About Face — Scholarly Publishing and Social Media Regulation
A possible consequence of moves to more tightly regulate social media companies may be they start looking for new investments. And they already have some in scholarly publishing.
Interview with MDPI: Lessons Learned in more than 20 Years of Open Access Publishing
An interview with MDPI’s CEO, Dr. Franck Vazquez, sheds light on the challenges and innovations during the last 20 years of open-access publishing.
Naiveté Scene — Open Source vs. Scale in Scholarly Publishing
Once again, the term “open” requires further thought to probe the pros and cons. With open source, we may be once again doing things that make the big bigger and the small less relevant.
Publishing the 23andMe Way, Part Two: The New Data Publishing Business
23andMe presents an interesting model for STM publishers on how to enter a new and lucrative market for data publishing.
Portable Peer Review RIP
After several pivots and failures, it may be time to finally say goodbye to portable peer review.
Publishing the 23andMe Way, Part One: Building the Database
The genetics testing copany 23andme presents an interesting example of a new kind of data publishing.
Sci-Hub Moves to the Center of the Ecosystem
As Sci-Hub has grown, it has come to play a larger and larger role in scholarly communications overall. At this time its presence can be felt in the background of every major strategic situation publishers face.
Revisiting: Why Technology Will Not Get Cheaper
Revisiting Kent Anderson’s 2016 post on the ever-increasing costs of digital publishing.
Revisiting: The Arms Race in Journals Publishing Heats Up
Revisiting Joe Esposito’s 2014 piece on the competition among journal publishers to acquire the rights to professional society publications. As the marketplace continues to consolidate, these pressures have only increased.
Revisiting: Is Access to the Research Paper the Same Thing as Access to the Research “Results”?
Is access to the research paper really the same thing as access to the research results themselves? What about patents on publicly funded research? Revisiting a 2013 post to re-examine these questions.
Trust Falls — Are We In a New Phase of Corporate Research?
Conflicts of interest and corporate-funded research have expanded, with journals increasingly used by mega-corporations to advance their initiatives. What will this mean for scholarly publishing?
Beyond Labels — Does the Type of Business Matter?
The superficial distinction between non-profits and for-profits bears scrutiny. What are the true differences? Is either structure innately superior?
Elsevier Acquires bepress
In a move entirely consistent with its strategy to pivot beyond content licensing, Elsevier has acquired bepress, the institutional repository provider.
Missing the Target: The UK Scholarly Communications License
The UK Scholarly Communications License repeats many of the stumbles of the original monolithic and mandatory OA policies. We urge its proponents to slow down and learn from them instead.
Cabell’s New Predatory Journal Blacklist: A Review
Cabell’s International has stepped into the gap left by the demise of Beall’s List, providing a new predatory journal blacklist that promises to perform the function of identifying and calling out scam publishers more consistently and transparently. How is it doing so far?