In Search of Sustainability: Business Models in Publishing
Experimentation and choice are key to finding long-term sustainability.
Creating an Incentive: Can Social Media Offer Enough Carrots to Entice Scientists?
Scientists seem uninterested in participating in social media offerings, as the rewards offered are generally of insufficient value to warrant the effort required. Instead of just hoping that scientists will suddenly see the value in your product, why not offer incentives for participation?
Short Stories and Comics: Niche Markets with Core Lessons for STM Publishers
The failure of the traditional music industry has become the standard cautionary tale for content industries adapting to a digital era. But for scholarly publishers, many factors make the music industry a poor comparison. We have more in common with smaller niche markets. Watching their electronic experimentation and new business models may be more informative as we seek new strategies for presenting and selling content.
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.
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.
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.
Who Controls Publisher Prices? Amazon Fires the First Shot, Then Forges a Bitter Truce
This weekend Amazon pulled all of MacMillan’s books, both electronic and paper, from their store due to a dispute over eBook pricing policies. Is this the first battle in the war for control of the publishing industry?
Where Is the Money in Custom Publishing? Your Answer Depends on How You Define It
How custom is custom publishing? Will custom publishing ever move fully into the user’s hands?
ArXiv Ditches “Subscription-like” Model
When is a subscription not a subscription?
Going Legit: The Difficult Path from Piracy to Partnership
Though social networking websites continue to proliferate, turning them into sustainable, revenue-generating businesses is still a difficult prospect. For sites based on the illegal distribution of copyrighted material, the process is even more difficult. Is it possible for a pirate to become a respected member of the business community?
Doing the Kindle Math — Does Amazon’s Opacity Conceal a Shameful Truth?
Is the Kindle really a success? Do the vague and convoluted statements from Amazon about Kindle sales mean anything? The backlash against Amazon’s lack of transparency has apparently begun.
The Unstoppable Corporate Force Meets the Immovable Social Network
The companies behind social networks and media are running into conflicts with their users as they try to generate revenue from their services. Recent moves by Google, Facebook and AT&T are all sparking controversy as each encounters opposition to their business models from their customers.
When Less Is More: The Upside of Paywalls and Delisting from Google
Rupert Murdoch’s recent moves have challenged the widely held notion that Google and the traffic it generates are essential to a successful web publishing business. Is it better to have lots of freeloading readers or a much smaller group of paying customers? Could the rumored search engine subsidies help support struggling scholarly publishing activities?
Giving Open Access a Bad Name
Scientist, editor, and OA advocate Jonathan A. Eisen rages against an infamous author-pays OA publisher.
Is It Print That’s Dying? Or Mass Media?
Perhaps “print” isn’t dying, but mass media is. If that’s the case, is it a mistake to look to newspapers and their ilk for lessons?