Transcript Adventures in Science Blogging:

Adventures in Science Blogging:
Conversations we need to have,
and how blogging can
help us have them.
Janet D. Stemwedel
[email protected]
Community and
communication as key
ingredients for human
flourishing
The spinach dip blow-off
“What exactly is it you do?”
“I study the interaction of … with …, which
we hope will give us insight to the
mechanism for …”
“Oh. Hey, is that spinach dip?”
Real communication:
a conversation
What do the other participants know
already vs. what do I have to explain?
What do they want to know, and why is it
important to them?
What do I want them to understand, and
why is it important to me?
What can they help me figure out?
Traditional scientific
communication:
Peer reviewed literature (back and forth,
long timescale)
Conference presentations (back and
forth, ephemeral)
Press releases, popular presentations
(not much back and forth)
Science is a process, not just a
product!
Knowledge production requires good
communication with other scientists.
(H.E. Longino, Science as Social Knowledge, 1990)
Helping non-scientists understand what
scientists know and how they come to
know it is a good thing (and also
requires good communication).
Why blogs?
Back and forth on a short timescale
(through comments, discussions on
other blogs).
Less ephemeral than non-virtual
conversations.
Potential to involve people from many
backgrounds and many places.
Conversations in the
blogosphere that might not
be happening otherwise
Educational conversations
Cool new findings
Dispelling common misunderstandings
Sharing of pedagogical strategies
Political conversations
How scientific knowledge bears on
political choices
How politics influences conditions for the
practice and teaching of science
Conversations about the scientific
literature (scholarly and popular)
Scientist-to-scientist “journal club”
Explanation of scholarly papers for nonscientists
Commentary on science items in the
news
The virtual scientific meeting (or
lab meeting)
Discussion of projects in progress
Commentary on recently presented
results
Conversations about the tribe
What is it like to be a scientist in a
particular field, work setting, career
stage, geographical location, etc.?
Is there anyone else like me?
How could things be different?
What makes blogging a different
kind of conversation?
Ability to build a virtual community in the
absence of critical mass for a “real”
community.
Audience of the willing.
Option to control disclosure of personal
details.
What makes blogging a different
kind of conversation?
How do I deal with my “real”
environment?
Who’ll read this?
 Echo chamber vs. pitched battle
Who’s an authority?
What if I get dooced?
A real conversation gives you
room to grow.
Learn something new.
Understand someone else’s point of
view.
Change your mind.
A real conversation gives you
room to grow.
Change how non-scientists understand
science.
Change how non-scientists understand
scientists.
Change how scientists understand their
own tribe.
Expand our sense of community.
Get the ball rolling.
Blog about something you know and are
passionate about.
Invite people you trust (from online or
the meat-world) to read and comment.
If you’re not ready for your own blog,
participate in the conversations on blogs
in your area of interest.