Lessons for Publishers: Listen, Learn, and Experiment
In less than a minute, essential advice for survival today and success tomorrow.
Is OUP’s “Anti-Google” Just a Half-Million Words of Filter Failure?
The OUP has launched Oxford Bibliographies Online, hoping to filter major fields down to a high-quality, peer-reviewed reference kick-start. But does a wordy filter actually filter in the networked world?
Short Stories and Comics: Niche Markets with Core Lessons for STM Publishers
The failure of the traditional music industry has become the standard cautionary tale for content industries adapting to a digital era. But for scholarly publishers, many factors make the music industry a poor comparison. We have more in common with smaller niche markets. Watching their electronic experimentation and new business models may be more informative as we seek new strategies for presenting and selling content.
Wearable Computers — They Sure Beat Docking Stations in Your Neck
Wearable computers are coming, and many are already around us, with biometric, social networking, gaming, and health applications. Which one will you wear?
Optimism and Pessimism in Journalism: Attitude Reflects Vulnerability, Packaging Seals It
A new Pew Research report shows that news media — print and broadcast — vary in their attitudes. But a deeper attitude about how the news should be presented may be their ultimate vulnerability.
Mobile Devices and Privacy — Why It’s So Easy to Swap Personal Information to Satisfy an Itch
Mobile computing is the norm, but it also creates easy trading ground for our privacy. Is this just the new normal?
Traffic Isn’t Revenue: Twitter and Ning Reach Different Crossroads
Twitter and Ning are both tremendously popular online tools-but popularity does not immediately translate into revenue. While the two companies are in decidedly different positions, each is trying to find a way to monetize all that traffic.
Twitter’s New Advertising Depends on Search, “Resonance,” and Performance
Twitter creates an ad model, modest in scope and cautious in implementation. It’s a good first step, and certainly not their last.
Do Lava Lamps Work Under Centrifugal Force?
Lava Lamps can work under difficult conditions, but would we still want to watch them?
Counterpoint: The Power of Simplification — Why the Digital Age Means the End of Top-Heavy Bureaucracies
In which I argue that Shirky’s point is more about bureaucracies, cultures, and new approaches.
Wikipedia + POD = A Flooded Amazon: The Endless Spigot at Alpha- and Betascript Publishing
Another German publisher tries to profit off printed Wikipedia entries, this time by flooding Amazon with POD compilations.
Rules of Thumb for Social Media in Science
As science publishers, we hear a lot about the potential for new technologies. Often this comes in the form of a pitch from someone looking to sell you on either the technology they’re offering or on their expertise. In trying to see through the salesmanship, it’s important to have some general rules of thumb for approaching the integration of social media as tools for the research science community.
Elsevier Launches “Big Deal” Bake Sale Service, Other Commercial Publishers Scramble
Elsevier creates a new way to pay, and other commercial publishers are forced to reveal their plans. Will the little guys be left out again?
Scholarly Kitchen to Launch New Electronic Tablet: The briSKet
I am pleased to announce that the Scholarly Kitchen will soon be offering our very own electronic tablet. The briSKet, or binary roaming integrated Scholarly Kitchen electronic tablet, is a purpose-built device, designed to support all of the scholarly publishing needs of our readers. The Scholarly Kitchen’s business development team has spent the better part of the last year designing the device and its array of scholarly functions and applications.
Seeking a Major Market for Scholarly Materials? Get on the Phone!
The explosion of mobile phones is now being met with educational and use-case initiatives. When will scholarly publishers grasp the opportunities?