David's Pick for 2010: Peer Review May Be Old and Imperfect, But It Still Works
After wondering at the supposed burden of peer-review, more evidence emerged that it still works well, and is probably less taxing than other alternatives.
A Self-Publishing Adventure Wraps Up
The self-publishing adventure that began here two years ago winds down. What worked? What didn’t?
Is the Cloud Too Weak to Support What Paper Can?
The Wikileaks scandal shows that commercial cloud providers aren’t ready for the realities of publishing and information hosting.
A New Chef in the Kitchen — Rick Anderson
Rick Anderson from the University of Utah joins the Chefs.
Disruption, Aggregation, and Third Parties
Is our future defined by third-party aggregators? Or is there a business opportunity there worth fighting for?
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 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.
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?
Waiting for a Solution: When Will Subscriptions Reach the iPad?
Publishers still have to sell iPad content via single-issue apps. When will a subscription app finally be allowed?
Does Rejecting Papers Amount to More Than Just a Transaction Cost?
The expenses publishers incur rejecting papers and book proposals are about more than filtering.
Radiohead Contemplates Digital Realities — Parallels for STM Publishing
Radiohead’s bassist contemplates the band’s journey through digital distribution as they prepare to release another group of songs. Publishers can find parallels.
Liquid Journals or Lazy Journals — Can Technology Alone Make a Journal?
A “new” approach to making a journal smacks of old thinking, and is essentially inflammatory and naive.
Why the Open Access Financial Model Will Continue to Transmogrify
The OA financial model has morphed, and will continue to do so. The same realities will reveal the manufacturing biases of the initial model, and require new funding choices — just like it will for traditional publishers.