Discouraged, but not Dissuaded: The 2025 SSP President’s Address
Heather Staines Presidential Address from the SSP 2025 Annual Meeting.
Guest Post — The Open Access – AI Conundrum: Does Free to Read Mean Free to Train?
It is time for OA proponents to engage in public debate with academic associations, universities and national funding agencies, because the widespread use of academic content in AI models poses significant risks for the research ecosystem.
Disruption As an End in Itself: eLife’s Suspension and DORA’s Response
DORA’s reaction to Clarivate’s decision to no longer fully index eLife (and, therefore, not to give it a Journal Impact Factor) seems inconsistent with both its and eLife’s public positions, and based on the mistaken belief that “disruption” is an absolute good in itself.
Revisiting — The Google Generation Is Alright
How much has changed in a dozen years? Lettie Conrad looks back at Ann Michael’s post from the 2009 SSP Annual Meeting, “Publishing for the Google Generation”.
Living with an AI: A Glimpse Into The Future
Artificial intelligence is now a commodity appliance. What are the implications for Scholarly Publishing?
The Price of Silicon Valley’s "Disruption" — Is It Possible to Now Have Responsible Information Economics?
As we’ve absorbed and adopted the information economy assumptions peddled by Silicon Valley, social isolation has increased, the definition of “fact” has become slippery, and the scientific record has become more superficial, less reliable, and more transitory. In fact, confirmation bias seems to have become our main operating principle. Maybe a change in economic incentives and greater skepticism across the board could help — all driven by more humans at the controls.
Ripe for Disruption – From Within?
What do people mean when they say scholarly publishing is “ripe for disruption”? Where might such disruption come from, and what will drive its success?
Parallel Worlds? To What Extent are General Internet Trends Applicable to Scholarly Publishing?
A number of recent articles have posited the idea that information distribution on the Internet is undergoing a massive change – driven by the failure of site advertising and subscriptions as a general purpose economic model, and the rise of mobile powered social media as the discovery tool of these times. To what extent is this way of thinking applicable to scholarly publishing?
Regret Salad with Aspiration Dressing — A Scholarly Publisher Delves Into the New York Times’ Innovation Report
The New York Times’ “Innovation” Report will hit a lot of nerves when it comes to strategy, long-term transformation, investment, digital operations, silos, print legacy, and organizational culture. And it will remind you how barely contained panic looks to others.
The Qwikflip 780: Netflix Trails Only HP in the New Olympic Sport of Corporate Strategy Flipping
The way Netflix unbundled DVD-by-mail and streaming video services, flipped branding strategies, and made it all a public show created a focus on strategic inflection points and betting for the long-term.
Pizzas and Publishing — Why Disruption in Publishing Isn't Coming from Within
Complexity, culture, and baked-in bias are limiting how publishers define value and approach the future.