By offering a bare-bones Kindle at a very low price point, Amazon has created a virtually disposable e-reader that does exactly what it should, and little more. Will this little probe down-market unleash a tidal surge toward e-books?
The publishing industry seems to be focused on improving a system that already works well, the system of topical information flows. Perhaps it should be looking at the system of method information flows.
Let’s suppose, for the sake of argument, that the allegations against Swartz are proved and that he’s convicted. What would his case mean? It seems to me that it raises a number of questions that have received insufficient attention up until now.
Welcome to a new feature of the Scholarly Kitchen we’re calling “Ask the Chefs.” The premise is that each month, the Chefs (contributors) to the Scholarly Kitchen will answer a provocative question in a pithy paragraph or two. Each Chef answers the question without benefit of seeing the others’ responses. This month’s question: “What Do You Think Is the Most Important Trend in Publishing Today?”
“Historians may look back on September 28, 2011, as the day the book lost its bookishness.” – Nicholas Carr. When you throw in a smaller feature on the more disruptive basic Kindle — X-Ray — Carr is probably right.
Information tailored to the user requires identity services that are useful and trusted. Will Google+ create a new baseline standard? Whither ORCID? Why can one succeed while one might be doomed? And what might the world look like for scientists when these opportunities are captured?
Another open access plug piece, this time in the Gray Lady herself, but fed from London (yet again). Is there something more to all this?
Taxpayer access to US federally funded research results need not involve publishers giving away their product. An alternative mechanism is available, one that is already partially implemented. It is called the research report. Demands for free access to taxpayer funded […]
When publishers don’t employ foresight, they find themselves with challenges to their businesses, often from unexpected directions. Innovation is an imperative.
There are many new companies seeking to disrupt the college textbook model. Here is a taxonomy of the strategies, with some comments on the likelihood of their being adopted.
Print aficionados and newspaper companies are rushing to bridge a chasm, but even their ACME product may not be enough.
In less time than most people spend getting ready in the morning, a filmmaker created a lovely short film inspired by a great video game. Worth watching.
Hitting the wallet, watch, and workload makes more sense, but Science Exchange still has some details to iron out.
The world is changing. Is academic culture an artificial and unhelpful cap on inevitable and productive innovation in communication potentialities? Or is there a failure of leadership?
Following users across the Web is an increasingly common way to expand ad inventory. But can scholarly publishers expect users to accept it?