Presentations on PDA from the AAUP Conference, 2012
PDA as presented to the AAUP. Slides from Joe Esposito and Rick Anderson. Enjoy!
Ready for Some Pizza — Visualizing Pizza Delivery in NYC and Beyond
Tracking pizza deliveries tells us a lot about one of our major cities, its inhabitants, socioeconomic aspects, and more.
Publishers! What Are They Good For? Part Deux: The Debate
The participants in the recent SSP session debating the value of publishers reflect on the session, the audience interactions, and their talks. And, of course, the Romans.
"Strategic Dynamism" at the University of Virginia: Implications for Scholarly Communication?
The brouhaha at the University of Virginia raises key questions for everyone in the scholarly communications world — about whether we can exert control, or only respond to change.
Correction: NLM Does Not Charge for PubMed Data
Oops. Sorry.
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.
Not Free, Not Easy, Not Trivial — The Warehousing and Delivery of Digital Goods
The idea that digital goods have no ongoing cost and can therefore be free has several problems, the basic one being reality itself.
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?
Mary Meeker's Internet Trends 2012: The Reimagination of Nearly Everything
Mary Meeker has been spearheading Internet trend tracking for years now. This year’s update shows that Internet growth remains robust. But the real news is the growth in smart device adoption — smartphones, tablet computers, e-readers. And the trend looks […]
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.