Loaded Dice — The New Research Conundrums Posed by Mechanical Turk
The use of Mechanical Turk in research may generate misleading data and false information. Do we need to guard against such mechanical methodologies?
The Flatscreen Install — Moving Collaboration from Print to Digital
Would adding a big flatscreen TV to my office might make a difference? Yes, in big and important ways.
The Elephant in the Room Is a Phone
Publishers have underestimated how disruptive mobile technology potentially can be. We are likely to see an entirely new ecosystem develop with the smart phone at the center.
Our Surveillance Society: If Only We'd Listened to Jim Rockford
James Garner’s television detective warned us about Google and Facebook way back in 1978. If only we’d listened…
Social Media And Its Impact on Medical Research
A social media campaign may have little (if any) effect on article readership, a recent study reports.
The New Cluetrain — A Barometer for What Has Changed in the Last 15 Years
Fifteen years later, the authors of the “Cluetrain Manifesto” attempt a relevant update, with 112 new “clues.” Yet, they miss the biggest clue of all — the Internet is no longer sacred and its users know it.
Is Google Now a Publisher Offering Other Publishers an Inadequate Deal?
A Spanish court’s decision around Google News suggests that the barter arrangement with Google and other general search engines — in which they pay nothing to license our content — may have a more viable financial future.
Ask The Chefs: What Did You Learn in 2014?
Find out what the Chefs learned in 2014 and share your most important lessons!
Altmetric’s Top 100: What Does It All Mean?
Altmetric’s annual top 100 list provides an opportunity to see what science reached the general public and to think more about what information altmetrics really provide.
Exaggerated Claims — Has "Publish or Perish" Become "Publicize or Perish"?
A recent study finds that academic press offices exaggerate claims in their press releases about published research. Worse, the vast majority of these find their way into subsequent reporting.
Confounded Complexity — Pondering the Endless Upgrade Paths of Digital Publishing
We were wrong to expect that online publishing would be cheaper and simpler than print. Acknowledging that, and facing the slower, more complicated commercial world it has created, could put us on a better path.
Every Talk Ever Given by a Successful Creative Person
How you too can use the internet to gain fame and fortune. Or perhaps a realization of the randomness of recognition.
Ask The Chefs: How Do You Stay Informed About Scholarly Publishing?
We often talk about how our customers (a.k.a. users, researchers, authors, readers, etc.) are being overwhelmed by the flood of information available today. Let’s not forget that we are consumers of information as well. How are we handling information overload? […]
Guest Post: Phill Jones on The Changing Role of the Postdoc and Why Publishers Should Care
Guest Chef Phill Jones takes a look at an often under-recognized population of researchers and suggests why publishers should give them more attention.
Tweaking Twitter
Social media giant (and information tool) Twitter has casually suggested to its users that it might be changing its algorithm. But has it considered what the implications for users might be? The users have and they are worried.