The Terrible Price of Free: On E-reading Jane Austen via Google's Ebooks
The new Google Ebooks have made a mess of many popular classics in the public domain.
Why Does Availability Seem to Drive Down the Quality of Information Goods?
While it seems that availability drives down the quality of information goods, some exceptions make it clear this is not an unavoidable fate. Can scientific publishing beat the trend?
Journal of Cosmology and Alien Life — Reputation Precedes Refutation, But Are Brands Enough?
Alien life? Or just the will to publish, and some accomplices? While those in the field know the pecking order, those outside still get fooled.
Scholarly Communication — Can We Have Our Name Back?
How did “scholarly communication” become equated with open access advocacy? Is its misuse ultimately self-defeating?
The New Economics of the University Press — A Report from the AAUP
A report by the AAUP outlines the business models available to university presses and makes a case for ongoing subsidies by parent institutions.
The Battle for Control — What People Who Worry About the Internet Are Really Worried About
While sophisticated arguments about how the Internet is changing our brains continue, a look back at the history of communications systems shows we’re really arguing about something more base.
When the Price of Rejection Becomes Cheaper
Does cascading peer-review increase inappropriate submissions?
Providers vs. Platforms — Why Must We Move?
Apple’s apparent abuse of its platform dominance may signal a basic incompatibility between providers and platforms.
Permanence and Accountability — Why Publishers Need to Modernize Their Approaches
With more and more science being tested and communicated outside traditional outlets, we may face a moment when faith in the existing system breaks down.
The Beatles 3000 — An Exercise in Historical Drift Based on Incomplete Records
Scottie Pippen was a Beatle? Scholars a thousand years from now might just find evidence to suggest as much.
J.C. Penney's Black Hat SEO and Google — Why the Network Doesn't Justify Impact Proxies
The outer ring of citation remains a point of vulnerability for quality proxies, as does reducing complex things to simple lists or numbers. When will we learn?
Gladwell Tackles College Rankings: The Perils of Comprehensive Heterogeneous Systems
Why do smart people continue to seek simple rank-order listings of inherently complex phenomena?
Will Reference Books and Journals Survive? A Debate
A debate at PSP reveals much, especially after it ends.
Should Our Information Experiences Be Dependent or Independent?
John Battelle wonders if we’re painting ourselves into a corner with crude tools of identity. Instead, is there another way?
How Meaningful and Reliable Are Social Article Metrics?
New publishing initiatives link concepts like “importance” to social metrics like popularity and sharing. Is this logical? Can these metrics be easily gamed?