Do Free E-Books Drive Print Sales? Other Forces Seem More Powerful Than “Free”
A study making the rounds about free e-books and their effect on sales has major flaws, both micro and macro.
A Renowned Literary Author Self-Publishes
Is this a watershed moment for independent publishing?
Science Blogging as a Public Outreach Tool — Unfulfilled Potential or Unrealistic Expectation?
A recent study points out that science blogs are failing to provide much in the way of community outreach and education to the non-scientist public. Is this really a failure, or is it an unrealistic expectation?
Penguin Previews How Books Might Look on the iPad
Penguin is experimenting with the iPad, and sharing what they’re thinking in this video demo. It’s pretty amazing stuff.
Orbiting the Google — A Gravitational Pull Affecting Our Lives and Thinking
Google exerts a strong pull in the digital realm. Is it strong enough to affect the boundaries of our thinking?
Update: The Power of Print! (As Seen on YouTube)
The “Power of Print” ad blitz enlists YouTube to get its message out, inviting the question: If print isn’t dead, why?
Follow the Scholarly Kitchen Twitter Feed for More Updates
The Scholarly Kitchen now has an additional Twitter feed. Follow us and enjoy our drive-thru window.
Cultural Upheaval: It’s Still Print vs. Online As Major Magazines Go Digital
Magazines spend millions promoting print advertising but leave Web editorial underfunded. Is this the right move in the month of the iPad?
Shirky at NFAIS: How Abundance Breaks Everything
“Abundance breaks more things than scarcity does. Society knows how to react to scarcity.” Clay Shirky speaks at the opening session of NFAIS.
Books As Software — O’Reilly Makes It Happen
O’Reilly launches the “live book,” a way to extend the useful life of a book by turning hardware into software.
Facebook Patents the News Feed — The “One-Click” Button of Social Media Now Has An Owner
In a moment as important to social networking as Amazon’s one-click patent was for e-commerce, Facebook gets a patent on the news feed. But many questions remain, especially about prior art and what is a “news feed.”
The Video College Application: Tufts Embraces the YouTube Generation
A large university embraces video applications, and more than 1,000 students submit, mostly via YouTube. Here are some clever videos spotlighting some of today’s college applicants.
The Internet’s Extended Cultural Memory — Is It Sapping Our Creativity?
One of the great benefits of the Internet is how it has extended our cultural memory. But has this also stolen our freedom of thought, our ability to create original works of art?
Old PhDs and the Matthew Effect — Is the Attention Economy of Scholarship Making Science Too Staid?
Older PhDs, longer postdoc stints, the rich getting richer, and other factors are creating a “founder effect” and consolidating power at the upper end of scholarship. Is it a Ponzi scheme? Can grassroot efforts change things?
Platform Wars Come to the Book Business
Technological platform wars have taken control of the book business, and publishers are now collateral damage in the fight.