By reusing and repurposing existing writing into viral fragments on Twitter, the account functioned like today’s chatbots. The Guardian spoke to Jacob Bakkila, the human behind the accountMore than a decade before an AI-powered chatbot could do your homework, help you make dinner or pass the bar exam, there was @Horse_ebooks. The primitive predecessor to today’s chatbot renaissance began as a Twitter account in 2010, tweeting automated excerpts from ebooks that, decontextualized, took on unexpected and strangely poetic meanings.Purportedly a spambot, the account surfaced quotes from ebooks that went viral for their absurdist fragments – phrases like “Hello saxophone,” “COULD THIS BE THE”, and “Today we are lucky to be talking”. It amassed more than 200,000 followers at its peak and now, despite being inactive for a decade, the account still holds 131,000 followers. Its most memorable quip – “everything happens so much” – still resonates today. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-03 15:00:04 UTC ]
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One of the most famous characters in comic book history is set to bid a sad farewell. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Today PW introduces a new Friday feature that collects news about bookstores and bookselling from throughout the week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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According to staff, World Book Night U.S. will be suspended due to lack of money. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookStats, the statistics program formed out of agreement between the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group, will not have a fifth year, at least not in its present form. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Now that Facebook will include users’ Web behavior to fine-tune targeting, it’s only a matter of time before it expands its ad network to outside publishers, according to marketing experts. Facebook has said that it will gather Web surfing data on users to help advertisers understand... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Legendary Comics, a division of Legendary Entertainment, announced that it has entered into a multi-year sales and distribution agreement with Penguin Random House Publisher Services. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Much as predicted at the time of its acquisition by Amazon, Comixology is removing in-app purchasing from its iOS apps, eliminating the 30% sales commission to Apple. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Commenting on the merger of Random House and Penguin, Thomas Rabe, CEO of RH parent company Bertelsmann, wrote in the company’s annual report that the “formation of Penguin Random House is the best possible path to new growth in the book industry—and to new growth for Bertelsmann.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones, children's laureate Malorie Blackman, poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Phillip Pullman among supportersA national campaign to stop children's books being labelled as "for boys" or "for girls" has won the support of Britain's largest specialist bookseller Waterstones, as well as... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Still captivated by the distinctive small Virginia town where he grew up, Billy Coffey returns to its proxy in his latest novel, which explores what happens when 20 years’ worth of guilt about a young man’s untimely death overtakes three high school classmates. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With Spring just around the corner, here are some of the best cold-weather comics to see out the end of the season. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Let Books Be Books campaign wins instant repsonse from publisher Usborne, in time for International Women's DayA campaign to break down gender divides in children's publishing has met with instant success, after one of the publishers under fire announced they will stop producing titles labelled... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A decade after beginning his successful Cherub series, best-selling children's author, Robert Muchamore, publishes his new book, Rock War. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writing for The Guardian, Robert McCrum observes that “the credit crunch and the internet are making writing as a career harder than it has been for a generation.” Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW Comics World's bi-weekly spotlight on crowdfunded comics and comics-related projects. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not only is the memoir by Solomon Northup now an Oscar-nominated film, but director Steve McQueen is encouraging schools to use the book as part of their units on slavery and the Civil War. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In France, the manga bubble never burst—although it may be starting to deflate a bit. Last year French manga sales declined for the first time. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Business psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic reveals the reasons why the online publisher is so successfulWhen it comes to online content and storytelling, there are few sites as savvy as BuzzFeed, a platform that combines artificial and human intelligence to detect, produce and increase viral... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The president of the non-profit investigative journalism website on measuring impact, team work – and Edward SnowdenRichard Tofel has had a dream. It came upon him the night before we meet and he is still a little rattled by it. In it, he found himself performing his old role at Dow Jones, where... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writer Gillian Flynn has acknowledged rewriting the ending to her novel Gone Girl (Weidenfeld... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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