SciLink Blog

There are a few really interesting groups discussions going on in SciLink right now that I wanted to share on the blog:

Open Access Publishing - Is this a trend that we should all adopt and embrace? What are the benefits to such a model? Finally, what do people believe will be the long term effects of current legislation in this area? You can join the discussion at the Open Access Group Discussion

Damian Gessler writes:

Some aspects of the scientific publishing model remind me of the business model turmoil in the music industry. The status quo in scientific publishing is for taxpayes–to a large but not exclusive degree–to pay for science via government funded grants. To publish the results, one invariably turns over copyright to the publisher, which then sells access. The publisher is providing a service–publishing the results–but the unintended (or intended) consequences of restricting access to government-funded research is the Achilles heal of this business model in the internet age.

From the publishers’ perspective, there is no advantage to restricting access per se; indeed, they should be trying to maximize access so as to drive their relevancy. But of course the *do* restrict access to protect the revenue stream. This is a troubled business plan because it relies on inherent contradictions that yield practices contrary to the wishes of the customer.

Public Library of Science (PLoS) is one threat that is weakening the old model. So is the pay-for-open-access option that some journals offer. Still others address the issue by restricting access for a limited period after publication–such as 6 months. After that access is open.

So how to build a new revenue stream? Deliver value through the most convenient channel to your customers. That means dissassociating revenue from the content–the scientific papers per se–and attach it to the access via indirect channels. Deliver free content from a web site that supports advertising, email, forums, job postings, value-added scientific search, etc. Associate revenue to a net business model built upon page views and click throughs, driving viewership by the free access to the quality scientific content delivered from the journal. This would be a hybrid model between PLoS and old-school publishers.

Pharmacovigilance Group

Robbert Manen started the Pharmacovigilance group to provide a:

Platform for scientists, physicians, regulators and others interested in making medicinal products and medical devices safer.

Finally,

Roop Kaw’s Perioperative Medicine Group is growing (10 members)! You can join him here
Join Roop Kaw’s Perioperative Medicine Group