More Review Costs More — The Dynamics of a Complex and Varied Expense for Journals
Can peer review systems be run less expensively? Sure, if you eliminate major levels and elements of peer review.
You Won't Believe What People Are Doing With Their Pants at Kmart!
Kmart = hip? Of course, as they demonstrate taboos, when combined properly, can be funny and memorable.
Wolves and Sheep — What To Do Now That Venture Capitalists Are Stalking Scientific Publishing
The recent sale of Mendeley exposed surprisingly naive perspectives on the company’s clear and inherent goals. Other venture capital plays are afoot in scientific publishing and academia. When will we stop being the prey?
Interview with Michael Bierut — Typography, Modern Applications, and Timeless Communication Challenges
An interview with designer Michael Bierut, about the history of typography, its current manifestations, the power of habituation, and why Parma matters.
What Keeps a Train on a Track? It's Not What You Might Think
A question you’ve probably never thought to ask, an answer that is more insightful than you might have imagined.
Gold for Gold — Royal Society of Chemistry Uses OA as Incentive to Sell "Big Deal" Site Licenses
A clever way to sell institutional site licenses and Gold OA together helps one publisher find the fulcrum amidst uncertainty.
A Matter of Perspective — Elsevier Acquires Mendeley . . . or, Mendeley Sells Itself to Elsevier
Elsevier acquires Mendeley, changing the game significantly, perhaps for most of us.
Look What Happens When Censorship Comes to a Familiar Street
When two innocents are censored inappropriately, hilarity ensues.
SSP Board Decides to Reinstate Removed Posts
The Board of the Society for Scholarly Publishing votes to restore disputed posts in order to stand for the organization’s core principles of discussion, freedom of expression, and welcoming all perspectives.
The Lens We Look Through — Are We All About Containers or What Goes Into Them?
An analysis of publishing costs continues the theme of accountability and transparency, but perhaps focuses too much on the containers of information rather than how and why the containers are filled in the first place.
Library Group Reveals Failed Plans for Free Romance Site — eLove
A library group reveals that its plans to launch an open access romance portal have fallen through.
Posts Removed Because We've Received Letters From Edwin Mellen Press' Attorney
We have received letters from the attorney for Edwin Mellen Press, and have removed two posts as a result. We have reproduced the letters here.
"By Scientists, For Scientists" — Deconstructing a Misguided, Misleading, and Thoughtless Cliché
A common marketing cliche turns out to be empty of anything but rhetorical power when examined more carefully.
Open Access — Idealism and Realism Remain Difficult to Reconcile, Survey Says
A survey of multiple scientific and academic domains about open access publishing provides an interesting snapshot, but fails to provide much actionable data as it conflates too many areas into one.
Blog Buys Newspaper — Portlandia Tackles Modern Journalism
What happens when a blog buys a newspaper? Stories get shorter. Much shorter.