Websites using Citeulike

Okay, let s break down CiteULike, covering its history, revenue (or lack thereof), alternatives, pricing (also mostly free), and customer care details.

CiteULike: An Overview

CiteULike was a free social bookmarking website designed for academics and researchers. It allowed users to:

• Store and organize research papers: Users could save links to academic articles, book chapters, preprints, etc.
• Tag and categorize papers: This helped with finding specific papers later.
• Share papers with others: Users could see what papers other researchers were saving, promoting discovery and collaboration.
• Create groups: Users could collaborate on specific research topics and share relevant papers.

Key Features:

• Focus on academic content: Specifically geared toward scholarly articles, not just any web page.
• BibTeX export: Seamlessly integrate saved papers with LaTeX and other academic writing tools.
• Public library: Allowed users to explore papers saved by others.
• Social aspects: Fostered a sense of community among researchers.

Status:

• Discontinued: Sadly, CiteULike shut down its services on April 4, 2019. All user data was deleted. It is no longer active or accessible.
• No Longer Relevant: Given its closure, discussing its active pricing, customer care, or revenue is impossible.

Revenue:

• No Revenue Stream: CiteULike was a free service and never generated revenue in the traditional sense. It relied on the volunteer work of its core developers and contributors. They had no advertising, subscription fees, or premium features. Its operation was essentially a labor of love within the academic community.

Alternatives:

While CiteULike is gone, there are several alternatives available. They offer similar functions with varying focus and features:

• Mendeley: A popular reference manager and academic social network. Offers desktop and web applications, citation management, PDF annotation, and collaboration features.
• Zotero: Free and open-source reference manager. Offers robust features, browser integration, group libraries, PDF annotation, and a vast plugin ecosystem.
• Papers (now part of ReadCube): A reference management tool, often praised for its interface and integrated PDF handling.
• LibraryThing: While geared towards books, it can also be used to track and organize academic works. It also has a strong social aspect.
• Hypothes.is: A tool for annotating and discussing web pages, including academic articles. Focuses on collaborative annotation rather than just saving and categorizing papers.
• Google Scholar: While not a social bookmarking site itself, Google Scholar lets you build a library of papers you ve found.
• Academic-Specific Social Media: Platforms like ResearchGate and Academia.edu also have features for organizing and sharing research papers, although their primary focus is on networking.

Pricing:

• CiteULike: Completely free. There were no tiered subscription plans, premium features, or paid options.
• Alternatives:
  • Zotero: Free and open source.
  • Mendeley: Has a free tier, but premium plans exist with increased cloud storage and advanced collaboration features.
  • Papers/ReadCube: Paid service with various subscription options, often tied to institutional access.
  • LibraryThing: Offers both a free and a paid model.
  • Hypothes.is: Freemium model.

Customer Care:

• CiteULike: Given the open and free nature of the project, there was no formal customer care team. Support was mostly provided through community forums, limited documentation, and the voluntary efforts of developers.
• Alternatives: Customer care varies:
  • Mendeley: Offers support via email and FAQs.
  • Zotero: Relies heavily on its user community forum and thorough documentation.
  • Papers/ReadCube: Has a dedicated support team with email and chat.

Summary of Key Points

• CiteULike is defunct. It is no longer an option.
• It was a free social bookmarking tool for academics.
• It had no revenue or commercial model.
• It had no formal customer care.
• There are several viable alternatives, many with free basic options.
• The alternatives, such as Mendeley and Zotero, are more robust and actively maintained.

Recommendations

If you were using CiteULike, you ll need to switch to an alternative. Zotero is a popular and free option for academic reference management, while Mendeley is a more commercially-focused platform. The best fit for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences.

I hope this provides a thorough understanding of CiteULike and its relevant information! Let me know if you have any other questions.