Help shape the future
Now is your chance to get very actively involved in the creation of TOPAZ, the new Open Source publishing platform which PLoS is involved in developing and which will be supporting PLoS ONE when it launches. What we need is some people in the San Francisco area who would be willing to be on a focus group to give us some advice on the feel and functionality that you would like to see. It is a great project and we really do want your views.
Ideally we would like to have two focus groups of about nine people to come to the TOPAZ offices south of market. It is probably worth it just to see the cool office building south of market in which the TOPAZ team hang out. Even so there will be sustenance for those who volunteer and PLoS schwag and maybe other compensations for your valuable time.
We would like the two sorts of people, more scientifically experienced less tech savvy folks, and the younger researchers who are more tech savvy. Really if you are going to be reading and using PLoS ONE we want to hear your opinions. Also we aren’t talking about much time, a couple of hours should do it.
If you are interested please let me know through the PLoS ONE contact form and you will soon be hearing from our ‘user experience architect’ (what a great job title!).
Please help if you can and sorry that this is only happening in San Fran.
sorry that this is only happening in San Fran
WAIL! Open an office in Portland already! 🙂
I know that a number of the folks in the PLoS office would happily move to Portland, or even a little furter north!
You are not the only person to think that we are being a bit parochial doing this research only in San Francisco. The TOPAZ developers really wanted to have some “face time” with potential users but it would certainly be good to do something a bit more distributed. We’ll think about it and see what we can come up with.
Dr. Surridge:
I sent a message through the contact site stating my desire to help out with this project. As I am out at Berkeley, it’s not much trouble for me to go into the City.
I did have a few thoughts and inquiries regarding PLoS ONE however, and I thought it would be more appropriate to voice them here.
As a young researcher working toward my PhD, I find that there are few opportunities to participate in publishing or to publish theory (non-research) or review papers. A couple of journals are addressing this (notably, in my field, the Journal of Neuroscience’s “Journal Club” [http://www.jneurosci.org/misc/ifa_features.shtml]).
Will PLoS ONE offer any means for young researchers specifically to publish or assist in reviewing?
Cheers!