Is “Good Enough” Good Enough for You?
Over time, many markets become dominated by low quality, cheap, “good enough” products. How is this common evolutionary pathway playing out in the world of scholarly publishing?
Hell’s Kitchen: Our 5-Minute Behind the Scenes Tour
A 5-minute behind-the-scenes tour of the Scholarly Kitchen, so that you can see the basics of how a blog works.
Digital Natives? Or Neo-Traditionalists?
“Digital natives” don’t necessarily know more about their technologies, they just have different habits. In fact, digital immigrants have the real advantage addressing young “neo-traditionalists.”
“Did You Know?” 4.0 — Convergence and Communications
Another “Did You Know?” video has appeared, this time talking about convergence. Maybe it also shows that with each video, we’re closer to the future that once astounded us.
“Content Nation” — Self-promotion in the Age of 2.0 Buzzwords
A 2.0 Publishing talk delivers little more than anecdotes, buzzwords, and a narrative that conflates technological, biological, and cultural evolution. Does “Content Nation” really deliver a new view of publishing? Or just a business model borrowed from Web 2.0?
Blogs & Clouds — The Real-time Web Takes Another Step Forward
The new RSSCloud, embraced by a major blog platform, could deliver the real-time Web to publishing in a way that makes latency a thing of the past.
Operation eBook Drop — Indie Authors Helping Soldiers
Operation eBook Drop has delivered hundreds of books to soldiers in less than a week. It says a lot about indie authors and the power of digital distribution.
New Technologies and the Need for Standards
It seems like a new e-reading device is announced every day. But each device has its own file format and its own unique interface. How can publishers be expected to develop products for such a fragmented market?
E-books: Tasting Blood in the Water
Sony, Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, AT&T, Verizon — a veritable who’s who of consumer electronics and communications has entered the e-reader fray. Do they smell blood in the water? Is it yours?
A Textbook Case of Missed Opportunities
Textbook publishers engage in a massive shoveling of content onto the iPhone. Will students dig it?
Deep Links and Commercial Use of Content
A Trojan horse argument about links misses the point — copyright and contracts reach farther.
Learning from Books — Lessons for STM Publishers
Mass-market book publishing is being disrupted more quickly than anyone expected. What lessons can we learn?
Online Advertising — Are Publishers Squandering the Opportunity?
Image via Wikipedia Jim Spanfeller, who is leaving his role of CEO of Forbes.com, recently wrote a provocative piece about online advertising entitled, “Publishers Are Killing Web Advertising’s Potential With Misguided Pricing.” His compelling complaints have to do with publishers […]
The Narcissism of Social Media — Shameful, Practical, or Just Practice?
While a study of college students finds that social media is viewed as narcissistic, it’s also viewed as practical. Do these “social media natives” have it right?
Retrofitting Scholarly Communications
As scholarly communication moves from its frankly printer-centric reality of today, publishers will be faced with many more rounds of improvement to their digital information. Is ePub an answer?