlock Plus Has a Workaround for Facebook's Restrictions

Two days after Facebook came out with its first major crackdown on ad blocking, popular app AdBlock Plus says the social network's ads can still be wiped out. On Tuesday, Facebook said it was reworking its software that loads ads so blockers can't remove sponsored posts or videos. Today,... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2016-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adblock Plus Claims It Already Beat Facebook's Ad-Blocking Force Field

Adblock Plus said on Thursday that its community had already found a workaround to the anti-ad-blocking tech that Facebook announced just Tuesday, though Facebook countered that the fix erases more than just ads.This was just an early counter-strike in what is likely to be a drawn-out contest... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #organic posts


Facebook’s now the leader in the fight against ad blocking

Let publishers take the polite or guilt-trip approach to ad blockers. Facebook is coming down hard, saying it's going to force ad blockers to see ad messages, like it or not. It could be a rallying cry for publishers but will also likely escalate the arms race with tech companies, observers... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post facebook #ad blocking #ad blockers #rallying cry #arms race #tech companies


Facebook Stands Up To Clickbait, Day 2: The Media Responds

The media industry responded predictably to an announcement from Facebook Thursday that articles using so-called "clickbait" headline tropes will get lower billing in the social giant's all-important News Feed product, which publishers rely on for sweet, sweet referral traffic. (Sponsored posts... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shortlist for John Creasey New Blood Dagger revealed

Titles from Faber, No Exit Press, HarperCollins, Viking and Jonathan Cape have been shortlisted for this year’s John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #john creasey #exit press #jonathan cape


New look for John Murray's rediscovered Mick Herron thrillers

John Murray has designed new jackets for crime author Mick Herron’s trilogy of Jackson Lamb thrillers to "appeal to readers of all types". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook 'anti-spam systems' blocked Democrat emails dump

Facebook says its anti-spam filters were to blame for its website briefly blocking access to internal emails from US Democratic Party committee members published by Wikileaks. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2016-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Sponsored Content Is Becoming King in a Facebook World

As native advertising gains prominence, publishers may find themselves competing not just with one another, but with the ad agencies that already exist. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2016-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Lewis’s ‘March’, Peter Kuper’s ‘Ruins’ Win Eisner Awards

To the delight of the audience at the Eisner ceremonies, John Lewis's 'March Book Two' and Peter Kuper's 'Ruins' won Eisners, while Lynda Barry and Matt Groening were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #march book #john lewis #peter kuper #eisner ceremonies #won eisners #lynda barry #matt groening


John Lewis’ ‘March’, Peter Kuper’s ‘Ruins’ Win Eisner Awards

To the delight of the audience at the Eisner ceremonies, John Lewis' 'March Book Two' and Peter Kuper's 'Ruins' won Eisners, while Lynda Barry and Matt Groening were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #march book #john lewis #peter kuper #eisner ceremonies #won eisners #lynda barry #matt groening


Facebook details a way to offer laser-based internet access

Have you wondered how Facebook might offer high-speed internet access using lasers? The company's Connectivity Lab is happy to show you. It just published a research paper explaining laser beam technology can deliver up to 2Gbps to remote places.... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2016-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook details