PE and VC are usually both bad in the end, but PE is almost always worse every step of the way, especially when their "acquisitions" are funded by making the company they acquire take on a ton of debt to make the acquisition happen.

Lex Roman@lexroman.com · 19h ago

I'm seeing folks conflate private equity with venture capital when it comes to Bending Spoons buying Airtable. This is not an investment. This is a buyout. That makes our timeline for needing to leave FASTER. Wrote a second story about this to explain

We have tried FOR YEARS to work with you. Pubs weren't interested (see fear mongering, trash talking, name calling, and lying) and now, people are starting to look for other ways around it. All they had to do was ask for a reasonable price and/or reasonable terms.

Apologies for the triple post earlier; I thought the problem was on my end!

Blacksky Status@status.blacksky.community · 2d ago

Our apps are currently experiencing a delay, which may be impacting your experience. We are aware of this issue and are working to fix it. Thank you all for your patience!

"Reaction to the paper has been muted at best. Librarians who have been working in the digital space for years quickly dismissed it. And publishers didn't exactly rally around it either." The latest @wordsandmoney.bsky.social newsletter is a must-read. 🔥 www.wordsandmoney.com/the-words-mo...

"The committee was spurred to action after Library Futures... reached out regarding some vendor practices. 'When you have something that will block out large portions of a collection, it’s allowing the vendor to have a lot of control in what is being seen.'" www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

ALA Offers Guidance on Evaluating Digital Platforms

In addition to navigating various systems for evaluating their print purchases from vendors, school librarians face challenges when selecting vendors to provide their students’ digital materials.

publishersweekly.com

Books I read, games I played, things I watched in July 2026. Do we have similar tastes, or will you be questioning how we ever got connected? Let's find out! loudpoet.com/2026/08/01/m...

Media Notes: July 2026 | As in guillotine...

Books I read, games I played, things I watched in July 2026. Do we have similar tastes, or will you be questioning how we ever got connected? Let's find out!

loudpoet.com

“"A slant fit" in a specialist job market | As in guillotine...” https://loudpoet.com/2026/07/30/a-slant-fit-in-a-specialist-job-market/ > The book world is notoriously myopic when it comes to evaluating experience outside of book publishing True words.

This is going to make it very difficult to know which sports we should ban them from.

Kat Kerlin@katkerlin.bsky.social · last wk.

Some avocados are female in the morning and male in the afternoon, while others are on the opposite schedule. This helps them avoid self-pollination. How do they do it? A @ucdavis.bsky.social study explains. www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/st...

I somehow missed this last week, the other half of my guest appearance on the @microcosm.bsky.social podcast, with some harsh words for a certain organization that was shitting on libraries. Again. 😡 microcosmpublishing.com/blog/2026/07...

There's a terrible LinkedIn-style post I've been tempted to write over the years that equates business to soccer, with me as a box-to-box midfielder who operates at both ends of the pitch. This isn't that post, but it's relevant context. loudpoet.com/2026/07/30/a...

"A slant fit" in a specialist job market | As in guillotine...

Most job listings describe a generalist unicorn under a specialist title, but most screeners are looking for people with those titles. #OpenToWork #HireMe

loudpoet.com

The professional association of literary agents (AALA) has modified its Canon of Ethics to allow agents to earn money in additional ways while still retaining membership. For those seeking an agent, it is more important than ever to critically evaluate the people you're submitting to.

Agent Business Models May Be Shifting: What I Fear Will Happen | Jane Friedman

When the new AALA Canon of Ethics goes into effect, authors must be more diligent and sharp in evaluating who they partner with.

janefriedman.com

"If you think it's OK for publishers to force libraries to rent e-books rather than owning a preservation copy, you cannot complain when the last physical copy is in the hands of a company you dislike rather than a research institution you trust." Brandon Butler🔥 www.linkedin.com/posts/brando...

Now is a good reminder that machine learning is a rebranding of statistical learning. Reinforcement learning is something I first came across in control theory. Many ML formulations are from information theory, a much more theoretically grounded discipline that's been around for decades.

Casey Newton@caseynewton.bsky.social · last wk.

There's a reason why "these are just statistical predictions" hasn't caught on in the discourse, and it's not the tech press. It's that people see them reading and writing and reasoning and scheming and they realize that the stochastic-parrots framing is outdated and inadequate to the moment

Patreon has long coasted on being alternative and artist friendly but as we've seen with Substack, plenty of people will ditch their morals if they think they can make a buck there. It's hardest to make that buck on Patreon. Yes, even harder than Substack.

"Let's watch things together again on predictable schedules!" On library ebooks, a quieter nepreryvka, V for Vendetta, reading soccer, and "under the radar" Spain?!? loudpoet.com/2026/07/23/f...

Five Things: July 23, 2026 | As in guillotine...

"Let's watch things together again on predictable schedules!" On library ebooks, a quieter nepreryvka, V for Vendetta, reading soccer, and "under the radar" Spain?!?

loudpoet.com

@runwithskizzers.bsky.social Have you played Star Wars Outlaws? Just finished the main campaign and it was surprisingly good, particularly the story.

I caught most of this podcast episode live at #ALAAC26 and nearly hollered "amen!" several times as Ellen Paul broke down various aspects of library ebook pricing and the limitations of legislation. Libraries are not powerless victims of the Big 5. straightdownload.podbean.com/e/episode-16...

Probably good to remember that people in red states love active transportation, recreational trails, and being able to walk places safely. Duffy cancelling already-promised funds for such projects will harm people of all political persuasions.

This week's book censorship news roundup is one of the longest in quite a while. That isn't usual for JULY. bookriot.com/12-more-book...

12 Book Censorship Posts to Revisit: Book Censorship News for July 11, 2026

From the necessity to talk about sex in books to building voter guides to local elections, catch up on previous book censorship posts.

bookriot.com

I always turn off default AI notetakers, but I'd never thought about the voiceprint angle and the security risks involved with them. Moving forward, that's non-negotiable for me. AI is 🤡 💩 all the way down. www.fastcompany.com/91571498/ai-...

Why you should think twice before letting an AI notetaker in your meeting

Here are some tips on the etiquette of kicking an AI notetaker out of a meeting, the risks of using one, and how to protect yourself.

fastcompany.com

If you are at all interested in publishing or libraries you should be subscribing to @loudpoet.com's newsletter or visiting his site. His 5 Things in particular is always super informative and I learn a ton each time it hits my inbox. loudpoet.com/2026/07/09/f...

Five Things: July 9, 2026 | As in guillotine...

"Support the industry coverage you want to see more of!" On #ALAAC26, metadata, collaboration, and library 101 for indie publishers and authors.

loudpoet.com

Roman's coverage of news that's relevant to small businesses isn't just an old school linkblog, it's full of great context and insights, too. Sign up.

Lex Roman@lexroman.com · 4w ago

I produce stories about online small businesses from around the world. If you're feeling stuck in how to grow your business or are just wondering about fresh ideas you could try, you should become a subscriber. It's FREE.

"Support the industry coverage you want to see more of!" On #ALAAC26, metadata, collaboration, and library 101 for indie publishers and authors. loudpoet.com/2026/07/09/f...

Five Things: July 9, 2026 | As in guillotine...

"Support the industry coverage you want to see more of!" On #ALAAC26, metadata, collaboration, and library 101 for indie publishers and authors.

loudpoet.com

"Good metadata is the secret sauce to discoverability in general, but it's particularly important for library selection workflows in vendor systems that may prioritize traditional bestsellers from large publishers." Me, on two of my favorite #ALAAC26 sessions. mailchi.mp/janefriedman...

This makes me wistful for the good old days of Microsoft Publisher and the ignorantly earnest abuse of mismatched fonts. I also hate the LinkedIn cartoon slop that's still making the rounds. #cmonson www.404media.co/we-are-livin...

We Are Living in a ‘ChatGPT Flyer Pandemic’

"Hey if this is your flyer, I’m not going, I’m not donating, I’m not sharing. Don’t ask me."

404media.co

🚨BREAKING🚨 More than 600 workers at Hachette Book Group just voted overwhelmingly to unionize, creating the largest union in trade publishing history! newsguild.org/hachette-boo...

Hachette Book Group employees win election for largest union in trade publisher history | The NewsGuild - TNG-CWA

newsguild.org

ICYMI: "What Librarians Wish Publishers Knew: Takeaways from the 2026 Library Insights Summit" It was an important event at a critical time for the industry, and an example of what real collaboration between publishers and libraries can look like. #ALAAC26 www.wordsandmoney.com/what-librari...

What Librarians Wish Publishers Knew: Takeaways from the 2026 Library Insights Summit

Ahead of the 2026 ALA Annual Conference, the fourth annual Library Insights Summit, founded and produced by Foreword Reviews, offers something sorely needed: a space for libraries and indie publishers...

wordsandmoney.com

My coverage of last week's Library Insights Summit is live at @wordsandmoney.bsky.social for your long weekend enjoyment. #ALAAC26 www.wordsandmoney.com/what-librari...

What Librarians Wish Publishers Knew: Takeaways from the 2026 Library Insights Summit

Ahead of the 2026 ALA Annual Conference, the fourth annual Library Insights Summit, founded and produced by Foreword Reviews, offers something sorely needed: a space for libraries and indie publishers...

wordsandmoney.com

Buttondown sent me a "you haven't sent a newsletter in over a month!" email, and here's me saying that if you get Well Sourced, I'll have a new newsletter next weekend for you. Don't get my personal newsletter? You should. buttondown.com/wellsourced

Well Sourced by Kelly Jensen

It’s everything you are curious about when it comes to books, reading, censorship, and libraries within the context of pop culture and mental health. If you like getting curious and appreciate well-so...

buttondown.com

My coverage of last week's Library Insights Summit is live at @wordsandmoney.bsky.social for your long weekend enjoyment. #ALAAC26 www.wordsandmoney.com/what-librari...

What Librarians Wish Publishers Knew: Takeaways from the 2026 Library Insights Summit

Ahead of the 2026 ALA Annual Conference, the fourth annual Library Insights Summit, founded and produced by Foreword Reviews, offers something sorely needed: a space for libraries and indie publishers...

wordsandmoney.com