DIY - An Academic Antidote

This weekend I spent 2 full days installing a new kitchen sink. In between cursing to myself, and my poor partner sheltering resigned in the garden, I got to thinking how similar DIY is to journal article writing. Both take far longer than you expect to complete. Both will need several touch ups later on. The more preparation time you put in the first place the better they both come out. And both will be subject to critical evaluation afterwards.

So wrench or pen; you're lumbered either way I'm afraid. The only upside is when you become sick of one, you can give the other a go. And then when your thumb can take no more awry hammer strokes, or Endnote has sent your eyes fuzzier than a peach, go back to the other and it seems a positive relief.

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The Experience Economy in 2021

Last year I wrote a piece published in the Conversation (link to it here ) about the possible decline of the experience economy. Six months later and it seems like prospects have, if anything, got even worse. The experience economy involves events and activities that are intense, memorable and sociable. For example, live music gigs are a chance to share intense emotions triggered by listening together to a favourite band. However, Covid-19 restrictions have hammered such experience economy offerings. Theatres, nightclubs, galleries, theme parks... such places have frequently had to close. The question is whether they will reopen to the same extent as before the pandemic? This might seem overly pessimistic, but consumption patterns can change rapidly. Will lingering concerns for health and safety put people off returning to shared spaces? Music festivals have celebrated their unsanitary aspects as part of the authentic party vibe. Now they might just s...

What's it like to get discussed on Reddit? The 5 stages of going social media viral.

I use the word 'viral' very loosely here OK. I'm no Kardashian about to break the internet, but I got a nice email earlier this week letting me know that my recent article on high street retail decline had been picked up by Reddit users. It had over 500 comments! I was excited so I took a look. Here's how it felt to be the subject of the thread. 1. Kind of cool. Oscar Wilde style it is better to be talked about than not. I've used Reddit on and off for years so it's nice to be the source of conversation for a change. 2. Then underwhelming. Like so many experiences once you've actually had the experience it's kind of 'meh'. People are talking about my work. Is nice I guess but its really not all that. 3. Um, really? A lot of the comments are saying how this is a typical viewpoint of a baby boomer. I'm 32. I'm a millennial. Is my thumbnail picture really that bad? 4. No wait a second... I didn't ignore that mille...

Publishing Pipeline

Drug companies have what they call pipelines. This refers to the future drugs they are developing and which they hope will eventually come to market and make them lots of money (and cure sick people blah blah). There are lots of points in the pipeline that a drug can fail - clinical trials etc. It is an expensive, time consuming, and uncertain journey. So drug companies try to always have some things in the pipeline at any one time, at various stages of development. This way there is always some hope of success. I think academics can apply the same principle. Getting an article published is expensive, time consuming and uncertain. It is better to have a few options on the go so that if one hits a snag - an unresponsive collaborator, reviewers taking ages, a rejection - you still have other things to be working on. So consider your own pipeline. How does it look? Ideally a few mature projects close to completion. Some others which are still at a draft phase but well on the way in term...

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