AMSS 2019: Looking back at Jargon and Social Media

Last week was a whirlwind of presentations, talks, and workshops. It was a lot of information to take in over four days, but I managed to leave Anchorage with many new ideas, thoughts, and reflections bouncing around in my brain. Some of those ideas are going to manifest as changes on sleepersharks.org, but others will […]

AMSS 2019: Communicating Ocean Sciences Workshop

If you followed our blog over the summer, you might remember my series of posts on outreach and communication. Helping audiences understand and be inspired by science is something I spent a lot of time thinking about, so I was very excited to attend this morning’s Communicating Ocean Sciences Workshop, led by Hakai Magazine’s Jude […]

A summer in the life of a research fellow

Back in 2015, I participated in #LibWorkIT, a social media campaign that highlighted some of the diverse professional responsibilities of librarians throughout Florida. My contributions weren’t terribly exciting, but it was fun to participate and see what my colleagues were up to throughout the week. While there isn’t a similar hashtag for ASLC fellows, I […]

Jargon and Readability

When I started drafting this post, I planned to write about how to use (or not to use) technical language in science communication. Technical language (more frequently referred to as “jargon”) is a hot topic in the science communication world and articles, essays, and tip-sheets on the topic abound. Rather than re-hashing what’s already been […]

Social Media and Outreach

Traditional ideas of scientific outreach and communication usually refer to press releases, news articles, public talks, formal and informal education, and public demonstrations. These are all valid (and excellent!) choices for outreach. But what about less traditional means? Social media and science communication Many people think of social media management as a light, fluffy, fun […]

Shrimp treadmills and nerds of trust

What is outreach? Part 2 In my last post, I covered some of the immediate and small scale benefits of outreach: researchers who participate in public engagement and outreach develop better analytical and research skills while also helping to dispel myths and stereotypes about scientists. While certainly important, these justifications are not the primary goal […]

What is outreach? Part 1

In my last post, I introduced myself and mentioned that I’m at the ASLC to work on outreach. But that begs the question: What exactly is “outreach” and why should we care? No one can agree on a single, “official” definition of outreach (and if you go searching, you will in fact find many different […]