The talk discusses the evolution of academic publishing, emphasizing the rise of scholarly blogs as a diverse genre in academic communication. It highlights the historical context of formal scholarly communication, the challenges posed by current publishing practices, and the implications of digital media and open access. The speaker suggests that while blogs may not replace traditional academic genres, they fulfill essential needs within the scholarly community and raises questions about potential funding incentives for blogging.

1. Knowledge or Credit?
The (Un)Changing Face of Academic Publishing
from the Philosophical Transactions to Blogging
Cornelius Puschmann
School of Library and Information Science
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Social Science and Digital Research: Interdisciplinary Insights
March 12th 2012, Oxford Internet Institute

2. This Talk
1. Context of this talk
2. A glimpse at the past and present of formal scholarly communication
3. The scholarly blog: Jack of all trades, master of none?
4. (Policy) implications

3. Context
In the broader context of the Internet‘s impact on scholarship, a number
of initiatives have adressed scholarly blogs and their potential role for
academic communication:
• Oxford e-Social Science Project (OeSS, 2005-2012)
• MeRC project “Use and Relevance of Web 2.0 Resources for
Researchers“ (2008-2009)
• Research Consortium “Interactive Science“ (2009-2012, Gießen)
• Junior Researchers Group “Science and the Internet“ (2010-2012,
Düsseldorf)
• my postdoc project (DFG grant): “Networking, visibility, information:
a study of digital genres of scholarly communication and the motives of
their users“ (2012-2015, Berlin)

4. The Past
• Philosophical Transactions established in
1665 by Henry Oldenburg
• consisted of a range of subject areas
and genres of text
• enabled wide(r) dissemination of
knowledge based on discovery than had
previously existed
• allowed inventors to claim the right to
an invention
• dual function:
• spread knowledge
• enable attribution

5. dual aims of scholarly communication
l ind
ta ivi
cie du
so al
spreading knowledge building a reputation

6. The Present
massive increase in speed and volume of output:
• ~50 mio. scholarly publications in existence
a heavily concentrated market:
• Reed Elsevier, Springer Science+Business Media and John Wiley & Sons
account for large portion of articles published globally
extreme imbalances:
• key inputs (research articles and peer review) are provided free of charge
• output it sold to intermediaries (libraries), not to end-consumers
• profit margins of up to 40%
changing environments:
• digital publishing
• open access

7. What happened in between?
• institutionalization and professionalization of academia
• corporate intermediaries have taken over publishing
• career success based on publications (“publish or perish“)
• computers and the Internet (duh)
• diversification of scholarly genres:
• formal (monographs, peer-reviewed articles)
• informal (gray literature, interpersonal communication)
How do scholarly blogs fit in here?

8. resea
og rch blo
bl g
en ce
s ci
scholarly blog
carn
de r et
eche
rech
different terms & concepts e
Wiss
ensc
haft
sblo
g
blog
ic
digita ad em
l lab n
otebo ac
ok

9. Some flavors of scholarly blogs
Communicator Target audience Communicative goals
PhD student in English
peers*, self write, remember
literature
postdoctoral researcher in keep in touch,
peers*
information science network,
science enthusiast* experts, lay audience express opinions, educate
free-lance journalist lay audience, advertisers gain visibility

10. Type 1:
The Logbook

11. Type 1:
The Logbook

12. Type 2:
The Notepad

13. Type 2:
The Notepad

14. Type 3:
The Printing Press

15. Type 3:
The Printing Press

16. Observations
• scholarly blogs represent a return to a more diverse and less
utalitarian genre ecology of academic communication
• they cover a range of functions, including notekeeping, academic
publishing and science education
• their flexibility also makes them hard to evaluate from the perspective
of established publishing
• it appears unlikely that they will supplant formal genres of scholarly
communication in the near future, but like the first academic journals,
they are a response to widely-felt needs
• should funders incentivize scholarly blogging -- and if yes, what kind?

17. Thank you for your attention!