Friday News: digital ads, copyright/wrong, Tolkien in love, and martial arts book for women
As Apple and Google take aim at ads, publishers tremble – So with Google now planning to monetize digital advertising to whatever extent possible, and Apple claiming that it will block autoplay (THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU) and stop (some) consumer tracking, digital publishers ranging from The New York Times to Vox Media are challenged anew to generate revenue via advertising. Will we see more paywalls? More exclusive content? More tiered access? I know this is a serious issue for digital publishing, but even with adblocking software there seems to have been a drastic increase in annoying and intrusive online ads
These moves have mostly been described as wins for consumers, who have installed ad blockers in growing numbers, driven by annoying and repetitive ads and privacy concerns. Publishers, however, see two tech giants trying to protect their market share — Apple by positioning itself as the guardian of customer privacy and Google by trying to suck up as much of the digital advertising pie from rival Facebook. But as the giants duke it out, it’s the publishers that risk suffering the collateral damage. . . .
“Companies that have a vested interest in controlling the consumer experience should not be setting industry policy,” said a publishing executive, speaking anonymously, for fear of ruffling the feathers of a platform partner. “When you have Google, whose primary business is really search, this does nothing to attack their core business. They’re creating filters on ads they don’t have a vested interest in, [whereas] it creates more demand for search because there’s less supply of other ad formats. The doomsday scenario is, it could lead to ad formats that favor the oligopoly.” – Digiday
YouTube Takes Down Ariana Grande’s Manchester Benefit Concert On Copyright Grounds – Oh, the irony. Ariana Grande live-broadcasts the Manchester Benefit Concert she is headlining on her own YouTube channel, until—wait for it—Warner Music and Sony Music have it pulled down for copyright infringement. Because WTFPIRACYWTF
Now, chances are these were simply ContentID matches that were automated — rather than direct takedown notices as suggested in the tweet. And the video is now back, so some might argue this is no big deal. However, with the record labels demanding stronger and stronger filters, along with demands that content not just be taken down but then “stay down”, stories like this would only get worse and worse, and more and more perfectly legitimate content would get blocked. – Techdirt
‘Beren And Lúthien’ Reflects Tolkien’s Real Life Love Story – I can’t remember when we first reported on the upcoming publication of this volume, but it seems like it has been a while. Still, it is likely worth the wait for Tolkien fans, and Christopher Tolkien’s loving editorial guidance appears to be one of the highlights. Which makes sense, given the story’s personal significance. And at 93, Christopher notes that this is likely his last collaboration with his father, adding a bittersweet edge to the entire narrative.
Young Tolkien had fallen in love with Edith when he was 16 and she 19, but his guardian disapproved (both he and Edith were orphans). They finally married when Tolkien was 24 — just a few months before he was deployed to the Somme.
The next year, he began composing the earliest version of a tale to which he would always return: The love of Beren, a mortal man, and Lúthien, daughter of the Elven King of the forest realm of Doriath. The disapproval of Lúthien’s father sends the two lovers on a series of perilous quests, but they rescue each other through bravery, music and love — with an assist from a magical dog. – NPR
Photos: 1914 Martial Arts Book for Women in Japan – Such a cool book, and the illustrations are wonderful.
This Japanese martial arts text, published in May 1914, was written by a woman for women. It was recently translated into English and republished by Eric Shahan, a translator who specializes in translating 19th and early 20th century Japanese martial arts texts.
The book was written by Nobatake Yaeko, who wrote under the pen name Nohata Showa. The book says that she is part of a Women’s Self-Defense League formed to combat a rise in violence. – Live Science
