all the science that’s fit to blog - a dissertation talk
TRANSCRIPT
All the Science That’s Fit to Blog
PAIGE BROWN JARREAUDISSERTATION RESEARCH
#MySciBlog
All the Science That’s Fit to Blog
• Routines, norms, values and content decisions of science bloggers
Qualitative, in-depth InterviewsSummer 2014
Survey of 600 science bloggers, Fall 2014
In-Depth InterviewsHOUR-LONG, QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS WITH
51 SCIENCE BLOGGERS
DIGITAL INTERVIEWS
31 WOMEN / 20 MEN19 INDEPENDENT BLOGGERS
21 NEWS MEDIA NETWORK BLOGGERS7 NON-NEWS-MEDIA NETWORK BLOGGERS
22 PAID TO BLOG19 CAREER COMMUNICATORS
29 IN SCIENCE RESEARCH / ACADEMIA12 CURRENTLY STUDENTS
7 GROUP BLOGGERS3 PSEUDONYMOUS BLOGGERS
US / UK CENTRIC
Jarreau, Paige B (2015): #MySciBlog Interviewee Motivations to Blog about Science.
figshare. http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1345026
Blogging Practices: Major Themes(based on qualitative analysis)
• Blogging for Myself…• Blogworthiness determined by personal interests (“things I find
interesting/cool”) and passions, enjoyment and self-expression (a creative outlet).
• Using oneself as a proxy for readers: ‘if I’m interested in this, others will be too.’
• Writing freedom a key characteristic of blogging
• … to Popularize Science• A translational/explainer role• Considering reader interests (science of everyday things;
relatable)• Reaching a broader audience• Wow factor• A strong motivation to popularize and explain science to non-
expert audiences characterizes much of science blogging today
Blogging Practices: Major Themes
• Journalistic Routines• Blogworthiness determined by traditional news factors,
including what is topical and timely, novel, unexpected, important/relevant to the reader or society, etc.
• Science bloggers may be socialized into journalistic practices
• Outreach, Education and Engagement• A majority of science bloggers mentioned outreach or
educational approaches to selecting/producing blog content
• Communicating the process and realities of science
• A strong motivation to popularize and explain science to non-expert audiences characterizes much of science blogging today
Blogging Practices: Major Themes
• As an Expert• Staying within one’s area of expertise, translating research or
countering misinformation based on one’s own expertise
Comic from xkcd.com
Blogging Practices: Major Themes
• The ECOSYSTEM Approach• Science bloggers are paying attention to content that their
fellow bloggers and science writers are producing
Phil's 1stPix, Flickr.com
Ecosystem Approach
Value-Added Blogging
Finding a Niche;
Something Different
Avoiding stories/topics covered (well) by others
Keeping track of blogs in one’s topic area
Having a unique angle or something to contribute
Sticking to core topics
Focusing on exclusive, unique content
Blogging to fill a topic/niche gap
Not a slave to the news cycle I can elaborate on
this, do something special with this
Blogs as a place for opinions, interpretation,
personal commentary
Having a creative spin on a story, a
personal insight, etc.
#MySciBlog Interviewee #3, Female, Scientist, Network Blogger:
I think of it most of the time as kind of part of the bigger blog ecosystem. […] If there's a paper that's out that is something about parasite mind control [laughs], even though that's probably something I could write about, it's my field, but, you know, I know that's probably something, again, Carl Zimmer or Ed Yong or somebody is going to take up and do a fabulous post on it. So you know, that's probably a topic that I wouldn't really cover as much.
I know a lot about kind of who covers what beats, I guess? And what has kind of evolved over the many years of this blogging ecosystem [laughs]. That doesn't necessarily mean I wouldn't cover something, but you know, it does influence my choices a little bit, because if I think someone else is going to do it, and especially if they're going to do it better than me, […] I just don't think I'll have anything to add on that particular point, and so I might choose something else to write about.
Blogging Practices: Major Themes
• Logistics and Editorial Process• Time and resource constraints
• Editorial oversight at blog networks / news organizations
• Opinion and Interpretation• The blog as a modern day op-ed column
• What’s Missing from the Media
• The Writer’s Home• Using one’s blog as a complement to other forms of writing,
freelance work, etc.
• Community Acceptance and Online Vulnerability• Concerns about sharing personal experiences and blogging on
controversial issues, especially among female science bloggers
What factors determine science blog content?
Adaptation of Shoemaker and Reese’s hierarchy of influence model, graphic © Paige B. Jarreau
“First and foremost, I need to be passionate about it. I can't
really write about anything that I'm not passionate
about.”
Bloggers
Blog Routines
“I think that's one of the huge benefits of blogging, is, it's really a reflection of
me. And unlike science, where the human side, the "I am a human" scientist gets left out sometimes,
and newspapers or magazines where the
magazine has the identity of the author, like, this is
coming from me.”
Organization / Blog Community
“I think that we [our blog network] tend to gravitate toward, that blogs should be fun to read, and, um, they’re not necessarily where
we put the most, I would say, hard-hitting
important news?”
Organization / Blog Community
Competition, Comparison to Journalistic Products
Media, Extramedia Forces
“If I was going to write a blog where I wasn’t going to have all of those crazy
resources to be able to go out and interview multiple people and spend tons
of time on this, it had to be different. I was going to look for studies that were
still really interesting, but wouldn’t necessarily get covered other places.”
Survey of Science Bloggers
ONLINE SURVEY
610 VALID RESPONSES
345 MALES256 FEMALES
400 INDEPENDENT BLOGGERS210 NETWORK BLOGGERS
Index of 2,112 Science Blogs
Who are science bloggers? Some survey STATS
• 71% blog independently (Wordpress.com, an independent website, etc.)
• Network bloggers tend to be occupied in science writing, communication, etc.; Independent bloggers in science research/academia
• Average blogging experience: 3 ½ years
• Pay: 14% (N = 86) indicate that they earn money on their main science blog, 85% (N = 519) do not.
• 46% (N = 283) are 18 to 34 years old, 27% (N =165) are 35 to 44 years old.
• Highly educated – 21% (N = 130) having Master’s degrees and nearly 48% (N = 290) having doctorate degrees. Less than 5% of #MySciBlog respondents have less than a Bachelor’s degree. Majority have a degree in a life science (39%, N = 235) and/or physical science field (28%, N = 170)
Jarreau, Paige B (2015): #MySciBlog Science Bloggers' Target Audiences.
figshare. http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1285634
Survey question based on Fahy, D., & Nisbet, M. C. (2011).
The science journalist online: Shifting roles and emerging practices.
Science bloggers self-perceived roles
How often do you engage in the
following roles in your blogging?
Perceived Blogging Roles depend on…
• Occupation
• (research/academia vs. writing/journalism)
• Science Communication Training
• Those with scicomm training engage in the role of advocate significantly more often than those without such training even when controlling for other factors
• Gender
• Male science bloggers report engaging in the roles of watchdog and media critic more often than do female science bloggers. Female science bloggers report engaging in the role of explainer more often.
• Blog Location
• Network bloggers engage more often as public intellectuals and investigative reporters
Blogging Content Idea Sources
BLOGWORTHINESS
Passionate about
Can add context to
Fits my blog theme/topic well
Relevance to my readers
Within my area of expertise
Deserves more media attn.
Can add new angle, spin
Strong opinions
Known for
Personal experience
Useful for my work, Visuals, Topical, Simple, Before others (timely)
Jarreau, Paige B (2015): Blogworthiness Factors. figshare.
http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1302547
Blogging Approach
• Journalistic approach to blogging • ++ timeliness • - - reliance on one’s own passions and scientific expertise
• Editorial approach • ++ strong opinions toward the topic and being able to
provide a new angle or context • Translational/explainer approach
• ++ gauging the blogworthiness by the presence of strong visuals (image, video, etc.)
Social Network Analysis
SURVEY PARTICIPANTS ASKED TO LISTUP TO THE TOP 3 SCIENCE BLOGS THEY READ ON A REGULAR BASIS.
DATA MAPPED IN GEPHI
COMMUNITY DETECTION BYMODULARITY CLASS
Interactive Data!http://bit.ly/MySciBlogREAD
Jarreau, Paige B (2014): MySciBlog Survey -
Top Read SciBlogs by SciBloggers. figshare.
http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1278974
Detecting Communities of Practice
Jarreau, Paige (2014): MySciBlog Survey - Top Read SciBlogs by SciBloggers. Figshare http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1278974
Andrew Hinton, “What Communities of Practice can mean for Information Architecture”
Summary
• Large majority of science bloggers blog for themselves and to popularize science.
• Many science bloggers adopt scientific community values including concern for education and outreach in the production of their blogs.
• Growth and professionalization of the science blogosphere has had an impact on approaches, values and routines.• Ecosystem Approach
• Community-level factors shape science blog content• Other bloggers; Online vulnerability and community acceptance
• Mix of traditional journalistic routines and emergent science blogging routines
• Logistics and editorial processes can strongly guide network and group blogging content routines, and even “independent” bloggers’ decisions
