Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. I have thus far found Academia.edu to be an unqualified good, both in terms of circulating my own work to a wider audience and accessing the work of colleagues easily, as well as connecting with new and especially younger colleagues in the field. I appreciate (and am reassured by) your candid assessment of Bond's article.
All the best,
Jeff
Dr. Jeffery D. Long Professor of Religion and Asian Studies Elizabethtown College
Series Editor, Explorations in Indic Traditions: Theological, Ethical, and Philosophical
Lexington Books
"One who makes a habit of prayer and meditation will easily overcome all difficulties and remain calm and unruffled in the midst of the trials of life." (Holy Mother Sarada Devi)
"We are a way for the Cosmos to know itself." (Carl Sagan)
On Thursday, January 26, 2017 11:21 AM, Dominik Wujastyk via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Many of us use Academia.edu as a shop-window for our publications and our academic identity.
I've read Bond's piece carefully, and I find its arguments extremely weak. I don't wish to do a point-by-point rejoinder here. But I do want to signal to colleagues that Bond's alarmist critique of Academia.edu is something that I personally will ignore.
I remain very happy with Academia.edu, while recognizing that there are some issues that require vigilance and discussion. I have written to Richard Price the founder of Academia.edu and a former Fellow of All Souls, Oxford, more than once in the past, and he has always answered personally and discussed my concerns seriously. Similarly with other staff members. The areas where Academia.edu might need to watch its step are areas that apply to all other similar services. The benefits that Academia.edu offers its users are substantial, for a combination of hosting research, for subject-specific awareness alerts, for networking, and for analytics. I see no competitor out there that quite offers the same ecosystem with the same combination of benefits.