Trade Publishing and Ebooks: W(h)ither the Supply Chain?
The supply chain around trade publishing is “broken,” according to publishers. But are they what has broken?
Blogging Software as a Disruptive Publishing Tool — Is There Anything It Can’t Do?
Blogging platforms have morphed into web site and social media platforms. But now they’re moving into areas even farther afield, like books.
E-Readers Will Take Centerstage If Prices Drop, Yet Publishers Still Have Two Left Feet
E-readers are poised to go mainstream, yet publishers continue to be wallflowers. Haven’t we learned to dance at all during this last digital decade?
The Stick and the Carrot: Why Direct Incentives in Science are Dangerous
Reputation — fragile, cumulative, and indirect — is the reward of science. Direct compensation to motivate specific behaviors is a dangerous proposal.
Friday Fun: Bill Murray Reads Poetry to Construction Workers
While building a new poetry center, construction stops so Bill Murray can share a few poems (and jokes) with the workers. A lovely moment, captured in video.
A Future of Touch and Gestures: New Interfaces Driving Scientific Information Presentation
Image by jdlasica via Flickr For scholarly publishers, librarians, and readers, the article remains the coin of the realm — a text-based narrative that strips data of all but its most superficial aspects and doesn’t integrate itself into the body […]
Industry Sponsorship of Open Access Articles
The willingness of industry to sponsor open access articles may bias your access to reliable health information.
Publishers Risk Losing to Authors: Why the E-Book Waiting Game Will Backfire
The e-book age is here — infrastructure, readers, storefronts. Publishers should heed the warning signs and stop delaying the inevitable.
The Paranoia of Publication “Bias” — How a Study Proves Its Point by Making Its Point
Positive research results may indicate that the scientific system is working efficiently.
PLoS’ Squandered Opportunity — Their Problems with the Path of Least Resistance
The Public Library of Science was once a radical force, but is now dependent on author-pays bulk-publishing for its livelihood, which introduces all sorts of problems for every journal publisher. What went wrong?
The Creative Deadline — A Video of Post-it Notes
Creativity transcends technology, even if you’re on a deadline.
Counterpoint: The Power of Simplification — Why the Digital Age Means the End of Top-Heavy Bureaucracies
In which I argue that Shirky’s point is more about bureaucracies, cultures, and new approaches.
Improving Peer Review: Let’s Provide an Ingredients List for Our Readers
We describe many aspects of studies, but “peer reviewed” is a generic label for a multitude of recipes. Maybe we should start listing what went into it.
“The Big Short” Gets Singed by Inflamed e-Book Passions
When customers get angry, they’ll resort to all sorts of tricks to be heard. Is it wise for a publisher to take a hard line over the inevitable?
Controversial Math Journal Relauches: New Editors, Focus on Rigorous Review
Publisher relaunches journal with new editorial board and scope, and a renewed focus on rigorous review.