Cornell’s Open Access Author Fund
$50K is more than enough money for an author OA fund claims Cornell Library Board.
The End of “Free”
Has free access to content outlived its usefulness as a way of getting noticed?
“Star Trek” Bashed as “Fun, Watchable”
“The Onion” continues to skewer many things scholarly publishers probably like, including President Obama and “Star Trek.” Join us for a few Friday laughs.
Successful Crowdsourcing Requires Feedback
Early feedback motivates future success in YouTube and Digg. Does the same feedback explain scientific publishing?
Twitter’s Business Model Emerges
Twitter’s initial business model won’t be about advertising, proving again how different distribution is these days, and how well Twitter might understand this.
Traditional Books Become the Minority
Books made the traditional way accounted for less than 50% of US book production in 2008. Has the sea change come?
Back to the Future: The On-line Scientific Journal
“I have seen the future, and it doesn’t work.” — John Senders, pioneer of the electronic journal
A World of Digital Docents
Untangling the functions of curators and docents raises an interesting set of questions for STM publishers — about ownership, value, and the future.
Bike to Work Week — Fun for Everyone!
National Bike to Work Week has ended. Here’s a bit of gentle cycling/driver humor to end the week.
Stealing Culture: Plagiarism, Music, and Text
Lawsuits against British rock band, Coldplay, illustrate the blurred distinction between inspiration and theft.
Dark Secrets: Open Access and Author Processing Charges
Transparency and accountability are at the heart of Open Access. If only library advocates would walk the talk.
Researching Social Media
Should a federal agency start funding research into social networks? It might be the greatest idea since DARPA.
The WSJ’s Payment Curbstop
The WSJ shows just how it’s missing the boat with its latest announcement about micropayments.
When Tools Dominate Tasks
A recent study shows that article tagging actually decreases recall of content. This points out the inelegance of most social media tools, where the act of using the tool becomes paramount over the activity it’s supposed to aid.
Announcing the SSP’s “IN” Conference
There’s a new way to be Part of the “IN” crowd at SSP!