One World Publishing, Brought to You by the Internet
The sale of e-books over the Internet will lead to a restructuring of the book business and the evolution of truly global publishers.
The Reboxetine Scandal — How Should We Make Medical Trial Data Available?
Another scandal rocks medical journal publishing. It’s time to stop pretending journals can salvage this on their own. It’s time to bring modern solutions to bear.
Print Book Sales Fall, E-Book Sales Rise, and E-Books Will Soon Join the New York Times Bestseller List
The migration from print to digital continues for book readers. Even the venerable New York Times bestseller lists are changing in response.
The Face-down Publishing Paradigm
The face-down publishing paradigm involves the display of content on mobile devices that are constantly altered by computer processes in the Internet Cloud.
Where Trust Is Built and How It Can Be Destroyed — A Publisher’s Perspective
A write-up of a presentation at Charleston, here’s one way to parse trust in academic publishing.
The Upside of Paywalls Revisited — Now With Actual Data
Despite hand-wringing about the Times UK’s paywall, the numbers show that revenues may have justified the move.
Do Students Really Prefer Print Books to E-Books?
Two flawed surveys help to reveal what might really be at stake in the higher ed book market.
The Publishing Partisans — Conservatives, Reformers, and Upstarts
Publishers today fall into 3 broad categories when discussing the role of digital media, and these categories almost have the outlines of political parties. But which party is equipped to lead?
Higher Education: Turning a Painful Reality Into a Thriving Digital Business
As costs for higher education outstrip increases in federal and other grants, entrepreneurs — digital and otherwise — are entering the fray with innovative solutions.
The Stein Taxonomy: An Analytic Model for Social Reading
Bob Stein has proposed a taxonomy for social reading, which refers to all the conversations and comments that take place about a book.
Why the Simple “Me” Beats the Royal “We”
Users are gaining a “me at the center” expectation, but publishers have a “we at the center” world view. Can the wrenching changes be made? David Worlock worries maybe not.
Mandelbrot and Taleb on the Financial Crisis
The passing of the “father of fractals” allows us to contemplate complexity in our lives, especially our economic lives.
Modern Book Sales: Amazon’s Tail Gets Longer Just as Google’s Mouth Opens
Updated long-tail research shows that Amazon’s tail is growing, thanks to customers using search engines and user reviews more. How does that make you feel about the Google Books settlement?
Publisher Finds iPad Has Usability and Portability Limitations
A major publisher finds users like the iPad, spend more time with it, but don’t carry it around and encounter usability problems.
Information Brunching — “Amazon Singles” Finds Space Between Essays and Books
Amazon’s latest play is aimed squarely at academics. Will it revive the moribund monograph market?