Vacation Time

Unless something vitally important happens in the next two weeks, I’m off for vacation — except for a couple of “Friday Song” posts, which are already scheduled.

It’s been a busy summer, and should be a busy remainder of the year, with a lot changing on the information and publishing landscape.

It seems like the childish phase of the Digital Age is ending — an age where bullying, stereotyping, playground taunts, and simplistic dreams all flourished — and a more mature phase based on balanced rights, customer-focused quality, and technology as tools may be emerging.

Here are some highlights from just the past few months to tide you over while I refresh my mental palate:

• The Nelson Memo is in trouble, as suspected:
  • OSTP asked by Congress to provide information, can’t finish its homework
  • Congress is really interrogating the Nelson Memo, and finding its requirements may be at-odds with fundamental freedoms
• Political opportunists have foundnd ways to use “taxpayer-funded” arguments to justify government intrusions
• The OA plateau may have arrived
• The AI bubble may have already burst
• eLife gets shamed more for its retrograde “Reviewed Preprints” model
• Technology — and publishing — both seem to be going backwards because they are trying to exploit rather than serve customers
• Have we seen the beginning of the end of Section 230 protections being broadly interpreted?

Add all these up, and we may be turning the page in the coming 6-12 months on many more things than anticipated. That has bearing on strategic thinking, technology implementations and spend, staffing, marketing, and more.

See you soon, and thanks to the paid subscribers for all the support, help, kind words, and tips. It all means more than you can know.