OA Rhetoric, Economics, and the Definition of "Research"
Rhetoric can’t hide financial realities. Is trading research for access a good use of funds?
Does Access Create New Types of Scarcity?
A compelling essay points out some interesting wrinkles to the access debate.
Treat a Book Like a Start-Up? Only By Confusing Process With Form
An experiment in agile book publishing reveals some interesting divisions between process and form.
Is Something Fishy Going On? Citations Suggest Correction Comes Slowly, If It Comes At All
Rebuttals are cited less, don’t change citation patterns for original papers, and generally fall flat. And you thought science was self-correcting?
Does "The Price of Typos" Justify the Price of Remaining Focused on Print?
The price of typos exists, but the price of not seeing solutions that are right in front of you could be higher.
A Journal Is Not a Data Dump
Overburdened by supplemental data, journal limits publication to “essentials” plus non-article formats.
Pondering the 5 W’s of Publication Funding – Who, What, When, Where, and Why
While all sustainable publishing requires funding, where the funding comes from, why it’s provided, who provides it, when it’s provided, and what they expect for it sheds some light on some key issues.
What We Can Learn From Harry Potter
The Harry Potter series will now be available as e-books. Among the lessons for publishers is the desirability of direct-marketing.
Revisiting PressForward – A Good Idea Facing an Uphill Battle
PressForward has a lot of potential, but a lot of potential barriers to overcome. How it fares will depend on how much the larger culture of academia is interested in change.
Blogs Meet Academic Biases, Are Offered an Ironic Prize for Good Online Content
A new initiative to feature online content shows its cards when it names the ultimate honor it can convey on selections.
A New Study Asks a Troubling Question: Are We Losing Our Minds?
A new study being touted by Nicholas Carr reveals a lack of healthy skepticism and more problems with “methodologically sound.”
Spam versus Targeting — Which Approach Will Define the Age of Abundance?
As spam defines one end of abundance, targeting enters to deflect the damage. Can they co-exist? Or will one become the defining trait of the age?
Capturing Words — Revisiting the Echoes of History
Words persist, but the form they take can change something fundamental in their meaning.
Meeting Reader Needs: The Increasingly Difficult Search for Grassroots Among the Astroturf
Hype and marketing angles aren’t adequate ways to truly help real people succeed in the information age.
Stick to Your Ribs: The Editorial Fallacy
Revisiting a popular and important post — the editorial fallacy, that belief that more or better manuscripts can save you from disruptive change.