Ed Hagen
@edhagen.net
Professor of Anthropology at Washington State University. Faculty page: https://anthro.vancouver.wsu.edu/people/hagen/
Views expressed are my own and do not reflect those of my employer or other organizations I'm affiliated with.
Views expressed are my own and do not reflect those of my employer or other organizations I'm affiliated with.
Manuel, thanks for commenting.
One account per researcher, one thread per paper is what we have now, right?
My proposal is that the account IS the publication. It's similar to having one GitHub repo per publication, which is actually pretty common these days.
One account per researcher, one thread per paper is what we have now, right?
My proposal is that the account IS the publication. It's similar to having one GitHub repo per publication, which is actually pretty common these days.
January 7, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Manuel, thanks for commenting.
One account per researcher, one thread per paper is what we have now, right?
My proposal is that the account IS the publication. It's similar to having one GitHub repo per publication, which is actually pretty common these days.
One account per researcher, one thread per paper is what we have now, right?
My proposal is that the account IS the publication. It's similar to having one GitHub repo per publication, which is actually pretty common these days.
Our alternative to the drug hijack model: bsky.app/profile/edha...
1. An introduction to our evolutionary approach to recreational drug use. 🧪 #BioAnth 🧵
January 7, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Our alternative to the drug hijack model: bsky.app/profile/edha...
I agree there are huge barriers to change, and I'm not holding my breath. But traditional journals are starting to look pretty shabby these days: theconversation.com/the-5-stages...
The 5 stages of the ‘enshittification’ of academic publishing
Academic publishing now shows the same decline that has hit social media and online marketplaces.
theconversation.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:42 PM
I agree there are huge barriers to change, and I'm not holding my breath. But traditional journals are starting to look pretty shabby these days: theconversation.com/the-5-stages...
If you haven't already, read this on how Robert Maxwell (Ghislaine's dad) shaped scientific publishing: www.theguardian.com/science/2017...
Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science?
The long read: It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:36 PM
If you haven't already, read this on how Robert Maxwell (Ghislaine's dad) shaped scientific publishing: www.theguardian.com/science/2017...
Social media showed that likes & follows, and algorithms that boost those accounts, bestow prestige (or signal it, w/ Matthew effects). GitHub showed that stars also bestow prestige in the technical arena.
If a paper takes off & gets tons of likes & follows, that might be enough to kickstart change
If a paper takes off & gets tons of likes & follows, that might be enough to kickstart change
January 6, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Social media showed that likes & follows, and algorithms that boost those accounts, bestow prestige (or signal it, w/ Matthew effects). GitHub showed that stars also bestow prestige in the technical arena.
If a paper takes off & gets tons of likes & follows, that might be enough to kickstart change
If a paper takes off & gets tons of likes & follows, that might be enough to kickstart change
arxiv.org only took off when prestigious physicist & Fields Medal winner Ed Witten posted a paper:
“Day one, something happened, day two, something happened. Day three, Ed Witten posted a paper. That was when the entire community joined." www.ias.edu/ideas/histor...
“Day one, something happened, day two, something happened. Day three, Ed Witten posted a paper. That was when the entire community joined." www.ias.edu/ideas/histor...
Of Historical Note: When arXiv Was Born
In 1989, Joanne Cohn, a physicist then at the Institute for Advanced Study, began distributing TeX files of string theory papers via email. By August of 1991, the email list had grown to 180 physicist...
www.ias.edu
January 6, 2026 at 11:19 PM
arxiv.org only took off when prestigious physicist & Fields Medal winner Ed Witten posted a paper:
“Day one, something happened, day two, something happened. Day three, Ed Witten posted a paper. That was when the entire community joined." www.ias.edu/ideas/histor...
“Day one, something happened, day two, something happened. Day three, Ed Witten posted a paper. That was when the entire community joined." www.ias.edu/ideas/histor...
My view: academics are mainly motivated by prestige, by which I mean, acquiring a reputation for providing value to their communities.
Change will only happen if it increases prestige (sometimes by increasing proximity to the prestigious).
Change will only happen if it increases prestige (sometimes by increasing proximity to the prestigious).
January 6, 2026 at 11:19 PM
My view: academics are mainly motivated by prestige, by which I mean, acquiring a reputation for providing value to their communities.
Change will only happen if it increases prestige (sometimes by increasing proximity to the prestigious).
Change will only happen if it increases prestige (sometimes by increasing proximity to the prestigious).
1. My new preprint has its own bluesky account. Why? The problems facing social media & scientific publishing are similar: both are dominated by powerful oligopolies. The @atproto.com tech underlying bluesky that aims to solve the social media prob might also help solve the scientific pub prob 🧪 🧵
1. Preprint: Menopause averted a midlife energetic crisis with help from older children and parents: A simulation study. zenodo.org/records/1814...
Menopause is rare, known to occur only in humans and toothed whales: 🧵
Menopause is rare, known to occur only in humans and toothed whales: 🧵
January 6, 2026 at 4:44 PM
1. My new preprint has its own bluesky account. Why? The problems facing social media & scientific publishing are similar: both are dominated by powerful oligopolies. The @atproto.com tech underlying bluesky that aims to solve the social media prob might also help solve the scientific pub prob 🧪 🧵
1. Preprint: Menopause averted a midlife energetic crisis with help from older children and parents: A simulation study. zenodo.org/records/1814...
Menopause is rare, known to occur only in humans and toothed whales: 🧵
Menopause is rare, known to occur only in humans and toothed whales: 🧵
January 6, 2026 at 4:15 PM
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
14. Finally, here are some links to other folks thinking about scientific publishing on @atproto.com or other decentralized networks. This list is from @atproto.science: atproto.science/projects/
Projects
atproto.science
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
14. Finally, here are some links to other folks thinking about scientific publishing on @atproto.com or other decentralized networks. This list is from @atproto.science: atproto.science/projects/
13. Lexicons (data models) and apps specific to academic publication could be developed, allowing all data about a paper -- text, data, code -- to be stored together on the PDS. Peer reviews could also happen "on protocol", stored on the reviewer's PDS but linked to the paper via the DID.
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
13. Lexicons (data models) and apps specific to academic publication could be developed, allowing all data about a paper -- text, data, code -- to be stored together on the PDS. Peer reviews could also happen "on protocol", stored on the reviewer's PDS but linked to the paper via the DID.
12. Fourth, the open @atproto.com infrastructure could eventually support the entire scientific publishing enterprise. The unique ID assigned to each account, for example, termed a decentralized ID (DID), is analogous to a doi: atproto.com/specs/did
DID - AT Protocol
Persistent decentralized identifiers (as used in atproto)
atproto.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
12. Fourth, the open @atproto.com infrastructure could eventually support the entire scientific publishing enterprise. The unique ID assigned to each account, for example, termed a decentralized ID (DID), is analogous to a doi: atproto.com/specs/did
11. Third, discussion and news about a paper has a natural home. By following a paper account, interested users will get updates about it in their feeds. Moreover, papers could follow relevant papers. Creating accounts for preprints that follow other relevant preprints generates a citation graph.
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
11. Third, discussion and news about a paper has a natural home. By following a paper account, interested users will get updates about it in their feeds. Moreover, papers could follow relevant papers. Creating accounts for preprints that follow other relevant preprints generates a citation graph.
10. Second, using bluesky helps solve the cold start problem: many scientists are already here. Follow the preprint account! 🙂
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
10. Second, using bluesky helps solve the cold start problem: many scientists are already here. Follow the preprint account! 🙂
9. First, the scientific publishing oligopoly maintains its hold on scientists because they mint the currency in our prestige economy: our careers depend on having papers accepted in prestigious journals, such as @nature.com.
But social media provides prestige tokens: likes, reposts, and follows!
But social media provides prestige tokens: likes, reposts, and follows!
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
9. First, the scientific publishing oligopoly maintains its hold on scientists because they mint the currency in our prestige economy: our careers depend on having papers accepted in prestigious journals, such as @nature.com.
But social media provides prestige tokens: likes, reposts, and follows!
But social media provides prestige tokens: likes, reposts, and follows!
8. How could this tech help fix scientific publishing, and why should academic papers each have their own account?
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
8. How could this tech help fix scientific publishing, and why should academic papers each have their own account?
7. If Bluesky turns evil, folks could migrate their accounts to other services, retaining all their data and their social graph (this vision is not yet fully realized in practice).
The open protocol and credible exit will hopefully create a healthier social media ecosystem.
The open protocol and credible exit will hopefully create a healthier social media ecosystem.
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
7. If Bluesky turns evil, folks could migrate their accounts to other services, retaining all their data and their social graph (this vision is not yet fully realized in practice).
The open protocol and credible exit will hopefully create a healthier social media ecosystem.
The open protocol and credible exit will hopefully create a healthier social media ecosystem.
6. Large compute-intensive services, run by Bluesky or third parties, aggregate data from all the PDSs and generate customized feeds for each user of client apps.
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
6. Large compute-intensive services, run by Bluesky or third parties, aggregate data from all the PDSs and generate customized feeds for each user of client apps.
5. All user content -- posts, replies, likes, follows -- lives on the PDS. Importantly, third party apps can read PDS data and (w/ permission) write it using existing or new data models (termed lexicons).
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
5. All user content -- posts, replies, likes, follows -- lives on the PDS. Importantly, third party apps can read PDS data and (w/ permission) write it using existing or new data models (termed lexicons).
4. The ATProto solution works like this: each account gets a unique ID that points to an account-specific database (literally sqlite). The database, termed a personal data server (PDS), can be hosted anywhere, yet still interact seamlessly with the network: atproto.com/guides/self-...
Self-hosting - AT Protocol
Self-hosting a Bluesky PDS means running your own Personal Data Server that is capable of federating with the wider ATProto network.
atproto.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
4. The ATProto solution works like this: each account gets a unique ID that points to an account-specific database (literally sqlite). The database, termed a personal data server (PDS), can be hosted anywhere, yet still interact seamlessly with the network: atproto.com/guides/self-...
3. To free social media from the oligopolies, several decentralized technologies have been developed, e.g., ActivityPub (Mastodon), nostr, web3 (blockchain-esque), and ATProto (bsky).
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
3. To free social media from the oligopolies, several decentralized technologies have been developed, e.g., ActivityPub (Mastodon), nostr, web3 (blockchain-esque), and ATProto (bsky).