Acquiring a New Style of Argument — Clay Shirky on Github
Can the Internet create a new and more cooperative way of arguing?
What Google Did Next
Google’s new initiatives show how impressive their knowledge of knowledge might become, especially if they pull off all the surprising and jaw-dropping mobile initiatives (Glass, driverless cars, others) they’re pursuing.
Quantifying OA Complexity
A recent attempt by SPARC and others to assess “How Open Is It?” shows how complex OA publishing is, but also fails to accurately represent the potential complexities in many areas.
I Wish I'd Had This Teacher — The Ping Pong Ball Explosion
And the sky rains ping pong balls, as this simple experiment provides both audible and visible entertainment.
Does Open Access Tackle, Perpetuate, or Exacerbate the Matthew Effect?
While some hope that OA will create a more accessible literature, new data about NSF funding and some logical extrapolations suggest it may actually exacerbate the Matthew Effect, choking off opportunities to publish for those without the funding necessary.
The New Wave of Gold OA Journals
The flood of OA journals and publishers continues worldwide, but the number of articles is still small in any field.
Using the Scholarly Kitchen for Research
The Scholarly Kitchen can be a useful research tool for its contributors, as it enables the community to participate in certain kinds of questions. But group blogs don’t work for everyone.
The Financial Burdens of the CC-BY License for Scholarly Literature
By allowing free commercial use of OA articles, current CC licenses may shift costs to researchers, presage an unsustainable information economy, and ultimately work against their stated goals. A commercially viable option might actually prove more sustainable.
Why Restrictions on Reuse Are Sometimes Important
“How Open Is It?” offers a useful set of parameters for defining “open,” but some fundamental questions remain, including the commercial and social consequences of free distribution.
Wikipedia's Writing — Tests Show It's Too Sophisticated for Its Audience
Wikipedia aims to be an encyclopedia for everyone, but its core version is too difficult for most readers, and even its Simple English offshoot falls short of its readability goals.
Curiosity About the Breathtaking "Mars Curiosity Descent" Video?
An impressive video of the Mars Curiosity Rover’s landing — from the Rover’s perspective — has been circulating. Now, a “how it was made” video reveals some of what it took to make it.
Is PubMed Central Complementing or Competing with Journal Publishers?
Articles deposited into PubMed Central responsible for drawing readers from journal site, a study finds.
Online Isn't Cheap, We Know — But An Environmentally Problematic Energy Hog?!
A new analysis suggests that energy costs and carbon footprints for online could surpass those of older media types. Oddly, copyright might be part of the solution.
Open Access Embargoes — How Long Is Long Enough?
Most publishers offering delayed free access to journal articles set their embargo period more than a decade ago. Is it time to revisit the access embargo?
Are Scientists Themselves to Blame for Exaggerated Claims in Science Journalism?
A new study ties problems in abstracts to subsequent exaggerations in the media — but it’s not the big journals that are the major sources.