PeerJ: Silicon Valley Culture Enters Academic Publishing
PeerJ is bringing something new to scholarly publishing, but it’s not a business model or a technology approach — it’s a mindset.
Is PeerJ Membership Publishing Sustainable?
The details of PeerJ’s business model raise many questions, some of which may pertain to inherent Silicon Valley ways of doing business, others to efforts to create a community of required activity.
Ask the Chefs: "What Is the Most Important Advance Publishers Have Made in the Past Decade?"
How have publishers changed over the past decade? What have been the most important advances? The Chefs tackle the question, with some surprising answers (they might have even surprised themselves).
The Outside Context Effect and Book Publishing Dominance
Is the Internet simply an irresistible “outside context” event for traditional book publishers? Two interesting articles make it clear that it may be, if wielded aggressively. The “outside context problem” was described in Iain M. Bank’s book “Excession,” in which […]
The ALPSP Report on Six-Month Embargo Mandates — STM Journals Die Slowly, Social Science Journals Die Quickly
The ALPSP study of the possible effects of a six-month embargo for journal content shows that humanities and social science journals are more at-risk, but the entire industry could find the precipice if such mandates were to take shape.
Lessons from the Music Industry: Should We Put Our Faith in Technology Companies?
Musicians have learned that the new corporate powers — technology companies — are possibly worse than the old corporate powers — record companies. How well would technology companies treat academics?
The Post-Apocalyptic Publishing Platform
While just about everyone in publishing is absorbed with the technology platforms du jour, new platforms, including the personal area network, are emerging. A good strategy is to keep one’s eyes on the horizon before investing in the current tech fashion.
We're All Publishers Now? Not So Fast
An exchange at the recent SSP Annual Meeting put the concept of “everyone’s a publisher” into stark contrast with reality. We’re not publishers. We’re unpaid writers for publishers like Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress.
The Big Deal, the Medium Deal, and the Tiny Deal
The Big Deal has emerged because it had to. Where do we go from here? The answer isn’t clear.
Non-Disclosure Agreements — Economic Tool or Kabuki Theatre?
The use of NDAs is praised by some, abhorred by others. Why they exist in pricing negotiations reveals a lot about not only about market forces, but also the value of discretion.
The Risks of Launching a New Services Business — Branding, Cash Flow, and the Fraught Start of PeerJ
PeerJ has the potential to create a divergent path to OA publishing, but its business model isn’t clear. As a service company, there are intangibles it needs to get right in the meantime.
A Publisher's Strategy for Patron-Driven Acquisitions (PDA)
While patron-driven acquisitions is likely to reduce publishers’ revenue in the short-term, over the long term it is likely that the revenue will be restored and even enhances. This post lists all the “PDA offsets” a publisher should consider.
The Race to the Bottom — Data, Pertussis, Roads, Fires, and Scholarly Publishing
The culture of cheap has consequences, often expensive ones. Our culture of austerity economics has embraced it, to disastrous effect. Should scholarly publishing be on guard?
The Financial Impact of Patron-driven Acquisitions on University Presses
One possible outcome of patron-driven acquisitions is that publishers will see their revenues decline. This post analyzes that potential decline for the university press sector and notes offsetting issues.
Publishers — What Are They Good For?
Time for your input for a session at the upcoming SSP Annual Meeting — pose your questions now!