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.
Technology as the New Tobacco
Comedian Bill Maher draws a disturbing parallel between social media and cigarettes.
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.
Science, Publishing and Government Bills: Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR)
Scholarly publishers are already doing much to make government funded research as free as possible as soon as it is published. Why do we need a law to enact what is already taking shape? Robert Harington suggests it comes down to politics.
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.
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.
The Walls Around Us — Why Cambridge University Press’ Predicament Demands Attention
The recent attempt by China to censor scholarship points to a growing set of challenges in information dissemination. Blaming the publisher obscures these issues.
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?
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?
Trouble at Hand — How Mobile Devices Perpetuate Weak Business Models
The rise of mobile is cementing business model expectations and driving new monopolies, but the ethics, incentives, and consequences of these models need to be considered.
Revisiting Two Perspectives on Library-based University Presses
Point: Counterpoint — today we revisit a pair of posts from Joe Esposito and Rick Anderson looking at partnerships and collaborations between university libraries and university presses.
The Trance of Dysfunction — Why Trolls Have Come to Dominate Discourse
Trolls dominate for many reasons — economics, technology, our predilection for sordid entertainment. But they’ve chilled online discourse and damaged civil exchanges, even making some publishers reluctant to take full advantage of the potential of the Internet. Are we ready for v2.0 of commenting?