Adventures in Science Blogging:

1. Adventures in Science Blogging: Conversations we need to have, and how blogging can help us have them. Janet D. Stemwedel dr.freeride@gmail.com

2. Community and communication as key ingredients for human flourishing

3. 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?”

4. 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?

5. 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)

6. 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).

7. 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.

8. Conversations in the blogosphere that might not be happening otherwise

9. Educational conversations • Cool new findings • Dispelling common misunderstandings • Sharing of pedagogical strategies

13. Political conversations • How scientific knowledge bears on political choices • How politics influences conditions for the practice and teaching of science

16. Conversations about the scientific literature (scholarly and popular) • Scientist-to-scientist “journal club” • Explanation of scholarly papers for non-scientists • Commentary on science items in the news

21. The virtual scientific meeting (or lab meeting) • Discussion of projects in progress • Commentary on recently presented results

26. 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?

38. 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.

39. 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?

40. A real conversation gives you room to grow. • Learn something new. • Understand someone else’s point of view. • Change your mind.

41. 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.

42. 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.