Duran aquest cap de setmana té lloc a North Carolina (a l’anomenat Reserach Triangle) l’edició 2011 de Science Online, una trobada sobre Ciència i la Web 2.0. (Programa: http://scio11.wikispaces.com/Program). M’agradaria aquí fer cinc cèntims dels temes que em semblen més interessants del seu programa, en relació amb els temes que solo tocar en aquest blog.
Segons el seu web, es tracta més aviat d’una “unconference”, i de fet el programa és un wiki que tots els participants ajuden a fer i mantenir de forma dinàmica!
Francament, tot el programa em sembla molt interessant, i la veritat és que m’hagués agradat poder-hi participar. Potser en posteriors edicions podré fer-ho. De moment, però, val la pensa fer un cop d’ull a aquestes sessions:
Blog as a (book-)writing tool – Brian Switek, Sheril Kirshenbaum, Maryn McKenna and Seth Mnookin
A popular science book: using the Web from the initial idea to pitching to writing to selling your book. Why not extend this idea also to magazine/newspaper articles and other media, as well? Make it about using blogs as a springboard for other forms of science writing and engagement rather than just books alone – blogs as labs to grow as a writer, etc.
Experiments with the imagination: science and scientists through the medium of fiction – Jennifer Rohn and Blake Stacey
Can we stimulate a wider interest in and appreciation of scientists and what they do via the medium of mainstream fiction, whether be it novels, plays, movies or TV dramas? And how can we leverage online tools to help? Is it possible to entertain and educate without becoming too pedantic or pedagogical, and how do we define “scientific accuracy” in the context of made-up stories? This session will explore the world of imaginary science and how we can leverage its powers without compromising our scientific principles.
Outreach for Scientific Micro-societies – Julie Meachen-Samuels, John Logsdon and Psi Wavefunction
What is a relatively small scientific society to do to start online outreach and gain visibility?
– how to efficiently ‘harvest’ information and insight from already-overloaded researchers in the field
– how to disseminate said information in a way it can be heard – keeping within constraints of small field, etc.
– balancing qualified researcher input and writers who are not experts in the sub-subfield.
– what to do when topic has a single expert who happens to be deficient in communication, esp outside their field. Each discipline must have one or two of those.
The Entertainment Factor – Communicating Science with Humor – Brian Malow and Joanne Manaster
How do we find a balance between education and entertainment? When reaching out to the public, how do you increase the fun factor and audience engagement without diluting the science? There seems to be growing interest in this question and awareness that some science programming is too dry or boring. But, even though Brian is an entertainer, he is not a fan of much of what passes for science on television. In a lot of flashy programs, there’s really no interesting science content at all. Let’s talk about this and related issues.
Web 2.0wned: Harnessing new media to enhance your science communication power – Arikia Millikan, Dave Mosher, Taylor Dobbs
Social media technologies are changing the way science information is passed between scientists, journalists, and readers — for better or worse. We think it’s for the better and that resistance is futile. For some, using new media tools like twitter and the facebook is a self-rewarding reflex that, when applied to science communication, can have far-reaching effects. Others struggle with how to “do” the social media thing and view it as labor with little reward. In this session, we will demonstrate how keeping social media social is the key to success in both gaining readership and participating in the communal conversation of science journalists. Through a series of case studies and experiments, we will show you awesome and interesting ways individuals and companies in the science communication field are using new media and how cultivating your online personality yields both professional and personal rewards.
Blogs, Bloggers and Boundaries? – Marie-Claire Shanahan, Alice Bell, Ed Yong, Martin Robbins and Viv Raper
Science blogging is often seen as an opportunity for science and science communication to be made more open and in doing so, help connect people. Blogging thus might be seen as a chance to break down cultural boundaries between science, science journalists, and various people formerly known as audiences. But do these traditional roles still affect blogs, bloggers and their readers? Are blogs still producing a rather traditional form of popular science, one that largely disseminates knowledge, maintaining a boundary between those who are knowledgeable and those who are not? Or do they provide new opportunities for these boundaries to be blurred? Similarly, do blogs help foster cross-disciplinary communication or simply allow bloggers to keep talking to ever more niche audiences? They allow science writers to connect with more people, but do they end up as an echo chamber where writers only talk to more of the same people? And how can bloggers tell if their writing is actually making a difference? This discussion will explore the boundaries that are maintained and blurred through science blogging, including the value of some of these boundaries and the importance of being aware of them.
Institutional Blogging: Online outreach for science, conservation, education and government organizations – Jeff Ives, Jason Robertshaw, Allie Wilkinson and Stephanie Levi
Blogs, podcasts and social media are a key outreach tool for most non-profit science, conservation, educational and governmental organizations. Building those assets can be challenging due to institutional roadblocks, time constraints and limited budgets. Come join the discussion about the difficulties, strategies and rewards of integrating new media into an institution, including a science outreach initiative focused on under-represented and low income students, Hashtags: #scio11 #inblogging
How to explain science in blog posts – Scicurious, Joanne Manaster, Maryn McKenna, Vivienne Raper, Eric Michael Johnson, Brian Mossop, Carin Bondar, Melody Dye, Christie Wilcox, Ed Yong and the engaged audience.
Many science bloggers dream about attracting a mass audience, but what’s the secret to popular and readable blogposts? Do you have to write about orgasms, duck sex and dinosaurs or are there other ways to draw a crowd? This session will discuss how to make your blog an effective tool for getting the public excited about science… and masturbating squirrels.
But it’s just a blog!” – Hannah Waters, Psi Wavefunction, Eric Michael Johnson, Jason Goldman, Mike Lisieski and Lucas Brouwers
Many young people are eager to communicate science despite their lack of scientific and/or journalistic credentials. While all science communicators face challenges, this subgroup has their own set of challenges including cultivating a following of readers from scratch, and high levels of self-doubt, often referred to as “imposter syndrome.” What value does this rapidly-growing group of science communicators bring do the field? How can the science blogging community encourage and mentor young bloggers? How can we hold these individuals accountable to the high standards of science and journalism while simultaneously allowing them to make mistakes as part of the learning process? In addition, established and successful science communicators will be encouraged to share their tips and tricks with their newer colleagues.
Blogging on the Career Path: Opportunities emerging out of the blogosphere – Sheril Kirshenbaum, Janet D. Stemwedel, Greg Gbur and John Hawks
Many academic scientists are on the tenure track — a career path that poses both challenges and opportunities for blogging and other forms of science outreach.
How do you turn your online presence into opportunities for your research and publication record?
How do you convince your colleagues that your blog/website is worth the time and effort?
How do you quantify your online work for administrators?
Blogging in the Academy – Tom Levenson and Dr. Isis
Blogging about science – and especially working as a scientist – is deeply exciting to many, and perhaps to none more than to younger researchers, students and junior faculty. But there are issues associated with the thrill and the social value of blogging: it is public, permanent, and unmediated. This panel aims to open up a discussion of what is involved in blogging within the academy, addressing issues of anonymity; relationships within and between individuals and institutions; hiring and tenure considerations; how scientists and their societies can work to increase public understanding of science; concerns about status and hierarchies; editing (self or otherwise), networks and support; audience and intended impact – and anything else the participants in this session want to raise.
Web 2.0, public and private spaces in the scientific community, and generational divides in the practice of science – Janet Stemwedel and Helene Andrews-Polymenis
I was at a meeting of NSF PIs, trainees, and program officers back in May to talk about how blogging might fit into scientific work/training, and became aware of a huge generational divide on the appropriateness of the use of “new technologies” of all sorts. The divide can best be summed up in the words of a PI who said (to students at the meeting talking about their use of such technologies), “Why is it that your generation feels compelled to do in public what the rest of us know to do in private?” I think this is a HUGE issue in the practice of science (and one with interesting epistemological and ethical issues). Would love to see someone from The Third Reviewer participating in this one, as well as some open notebook/open science folks, and possibly folks blogging about what it’s like to lead a scientific life. Would also welcome a designated curmudgeon to stand up for the old ways.
Standing Out: Marketing Yourself in Science – Walter Jessen, Pascale Lane and Kiyomi Deards
An open-floor discussion on the methods and tools for developing, communicating and maintaining your personal brand in science.
The advantages and benefits of developing a personal brand in science.
Where can you turn for help in developing your personal brand?
What’s worked for you? & What hasn’t?
How does personal branding ease transitions between traditional and non-traditional jobs in science?
How does personal branding increase your impact in academia?
Blogging networks and the emerging science communications ecosystem – Arikia Millikan (Wired), Brian Mossop (PLoS), Bora Zivkovic (Scientific American and ScienceInTheTriangle), SciCurious (Scientopia), Amos Zeeberg (Discover), Lou Woodley (Nature Network), Martin Robbins (Guardian and Lay Scientist), Andrew Thaler (the Gam), Mark Hahnel (science3point0), Craig McClain (Deep Sea News), Brian Krueger (LabSpaces), Rachel Pepling (CENtral Science), Alok Jha (the Guardian), Leslie Taylor (Talking Science), Richard P. Grant (Occam’s Typewriter), Maria Jose Vinas (AGU network, via Skype), Eva Amsen (the Node, via Skype)….
A round-table with editors and community managers of blogging networks and big group-blogs in “hot seats”, audience asks questions, gives suggestions, criticisms, etc. What’s the (changing) role of an online editor on a site aggregating independent blogs? “Merely” a bloggers’ assistant for bug fixes and spam busting or a signposter to content, online marketer, creator of community or what? How closely do you monitor your community’s behaviour? Do you know visit times/bounce rates/preferred pages for all your archive and how easy is it to predict what will be “good” (high traffic?) content? Do you encourage “basics posts” and “explainers”? Do you worry if posts are not “newsy” enough?