Adidas Wilson's Blog, page 134
June 13, 2017
Audiobooks Continues Double-Digit Growth
The Audio Publishers Association released the results from their annual sales survey, conducted by the independent research firm Management Practice, as well as the latest consumer study conducted by Edison Research, which revealed that the strong growth the audiobook industry has seen in recent years continues. Based on information from responding publishers, the APA estimates that audiobook sales in 2016 totaled more than $2.1 billion, up 18.2% over 2015, and with a corresponding 33.9% increase in units. This is the third consecutive year that audiobook sales have expanded by nearly 20%.
The increase in sales is driven in large part by a listening audience that continues to grow. According to the new study from Edison Research, 24% of Americans (more than 67 million people) have completed at least one audiobook in the last year, a 22% increase over the 2015 survey.
Edison Research’s national survey of American audiobook listeners features new data on audiobook consumption patterns, purchasing behavior, podcast listening, and audiobook content. In addition to measuring the size of the listening audience, the study also revealed:
Who listens to audiobooks?
Nearly half (48%) of frequent audiobook listeners are under 35.
Audiobook listeners are often also podcast listeners. Respondents who consumed both podcasts and audiobooks listened to twice as many audiobooks in the past 12 months as non-podcast consumers.
Avid readers are also listening. Audiobook listeners read or listened to an average of 15 books in the last year, and 77% of frequent listeners agreed or strongly agreed that “audiobooks help you finish more books.
How and where are they listening?
Far more listeners are saying they use their smartphone most often to listen to audiobooks than ever before – 29% in 2017 vs. 22% in 2015.
A majority of audiobook listening is done at home (57%), with the car being the second most frequently-cited location (32%).
68% of frequent listeners do housework while listening to audiobooks. Other multitasking activities among frequent listeners include baking (65%), exercise (56%) and crafting (36%).
The 2017 survey asked about voice-enabled wireless speakers (such as Amazon Echo or Google Home) for the first time, with 19% of all listeners reporting using them to listen to an audiobook in the last year. Among frequent listeners, that rises to 30%.
Additional Key Findings
Libraries remain major access channels and important drivers of audiobook discovery. 27% of people said borrowing from a library/library website was very important for discovering new audiobooks.
Of the more than 50,000 titles produced on audio in 2016, the most popular genres were Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Romance.
The top three reasons why people enjoy listening to audiobooks are: 1) They can do other things while listening; 2) Audiobooks are portable and people can listen wherever they are; and 3) They enjoy being read to.
According to Tom Webster, Vice President of Strategy for Edison Research, “The audiobook market continues to grow, with more people than ever before indicating that they have listened to the medium in the past year. That growth, combined with the growth of the podcast market and the strong relationship between the two, are all part of a renaissance for spoken word programming.”
“It’s another banner year for audiobooks,” says Anthony Goff, VP and Research Committee Chair for the APA, and SVP, Publisher at Hachette Audio. “It has been exhilarating for everyone involved in audio to see such healthy growth maintained, year in and year out. Learning more about audiobook listeners by digging deeper into the metrics of consumer behavior is one of the key ways we can help that growth continue.”
Source:
http://goodereader.com/blog/audiobooks/audiobooks-continues-double-digit-growth
Amazon launches Prime Reload, offering 2% back on purchases funded through debit cards
Amazon today is launching a new perk for Prime members that will give them cash back on purchases – even if they’re not paying for items using an Amazon cashback credit card. Through a new rewards program called Amazon Prime Reload, Prime members can receive 2 percent back on purchases when they first load funds into their Amazon Balance using a debit card attached to their bank’s checking account.
Amazon Prime Reload is meant to encourage more people to sign up for Prime, the $99 per year membership program that includes free, 2-day shipping on millions of products, plus same-day shipping in select markets, along with a host of other features like access to Amazon’s Netflix-like service Prime Video, music streaming via Prime Music, free e-books and magazines through Prime Reading, Audible Channels, unlimited photo backup and storage via Prime Photos, Twitch Prime, early access to deals and much more.
However, Amazon Prime Reload has another advantage for the retailer, as well – it may encourage people to load large lump sums into their Amazon Balance, in order to ensure they never accidentally pay for an item through their debit or credit card directly, therefore missing out on the cash back option.
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And with additional funds just sitting around in their Amazon account, that could prompt users to make more impromptu purchases, as they won’t have to do the math as to whether the item is something they can afford. Effectively, it feels the same as having a Gift Card balance ready to be used.
In fact, Amazon Prime Reload is built on top of the Gift Card infrastructure that’s already in place, according to the page detailing how the new service works.
Here, Amazon explains how to get started earning rewards.
First, you’ll need a Prime membership if you haven’t yet signed up. Next, you’ll need to provide both your debit card number and U.S. bank account information (account number and routing number) to Amazon, along with your U.S. driver’s license number. You then continue to reload your Gift Card Balance – aka your Amazon Balance – so you have funds available for use when shopping.
Your 2 percent rewards will be added to your Gift Card Balance every time you reload, Amazon explains, instead of being calculated on a per transaction basis.
Amazon says it asks for both your debit card number and bank information because it will sometimes route orders through your debit card to fulfill your reload requests faster. (It doesn’t say when or why that would be the case, however.)
Reloads will make funds available within 5 minutes, in most cases. However some reloads may be delayed up to 4 hours if a closer review is necessary, says Amazon.
Source:
Amazon launches Prime Reload, offering 2% back on purchases funded through debit cards
‘Kidnap’ Starring Halle Berry Receives Official Release Date
Oscar winning actress Halle Berry has been set to star in the upcoming feature film Kidnap for quite some time, and we now officially have a release date and a new trailer.
Berry stars in this film as a mother whose worst fear (or at least one of many) is realized. A lovely day at the carnival with her young son takes a dramatic turn for the worse when he’s kidnapped. Racing after her son, she loses her cellphone and is unable to call for help. What follows is a frantic pursuit of the kidnappers as she strives to rescue her son.
Kidnap has been in development for years. It was pulled from the slate after Relatively filed for bankruptcy in the summer of 2015. The film was shot back in 2014 and was initially set to be released on Oct. 9, 2015. This release date was pushed to Feb. 26, 2016 to May 13, 2016 to Dec. 2, 2016 to March 10, 2017 and now finally the official release date has been set for Aug. 4, 2017.
Berry’s last feature release, The Call, earned a solid $51.8 million domestic and $68.5m worldwide from a $17m debut on a $13m budget for Sony in March 2013. Although It has been quite some time since we have seen Berry consistently on the big screen; it appears that she will be gracing us with the resurgence of her on screen presence. In addition to Kidnap, Berry is attached to star in Kings, directed by Turkish-French director Deniz Gamze Ergüven (Mustang). Kings revolves around the 1992 riots that took place in South Central Los Angeles after a jury acquitted four LA police officers for the use of excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Berry will also star in Kingsman: The Golden Circle starring Julianne Moore and Channing Tatum, and is set to star in Adrian Lyne’s feature film, Silence alongside Michael Douglas.
Kidnap opens in theaters on August 4th.
Source:
http://hollywoodsblackrenaissance.com/watch-kidnap-trailer-starring-halle-berry/
Black Widow Spider Bites Massachusetts Child, Parents Issue Warning
Nobody knows exactly when a black widow spider bit Kailyn Donovan. Her mom, Kristine, noticed a “purple, little tiny bruise” on her daughter’s leg last week and assumed that it was a mark from playing in their backyard.
Kristine decided to keep an eye on the “bruise” but after learning that the dark mark wasn’t just from outdoor fun but actually a sign of a potentially deadly bite, this Massachusetts mom is warning other parents. Kristine told CBS News that the she didn’t realize anything was wrong until the mark started to turn black a few days later.
Kristine immediately took her 5-year-old to the hospital and doctors identified the mark as a black widow spider bite. According to CBS News, a female black widow’s bite can be incredibly painful because the venom is believed to be 15 times more potent than that of a rattlesnake. Symptoms can include abdominal cramping and severe muscles spasms for up to a week.
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Luckily, the little girl didn’t experience any pain. “She never felt it bite her,” a Kristine told CBS Boston. “It could have been in her jeans in the location where it bit her, we just don’t know.”
According to Kailyn’s doctor, William Durbin, who is a pediatric infectious disease specialist, cell death caused the skin to turn black on her leg and she’s know being treated with antibiotics. “She had a very distinctive bite, which was very scary for her parents and of course the doctors, too,” William said.
Kristine hopes that other parents realize that these spiders can be potentially deadly for children and plans to spray her house and yard as a precaution. “The doctor said it definitely was outside — they don’t chase people. It probably was bothered,” she said. “We’ve been doing a lot of yard work; it probably upset one of them and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Female black widows have red hourglass marks on their abdomens while males have these distinctive markings on their backs. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, these spiders release toxins that can harm a child’s central nervous system. They warn that these spiders are most common in the South and West regions of the United States and urge parents to seek immediate medical help if a black widow spider bites a child.
These are the common symptoms of black widow spider bites they want parents to be aware of:
Immediate pain, burning, swelling, and redness on your child’s skin
You may see double fang marks
Cramping pain and muscle tightness in the stomach, chest, shoulders, and back
Headache
Dizziness
Rash and itching
Restlessness and anxiety
Sweating
Swelling and tearing of the eyes
Nausea or vomiting
Increased saliva
Weakness, shaking, or not being able to move, especially in the legs
Source:
https://www.popsugar.com/moms/Black-Widow-Spider-Bites-Kids-43632687
The future of healthcare: AI, augmented reality and drug-delivering drones
Imagine being paralyzed and having an implanted microchip that could action a message from your brain to move your prosthetic arm. Or a diagnostic system that could pick up Alzheimer’s a decade before you develop any symptoms. Or a 3D printing machine that could print a pill with a combination of drugs tailored just for you.
Sound far-fetched? Then meet Dr Daniel Kraft, a Harvard-trained oncologist-cum-entrepreneur-cum-healthcare futurologist. The faculty chair for medicine and founder of Exponential Medicine at the Silicon Valley-based Singularity University, no one could be more serious – or ambitious – about the revolutionary impact that technology will have on the future of healthcare.
The internet of things, constant connectivity, ever cheaper hardware, big data, machine learning: Kraft’s list of converging “meta-trends” goes on. “This set of technologies, especially when meshed together, offers a real opportunity to reshape and reinvent healthcare around the planet,” he says.
Kraft’s vision is of a patient-centred, tech-led healthcare system (as opposed to “sickcare”, as he defines the current system) that promises to turn the medical world on its head. But what implications does it hold for future business of healthcare?
Big pharma is one of the first in line for a shake-up, Kraft warns. Today drug firms’ profits are based on blockbuster drugs for pervasive diseases. But what if medical science reveals (as it is doing) that there are really hundreds of sub-types of diabetes, say, or lung cancer? And what if a patient’s full genome sequence can show the likelihood of a blockbuster treatment not working?
“There’s a spectrum of diseases with different molecular pathways and pharma is going to have to adapt to smaller markets in terms of individual drugs,” Kraft says.
On the flipside, the prospect of people being able to take part in clinical trials on their smartphones promises to drastically speed up the time drugs can get to market. Prescribing an app along with a pill will also become commonplace, he suggests, enabling patients to keep on track with their medicine and adjust their dosage if required. Both potentially promise big returns for the pharmaceutical industry.
Drug distribution is set for a radical overhaul too. Digital device manufacturers are already experimenting with so-called “implantables” that use bioelectric sensors to track patients’ vital signs and release a drug dose as and when required. At the other end of the spectrum, drones are now being used to deliver drugs to remote areas or disaster zones. Matternet, one of 50 or so start-up firms to have spun out of Singularity University, has been doing exactly that in Haiti recently.
Kraft warns that radical change is afoot for healthcare providers as well. Imagine a scenario where patients can compare the results of different hospitals or even individual doctors? Or where patients don’t need to come to a clinic once a month for an electrocardiogram but instead wear a smart Band-Aid “patch” that sends the same information 24/7 to their doctor’s surgery? Patient power, in other words.
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Verizon Closes $4.5 Billion Yahoo Deal, Marissa Mayer Resigns
Verizon has completed its acquisition of the operating business of Yahoo for $4.48 billion, which coupled with AOL creates what the telco boasts is a global digital-media powerhouse that reaches more than 1 billion consumers.
As expected, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is leaving the company with the deal’s closing. “Given the inherent changes to Marissa Mayer’s role with Yahoo resulting from the closing of the transaction, Mayer has chosen to resign from Yahoo,” the telco said in a statement. “Verizon wishes Mayer well in her future endeavors.”
The merged AOL-Yahoo organization will be called Oath, comprising more than 50 media and technology brands. Tim Armstrong, previously CEO of AOL, is now CEO of Oath, which is part of Verizon’s Media and Telematics division.
Verizon expects to cut about 15% of the workforce of the new Oath organization, representing the elimination of about 2,100 jobs.
“The close of this transaction represents a critical step in growing the global scale needed for our digital media company,” Marni Walden, Verizon president of Media and Telematics, said in a statement. “The combined set of assets across Verizon and Oath, from VR to AI, 5G to IoT, from content partnerships to originals, will create exciting new ways to captivate audiences across the globe.”
The Oath portfolio includes HuffPost, Yahoo Sports, AOL.com, MAKERS, Tumblr, Build Studios, Yahoo Finance, and Yahoo Mail.
Yahoo Inc., meanwhile, as previously announced will change its name to “Altaba Inc.” effective June 16. The company’s remaining assets include a 15% equity stake in Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba Group; a 36% equity stake in Yahoo Japan; and Excalibur IP LLC, which owns certain patent assets that were not core to Yahoo’s operating business. Altaba’s CEO is Thomas McInerney, former CFO of Barry Diller’s IAC, and the company has relocated its headquarters to New York City.
Source:
Verizon Closes $4.5 Billion Yahoo Deal, Marissa Mayer Resigns
June 12, 2017
Buying houses in cash and selling millions: meet self-publishing’s ‘hidden’ authors
When Keith Houghton bought his four-bedroom detached house earlier this year, he did a rare thing for an author: he paid cash, with earnings from his books.
Keith who, you may ask? Houghton is one of a handful of so-called “hidden” bestsellers: his self-published crime thrillers are ebooks, sales of which are not monitored by the UK’s official book charts (if they don’t have ISBNs, which self-published titles often don’t).
Houghton made his money over the past six years by selling more than 500,000 books, chiefly through his Gabe Quinn series of thrillers. In a world in which traditionally published authors struggle to make £7,000 a year from their work, it is no wonder Houghton says: “I feel like I have won the lottery.”
And he is not alone. A handful of writers who top the Kindle charts, including LJ Ross and Rachel Abbott, have also defied rejections from publishers and agents to knock out seven-figure sales for their brand of crime and thriller writing. This, in a market where it only takes around 3,000 sales to top the hardback charts.
Houghton’s story is typical of many self-published writers: after notching up more than 100 rejection slips, the Lancashire-based computer repairman decided to self-publish his first Quinn novel, Killing Hope. Mending computers in Leigh may have made him seem an odd fit for hardboiled crime set in LA; at first, readers seemed to think so, as he struggled to sell even a handful of copies online. So Houghton gave them away instead. Within a day, Killing Hope had been downloaded 25,000 times.
“I was stunned,” he recalls – although his shock was as much at the thought that he had given away £25,000 in profits. “But once it reverted back to being paid for, it started to get traction in the charts and within three months, it had sold in to six figures,” he says. “I’m still quite shocked.”
For avid reader and former City lawyer Ross, writing was a distraction during her maternity leave. After she contacted 12 agents with her genre-crossing crime novel Holy Island, she had a couple of potential offers on the table. “But when I looked at the terms of the contract, my husband asked if I had thought of publishing through Kindle, because the terms for authors seemed far more favourable,” she says.
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