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Daily Archives: May 11, 2020

Retail Amazon Who? Independent Booksellers Find New Allies

PYMNTS.com: “…Despite pandemics and Amazon, independent bookshops are finding a way to get the job done. Thanks to two new eCommerce sites, this “nonessential” category is actually seeing new life in the age of COVID-19. Part of that life is in the rise of new partners competing with Amazon. The first is a startup called Bookshop, which launched in January of this year. Bookshop supports independents in two ways: 10 percent of its regular sales online sales are added to an earnings pool that is distributed to participating independent bookstores every six months, per its website. The company claims that $1 million has been doled out so far. Stores sell books online using Bookshop by sharing their designated link on social media, email newsletters or their websites. They earn 30 percent of the cover price on any sales they generate – that is the entire profit margin, which means all profits go to the store. Bookshop’s profits come from sales executed through its site without a bookstore redirect. All orders are fulfilled through Ingram Distribution…

  • “A similar eCommerce site has found new popularity, this one covering audiobooks for independent booksellers. Libro.fm was born in 2014…: “Listen on Your Term – We believe you should listen to audiobooks in a way that works for you. That’s why we offer monthly memberships, à la carte listening, and extra benefits when you switch from another audiobook provider…”

Online Learning and the Future of Legal Education

Kohn, Nina A., Online Learning and the Future of Legal Education (April 7, 2020). Nina A. Kohn, Online Learning and the Future of Legal Education, 70 Syracuse L. Rev. 1 (2020).. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3570914 “This article explores the practical and theoretical challenges that online education poses for law schools and the legal profession. Drawing… Continue Reading

Google and Apple Reveal How Covid-19 Alert Apps Might Look

Wired – As contact tracing plans firm up, the tech giants are sharing new details for their framework—and a potential app interface.”…The two companies [Google and Apple] have published sample user interface screenshots for the first time as well. As Google and Apple first outlined last month, their Covid-19 exposure notification system transmits unique, rotating… Continue Reading

Unreleased White House report shows coronavirus rates spiking in heartland communities

NBCNews: “Coronavirus infection rates are spiking to new highs in several metropolitan areas and smaller communities across the country, according to undisclosed data the White House’s pandemic task force is using to track rates of infection, which was obtained by NBC News. The data in a May 7 coronavirus task force report are at odds… Continue Reading

Employers Rush to Adopt Virus Screening. The Tools May Not Help Much.

The New York Times – Symptom-checking apps and fever-screening cameras promise to keep sick workers at home and hinder the virus. But experts warn they can be inaccurate and violate privacy: “…But as intensified workplace surveillance becomes the new normal, it comes with a hitch: The technology may not do much to keep people safer.… Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence Is Driving A Silicon Renaissance

Forbes: “The semiconductor is the foundational technology of the digital age. It gave Silicon Valley its name. It sits at the heart of the computing revolution that has transformed every facet of society over the past half-century. The pace of improvement in computing capabilities has been breathtaking and relentless since Intel introduced the world’s first… Continue Reading

Bookshop.org earns more than $1 million for indie bookstores

LA Times via Yahoo – “In the wee hours of Monday morning, Bookshop.org — an online bookseller whose goal is to offer financial support to independent bookstores — earned $1 million for local bookstores across the country struggling to survive during the pandemic. Earlier this month, Bookshop partnered with Simon & Schuster in a campaign… Continue Reading

NY Fed Paper Finds Pandemic A Century Ago Fueled Nazi Rise

WSJ.com: “Nazis rose to power in Germany in part because of dislocations caused by a mass-death pandemic a century ago, research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday said. The paper, written by bank economist Kristian Blickle, examined how the German political system reacted to the influenza pandemic that struck the world between… Continue Reading