Even Crowdsourcing Can Get Too Expensive
Transcribe Bentham loses its grant after six months, and has to wind down.
King Philip's Autograph Session — A Restored Painting Provokes a Prank
A 400-year-old monarch comes out of retirement to celebrate his portrait’s restoration. And museum-goers want his autograph.
Why Does Availability Seem to Drive Down the Quality of Information Goods?
While it seems that availability drives down the quality of information goods, some exceptions make it clear this is not an unavoidable fate. Can scientific publishing beat the trend?
The Battle for Control — What People Who Worry About the Internet Are Really Worried About
While sophisticated arguments about how the Internet is changing our brains continue, a look back at the history of communications systems shows we’re really arguing about something more base.
The Scholarly Kitchen Turns Three
We’re now entering our fourth year of publication. Look how we’ve grown!
Margaret Atwood & Cheese Sandwiches — If Authors Starve, Look Who Else Starves, Too
A talk by Margaret Atwood which reminds us that authors are not to be overlooked as we charge ahead with changes in publishing — and that change itself requires thoughtful choices.
The Beatles 3000 — An Exercise in Historical Drift Based on Incomplete Records
Scottie Pippen was a Beatle? Scholars a thousand years from now might just find evidence to suggest as much.
"It Sounded Stupid When I Said It" — The Today Show Encounters the Internet ala 1994
How do you pronounce “@”? How do you read out an email address? These were tough questions in 1994, as this video reveals.
Vestron's Law: The Propensity for Rights to Revert to the Original Publisher
Vestron’s Law refers to the propensity for the rights to content to revert to the original publisher. The Law applies to all media types and accounts for some of the industry’s structural changes.
The Healthy, Wealthy Corner — What 200 Years of Scientific Progress Can Do
While we can tied up in the minutiae of scientific reporting and pursuits, the grand overall effect is impressive, as this video shows.
Don't Look Back — Do Scientists Squelch Citations to Justify Claims of Novelty?
A study showing that randomized controlled trials don’t cite much of the preceding literature suggests there’s a problem, but it’s unclear exactly what the problem is.
We Are All Cyborgs Now — The Humans At the Center of Technology
Extending our mental lives and creating communication wormholes — in addition to carrying more than we ever thought we could — is all the result of becoming cyborgs.
Why Is the Internet Considered to Be "Artificial"?
The artificiality of Internet inventions and experiences is about novelty, not artificiality. We’ve always been pretenders.
Diverging Content Preferences: Is Baby Bear's Disappearance Cause for Worry?
Short-form and long-form content are flourishing, while that “just right” middle ground is vanishing.
Two Publishers — One Old, One New — Square Off Without Knowing It
The publisher of Harper’s proves himself an anachronist, while O’Reilly scolds other publishers to wake up!