A Blog Around The Clock : Nature Methods: It's good to blog

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Nature Methods : It's good to blog

Another editorial about science blogging today, this time in Nature Methods: Lines of communication

The public likes science stories it can easily relate to, and we have to admit that most science, including that published in Nature Methods, is unlikely to get more than a snore from nonscientists. In contrast, science stories that have a human interest or other emotionally charged angle require the concerted efforts of both journalists and scientists to ensure that the public understands the story well enough to make an informed personal decision. A failure in this regard can lead to a crisis that is difficult to resolve.

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A powerful aspect of blogs is their capacity to put a human face on science and related health issues by allowing scientists to discuss how these things affect them personally in a format in which regular readers feel as though they know the writer. Analysis of the MMR vaccine incident suggests that emotional arguments like a scientist talking about vaccinating his or her own children might be more powerful than the rational arguments that form the basis of normal scientific discourse. The public's emotional response to genetically modified food in some countries might also have been very different if people could see numerous online blog entries from scientists discussing why they were not concerned about the scenarios being promulgated in the press. But can enough scientists be convinced of the potential benefits of blogging to make this a reality?

Conferences such as Science Blogging 2008: London, organized by Nature Network, and ScienceOnline'09 are exploring the role of blogging in science and trying to get more scientists involved. Nature Network just concluded their Science Blogging Challenge 2008--won by Russ B. Altman--where the goal was to get a senior scientist to start blogging. ...

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http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2009/02/nature_methods_its_good_to_blo.php

http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2009/02/nature_methods_its_good_to_blo.php