Quantum Levitation — Turning Your World Upside-Down
When science breaks your brain, it’s time to acknowledge its power once again.
Red, Green, and Blue — The Library Classification System Parody
Full of “all kinds of odd mappings between the categories and the world they describe,” library organizational systems get a jolly send-up in this pre-Google British comedy sketch.
Content as Commodity — Price Elasticity and New Business Models
The commodity nature of the OA service seems to predict certain structural aspects, including lower prices and bigger journals.
Mary Meeker's Internet Trends 2011 — Global, Mobile, and Immersive
Once again, Mary Meeker has presented her Internet trends, and once again, they are fascinating. Subtitled, “We Aren’t in Kansas Anymore . . .,” the data Meeker presents paints a picture of an online world — literally. More users come […]
From 1987 to 2011 — Apple's Prototype Prediction Is Eerily Prescient
It seems Apple underpredicted the future they’d make. Facetime, Siri, iCloud, iPhone, and other innovations have made this prediction of the future seem almost old-fashioned.
Short-term Thinking, Twitter, Economics, and the Change Process
Technology adoption in the academic space may occur more slowly, especially when the technology requires a bit of what feels like hackery to become adept at it. But it does occur. And by watching the long-term trends, recognizing the compatibility of the motivators and reward, and watching the fundamentals, we can think about their implications now instead of later.
The Emergence of the Disposable E-Book Reader — An Inflection Point in Ambient Computing?
By offering a bare-bones Kindle at a very low price point, Amazon has created a virtually disposable e-reader that does exactly what it should, and little more. Will this little probe down-market unleash a tidal surge toward e-books?
Is PLoS ONE Slowing Down?
Claims of speed can be used to carve out a competitive edge, especially for journals serving authors. PLoS ONE entered the market claiming fast publication times, but data show that PLoS ONE is slowing down, with times more than doubling over the past few years. Is PLoS ONE losing its speed advantage?
Ask the Chefs: "What Do You Think Is the Most Important Trend in Publishing Today?"
Welcome to a new feature of the Scholarly Kitchen we’re calling “Ask the Chefs.” The premise is that each month, the Chefs (contributors) to the Scholarly Kitchen will answer a provocative question in a pithy paragraph or two. Each Chef answers the question without benefit of seeing the others’ responses. This month’s question: “What Do You Think Is the Most Important Trend in Publishing Today?”
Amazing Street Dancing — Late Friday Fun That Will Blow Your Mind
This style of dancing takes such amazing body control, and it fits the music terrifically well. No film effects were used, but boy, does it look like they were in parts. It really starts getting amazing at about 1 minute. […]
The Kindle Changes Books Again — With Kindle X-Ray
“Historians may look back on September 28, 2011, as the day the book lost its bookishness.” – Nicholas Carr. When you throw in a smaller feature on the more disruptive basic Kindle — X-Ray — Carr is probably right.
Branding, Plausible Deniability, and the New York Times
Publishing materials under a trusted brand, then attempting to disavow that content when complaints arise about bias and professionalism doesn’t reflect well on the New York Times, paper or corporation. Having a portfolio of products requires responsible management of the brand constellation. Hiding out in the thicket of brands is craven.
Renovation and Remodeling — The Scholarly Kitchen Gets a Refresh
The Scholarly Kitchen has been around for nearly four years now (3.5, so I’m rounding up). During that time, the initial design proved useful and quite durable. We created a brand with the lovely graphics, and featured blogging, micro-blogging (via Twitter), and robust discussions. But having so many great posts, many published a day after each other, showed us there was room for improvement.
What's the Significance of Citations Predicting the Nobel Prize?
How well do citations predict Nobels? With an ever-expanding roster of eligible candidates, the going is getting tougher.
London Calling — Open Access PR Wends Its Way From London Into a Major US Newspaper
Another open access plug piece, this time in the Gray Lady herself, but fed from London (yet again). Is there something more to all this?