The $20 Tablet, and Four Interesting Questions for the Academic Market
A low-priced tablet computer from India might have the potential to change the game for many. Are we ready for a potential rapid and system-wide disruption?
The Slow But Steady March Toward Paid Content
The New York Times is now publishing short e-books, another step down the path to monetizing content directly instead of through the sale of advertising.
By Birdie: A New National Academy Report on Data Sharing
The US government views data policy as an emerging area. A new National Academies report reveals the potential and the barriers, many of which are financial.
The Mayan Doomsday's Effects on Survival Rates — A Study
While some may be blinded to the clear implications of the Mayan calendar, these intrepid Canadian researchers find shocking and significant results to survival studies.
A Call for Simplified Tablet Publishing — "The Subcompact Manifesto"
A manifesto urges publishers to make simple, functional, and practical tablet editions, and to avoid the tendency for bloat.
Moving Scholarly Society Members Online-Only – Are We Reaching the Tipping Point?
More value can be delivered online, and members seem to be seeking it. Is it time to move to an online-only benefits model for societies?
New Players, New Priorities — Part 1: Governments and Politics Enter Scientific Publishing
In this first part of a three-part series, the intrusion of governments into scientific publishing is contemplated — its causes, current state, and possible effects.
Theory of the E-book
There is an unstated theory of the e-book, which assumes that a book consists only of its text and can be manipulated without regard to the nature and circumstances of its creation. This is only one theory of many, but it is now the prevailing one.
As Hybrid Open Access Grows, the Scholarly Community Needs Article-level OA Metadata
With OA gaining momentum and hybrid and full OA policies becoming more common, article-level metadata and other standard approaches are necessary to facilitate discoverability.
Mobile Access — Publishers Must Catch Up With User Adoption Trends
Mobile access is reaching an inflection point, but publisher solutions to mobile access are still lagging.
Strategic Planning and the Not-for-Profit Publisher
Strategic planning is an essential activity for not-for-profit publishers, but many organizations approach this activity with dread. This post proposes a better way to think of strategic planning and outlines its essential nature.
A Small Meal — Mini-Cheeseburger Kit Requires Assembly, Only Has 96 Calories
After indulging in Thanksgiving festivities, what better than a small meal, made painstakingly and without all those nasty calories. Best of all, no preservatives!
Hat Tip to the Wall Street Journal's Health Blog — and Lessons from the Trails It Blazed
The recently departed WSJ Health Blog taught us all lessons — and this blogger the lesson of standing up for what is clearly a better way of doing things.
New Media and New Markets — Making Sense of the Possibilities in Publishing
In order to take best advantage of new digital technology, a publisher must identify new places and ways that products can be sold. New media requires new markets or the investment in digital media will simply be an unwelcome additional expense.
Amazon Enhances Its Position in Academic Markets with Launch of Its Whispercast System
Amazon’s new local distribution technology allows academic institutions new levels of control.