Wearable Computers — They Sure Beat Docking Stations in Your Neck
Wearable computers are coming, and many are already around us, with biometric, social networking, gaming, and health applications. Which one will you wear?
Optimism and Pessimism in Journalism: Attitude Reflects Vulnerability, Packaging Seals It
A new Pew Research report shows that news media — print and broadcast — vary in their attitudes. But a deeper attitude about how the news should be presented may be their ultimate vulnerability.
Mobile Devices and Privacy — Why It’s So Easy to Swap Personal Information to Satisfy an Itch
Mobile computing is the norm, but it also creates easy trading ground for our privacy. Is this just the new normal?
How to Vote for the Scholarly Kitchen’s Webby
A quick overview of how to vote for the Scholarly Kitchen’s Webby Award nomination. Help shine a light on scholarly communications around the world.
Traffic Isn’t Revenue: Twitter and Ning Reach Different Crossroads
Twitter and Ning are both tremendously popular online tools-but popularity does not immediately translate into revenue. While the two companies are in decidedly different positions, each is trying to find a way to monetize all that traffic.
Twitter’s New Advertising Depends on Search, “Resonance,” and Performance
Twitter creates an ad model, modest in scope and cautious in implementation. It’s a good first step, and certainly not their last.
Clouds, Gestures, and Incumbents — Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad
Major trends are at work in information exchange technologies and interface design, but publishers remain hampered by incumbent traits.
Why Publishers’ Brands Matter
Publishers’ brands matter very much to consumers, but sometimes people are unaware of the role brands play in purchasing decisions.
Four Days with the iPad
Four days with the iPad reveals a landscape of possibilities and some real functionality pros and cons.
The Ethics of Versions: Why Buying One Experience Doesn’t Permit You All Experiences
The Ethicist argues that pirating an e-book is ethical because once you buy a book in any form, you have the right to that book in every form.
Clay Shirky’s Collapse of Complexity — Does It Also Require a Collapse of Quality?
Clay Shirky reflects on the end of complexity. He’s right, but can simplified systems produce quality? Can other approaches also survive?
Counterpoint: The Power of Simplification — Why the Digital Age Means the End of Top-Heavy Bureaucracies
In which I argue that Shirky’s point is more about bureaucracies, cultures, and new approaches.
Wikipedia + POD = A Flooded Amazon: The Endless Spigot at Alpha- and Betascript Publishing
Another German publisher tries to profit off printed Wikipedia entries, this time by flooding Amazon with POD compilations.
The Scholarly iPad — First Impressions, Relevance for Publishers
The iPad is a superb design realization of the tablet computer. But that still leaves the question: “What is it?”
Rules of Thumb for Social Media in Science
As science publishers, we hear a lot about the potential for new technologies. Often this comes in the form of a pitch from someone looking to sell you on either the technology they’re offering or on their expertise. In trying to see through the salesmanship, it’s important to have some general rules of thumb for approaching the integration of social media as tools for the research science community.