Scholarly Chicken
A scholarly recipe for satisfying the stomaches and minds of the publishing world
Dude Looks Like a Lady?
Does your browsing history reveal your gender? Take this quick test to find out.
The Importance of Being First
Position in a daily arXiv email report can determine future citations. A German physicist struggles to determine why.
Anonymity Meets Aggression on Web 2.0
Web 2.0 may be shattering the established control of elite media. In their place are loud and aggressive voices.
Watching the Wrong Things?
Scholarly publishers have traditionally focused on articles, issues, subscriptions, citations, impact factors, and business models. But maybe by focusing on these things, which are much more about us than about our readers (who are becoming users today, a significant shift […]
A Trillion URLs
With an index now of 1 trillion URLs, Google is poised to dominate search. But will Cuil throw a wrench in the works?
It’s All About the People
It’s unavoidable — even a session on technical issues becomes about the people. It’s integral to Web 2.0.
The Age of the Blog
Michael Bhaskar at theDigitalist.net has written an interesting two-part rumination on the place of blogs in the publisher milieu. In it, he neatly slices publishers away from the technological aspect of blogs — wisely dismissing publishers as possible creators of […]
Will Data Beat Hypotheses?
The scientific method may be challenged by a new approach based on data crunching and discovery.
Reputation Matters
A new (and flawed) study reveals that reputation matters. In fact, it’s core to scientific expression.
The “h-index”: An Objective Mismeasure?
A “mystical belief” in simple math and hard numbers like the h-index can mislead smart people.
OA Author’s Fund — 1% Solution, 99% Ideology
We are seeing a publishing model that has roots in cold, hard currency transformed into an idolatry of ideology.
Britannica’s Tepid Move
Image via Wikipedia Forgive me, but I think the recent news that the Encyclopedia Britannica is adopting a modified Wiki approach reveals not a brave embrace of new online realities, but rather a tepid response to the threat they are […]
The Syllabus — Key to Changing Student Research Behavior
Cornell initiative to develop information skills in the classroom. Is there an easy solution for the Google generation?
AP vs. Blogs: Spoiler Alert!
The AP is taking on blogs. They won’t win by fighting.