Mendeley, Connotea, and the Perils of Free Services
Free services and open access are distorting the publishing world. Will the big only get bigger?
The Guardian Reveals an Important Truth About Article Comments
Recent data from the Guardian suggests that commenting remains a fringe activity, often dominated by a few voices. What might this mean for initiatives based on altmetrics and post-publication review?
CC-Huh? Fundamental Confusions About the Role of Copyright and the Reuse of Data
A fundamental confusion between articles and data leads to a call for more CC licenses and less copyright. But why are data being closed down while articles are being opened up? Is there a fundamental misunderstanding of copyright, licensing, and rights?
The Financial Burdens of the CC-BY License for Scholarly Literature
By allowing free commercial use of OA articles, current CC licenses may shift costs to researchers, presage an unsustainable information economy, and ultimately work against their stated goals. A commercially viable option might actually prove more sustainable.
Are University Block Grants the Right Way to Fund Open Access Mandates?
While block grants may be a preferred way to disperse money to fund public access mandates, their actual use may cause problems for researchers and universities.
Driving Innovation: Finding the Balance Between Fair Reward and Profiteering
Vitriol may have obscured important points in a post last week. The growing business strategy of our era is to drive the cost of everyone else’s product to zero in order to make more money from your own product. This imbalance stifles innovation and creation.
Lessons from the Music Industry: Should We Put Our Faith in Technology Companies?
Musicians have learned that the new corporate powers — technology companies — are possibly worse than the old corporate powers — record companies. How well would technology companies treat academics?
An Interview with Cameron Neylon, PLoS' New Director of Advocacy
An interview about open access, funding of science, publishable works, profit motives, and other topics of interest, with one of the more thoughtful advocates of OA publishing, Cameron Neylon.
Post-Publication Peer Review: What Value Do Usage-Based Metrics Offer?
A PLoS ONE article recently went viral, hitting the front page of Reddit and garnering an amazing amount of reader interest. This was great news for the journal and the paper’s authors, but raises questions for the notion of post-publication […]
Apple and Textbooks: A Second Look
Apple’s move into the education market may be just a bare-knuckled move designed to sell more iPads. Does Apple truly support the education market? Or is it hoping the education market will support Apple?
The Research Works Act: Is It Time For a Rally To Restore Sanity?
When it comes to discussions about access, the silent majority focused on doing science is presented with real choices, not all of which square with the scorched-earth rhetoric that too often dominates.
Can We Measure the Value of Professional Editors?
eLife asserts that professional editors create more harm than good. But how do we know that? How can we know that? Or is this just an emotional argument based on anecdote and conjecture rather than fact?
The White House Calls for Information on Public Access to Publications and Data
The US government’s requests for information are of great importance for the future of academia and scholarly publishing. If you’re a traditionalist who sees open access as the downfall of civilization, an advocate who thinks information must be free, or someone who falls somewhere in between, this is your chance to create the future you’re seeking.
Can Amazon and Apple Peacefully Coexist? Probably, But As for Google…
The Google Era isn’t over by a long shot, but initiatives from Apple and Amazon reveal that the search giant is open to disintermediation by some clever and large-scale commercial tactics.
Separating The Threads: What Is the Link Between Access and Profitability?
The last few weeks of lively debate about OA in the Scholarly Kitchen have been informative, but have also involved a variety of mixed messages from all sides. There are assumptions being made that aren’t necessarily true, and arguments joined together that may in reality be at cross purposes.