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.
What It Means to Be a Start-up: Is It a Model Publishers Should Embrace?
Is running a business without a start-up mentality dangerous in our fast-paced technological world? It’s all a matter of risk and reward.
Money Talks — How Audience Priorities and Publishing Incentives Can Lead to Unusual OA Behaviors
Two separate but coincidental stances toward money and OA show that when it comes to getting things done, there’s nothing quite as useful as the right incentive — even when it turns OA principles on their head.
The Challenged Association — Remaining Relevant Requires More Than Cosmetic Change
With the world changing radically, associations are struggling to attract and retain members, offer satisfying programs, remain financially efficient, and look into the future. A new book provides a lot of sound advice in very little space.
Bar Bets You Can't Lose — A Guide for Your Upcoming Meetings
A British explication of some nifty bar bets you can try on your friends.
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.
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 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.
Will Editing Mix Machines With Humans? Dan Cohen Ponders the Future of Publishing
The SSP Annual Meeting keynote speaker contemplates how new tools and new ways of presenting content might lead to a world of mixed algorithmic and human editing and curation.
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.
The Essence of Science — Feynman Gets It In 63 Seconds
Science begins from a simple premise, then gets really complicated. It’s good to return to the basics, courtesy of this brief primer from the legendary Richard Feynman.