Monday Morning Coffee – 14 August 2023

by Nate Hoffelder

After a decade of running The Digital Reader, Nate is a veteran web publisher with experience in design, maintenance, recovery, and troubleshooting. What little he doesn't know, he can learn.

August 14, 2023

Here are a few stories to read this Monday morning.

  • AI-generated spam ebooks aren’t just showing up in the Kindle Store, they’re now showing up under the (stolen) name of well-known experts.  Public outcry forced Amazon to fix the issue (this time).
  • Zoom’s new terms of service let them scrape your content to train their AI, and there’s no option to opt out.  Note: They have since clarified how they will use your content.
  • The story analysis site Prosecraft shut down following backlash from authors.  This is unfortunate because Prosecraft is the type of tool which should be applauded, not opposed because it helps creators instead of replacing them.
  • Speaking of AI, does anyone remember the ebooks analytics start up Booklamp which was acquired by Apple about ten years ago? I wonder what Apple did with the code?
  • Google has officially launched its project to replace creators with AI
  • Simon & Schuster has been sold to private equity firm KKR.

Hi, I'm Nate.

I build and fix websites for authors, and I am also a tech VA. I can build you a website that looks great and turns visitors into fans, and I can also fix your tech when it breaks. Let me fight with tech support so you don’t have to.

My blog has everything you need to know about websites and online services. Don’t see what you need. or want personalized help? Reach out.

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