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1. How to Survive in the Dog-Eat-Dog World of Scholarly Publishing Richard W. Newman SSP 25th Annual Meeting 30 May 2003

2. First of All... • Many at the HighWire offices would find the session title offensive

6. But More Seriously… • Survival usually means: – Leadership – Focus – Alignment – Unity of Purpose

7. HighWire’s Authority to Lead is More Limited than Others’ • CAS: focused not-for-profit organization, with administrative hierarchy • LWW: administrative hierarchy (proprietary journals); financial and contractual rights (society journals) • HighWire: no authority to mandate anything (11-1 vote is a tie), but a mission to be more than a “vendor”

8. With Administrative Authority and Financial Control • Debate and discussion can be limited (or non-existent) • Antithetical implementations unlikely • Established criteria (usually financial) to evaluate options, determine success • Uniformity of purpose, alignment • ..at least until regime change

9. Without Administrative Authority and Financial Control • Debate and discussion could be unlimited (inaction prevails) • Antithetical implementations likely • Different publisher/society missions could dictate different strategies • Differing success criteria • So what does HighWire do to survive?

10. Survival Techniques • Eschew uniformity • Utilize the power of persuasion (preferably with really compelling ideas) • Seek thought leaders and early adopters • Build the HighWire portal as a laboratory • Use Publishers’ Meetings to generate ideas, build consensus, find leaders

11. Eschew Uniformity • Otherwise, 11-1 vote *IS* a defeat • Diversity is good, because: – society/publisher needs vary – disciplines’ needs vary – budgets vary • Only with alternative implementations do the best ideas emerge

12. The Power of Persuasion • Toll-free inter-journal links (required) • Free back issues (FBI) • ISI links • Pay-per-view • Referrer-based toll-free links (RBTFL)

24. Thought Leaders/Early Adopters • Pediatrics – online only (1997) with author acceptance • BMJ -- rapid responses (e-letters), forums • JBC – publish-ahead-of-print • Molecular Biology of the Cell – data supplements • Pediatrics in Review – journal-based CME

29. HighWire Portal as Laboratory • Customization • Citation Map • Vivisimo • MatchMaker

39. Publishers’ Meetings for Ideas, to Build Consensus, Find Leaders • Punctuation is deliberate: it is the publishers’ own meeting • Often compared to scientific meetings • Publishers speaking to publishers without vendor spin (well, minimal) • Presenting early conceptions of ideas • Admitting mistakes to colleagues, competitors

40. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Diversity • No misguided use of authority • Ideas flourish because they probably will get a try • Real-world experiments • Willingness to share lessons-learned from failures

41. Practical Advice • Continuously talk with customers (publishers, editors, readers) • Focus on their success, not yours • Budget for experimentation • Don’t be afraid of making mistakes – but don’t make any – at least not the same one twice

42. richard.newman@stanford.edu

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