The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA), a Hong Kong-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to pursuing excellence in journalism, today announced that the SOPA 2019 Awards for Editorial Excellence are now open for entries. The deadline for submissions is 3pm Hong Kong time on Thursday January 24, 2019.

Alliance of Independent Authors' Founder Orna Ross to Speak at Digital Book World 2018

By Andy Marken

The great thing about living in Silicon Valley is that all of the car companies have advanced technology labs here so you hear about all the new gee-whiz stuff before it appears in the cars you actually buy.

The tough part of that is that also means that every time you hear about something really new, really sexy, you wonder if you should wait on your next vehicle.

The really bad thing about living in Silicon Valley (in addition to the cost of housing) is traffic sucks!

In fact San Francisco, congestion is the second worst in the U.S, 26th worldwide. San Jose is right up there also, coming in at number 51 worldwide in congestion. But the way technology businesses are expanding here, we'll catch up ... soon.

By Andy Marken

2015 hasn't exactly been a blockbuster film release year but SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) 2015 Symposium attendees are eternally optimistic that tomorrow's releases will be richer, better and there will be more.

While VR (virtual reality) has gxhdfgsdgdfgsdfg VR and augmented reality, as well as mixed reality in media and entertainment.

By Andy Marken

Kids can be such a pain:
- Mine doesn't watch TV but he streams a bunch of stuff to his tablet/smartphone
- He loves to tell me how Stewart Brand was right at one of the earliest Hackers Conferences – information wants to/needs to be free
- He doesn't like ads, isn't even influenced by them

To help him on his quest for straight-from-the-source information/entertainment, people developed the ad blocker app, promising that life is going to be great. Or, it's doomed if you're the advertiser/delivery mechanism rather than the target.

By Andy Msrken

It took 14 years for color TV to have 10 percent penetration in U.S. homes. It took cellphones nine years to achieve 10 percent penetration. It took smartphones five years to achieve 10 percent penetration.

By Andy Marken

It's plain to see that NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) doesn't mean the sole focus is on big TV nets or huge studios.
It hasn't been for a number of years.
It's a bunch of small/really small studios, government/business in-house studios and tens of thousands of independent filmmakers who want to create/distribute content – documentaries, educational films, entertainment – that they believe in ... and make a decent living while they're at it.

By Andy Marken

The world of new media – widgets and social applications – it's a great big beautiful marketing hunting ground.

Imagine people flocking to Web 2.0 locations where they blog. They upload/download audios/videos of specific interest to them.

They congregate at business/special interest web sites to gain information and be entertained.

They Tweet.

By Andy Marken

The theft of millions of personal records and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars has done nothing to slow companies rush to put everything in the cloud and online.

The outing of people's emails and Facebook/LinkedIn posts haven't slowed individuals from looking like total idiots when their "personal/private" communications and documents have been publicly aired.

I didn't really think I'd ever say it, but I don't miss my old TV, the one that has their shows set at the time the channels' decided you wanted to watch them because it meets their advertisers' needs.

But it's done.

By Andy Marken
The M&E industry even though it's sometimes hard to realize with the land seemingly shifting under your feet.
As long as you don't think about it too hard, today's entertainment is great.
Think just a little and its freakin' amazing -- you can watch it in a theater; on your TV set (old- fashioned cable or Over The Top – OTT – internet); on your computer, tablet, smartphone and probably soon on your wearable.

By Sabine A Slaughter
Green does not equal green – and this not only in terms of colour. How can all industry players – suppliers, print service providers and print customers – achieve a greener environment? Companies like HP help in achieving the goals that lead to less impact on the surrounds.