tags: annual science communication conference, ScienceOnline'09, SciO09, Sigma Xi, Research Triangle Park, science blogging conference, nature blog writing
Naturalist Blogging in the heart of the Big Apple.
Welcome everyone, to our session at the ScienceOnline '09 conference at Sigma Xi in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. This session is focuses on Nature Blog Writing and is being co-hosted by GrrlScientist (who is the author of this blog) and Kevin Zelnio, co-author of The Other 95%. This session is occurring live at the buttcrack of dawn (0900-1000 ET) on Sunday morning, 18 January 2008. The attendees will be discussing the following questions and their responses will be added to the host blogs as well as to our conference wiki, and might also be incorporated into future writings that we plan to do on this topic. If you are reading this and would also like to add your comments and thoughts to the live discussion, please post your responses in the comments section since this blog entry will be projected onto the large screen in the conference room where our session is being held. The topics we will be discussing are listed below the fold (although the live discussion will likely cover other topics that are not listed);
- What is a nature blog? What is the difference between nature and science blog writing? What is the difference between nature blog writing and other types of blog writing?
- What are (should be) the goals for nature blog writing? [This is the "why bother with nature blog writing at all?" question]
- How important are blog carnivals for connecting nature-loving folks (e.g., I And The Bird, Circus of the Spineless, Carnival of the Blue, Oekologie...)?
- What do you think about collaborative global sites like: iNaturalist, Faunapolis, Scratchpads, The Internet Bird Collection, UKmoths, Identify a butterfly and Useum?
- Who is the audience? What are they looking for, what are they finding?
- How much science is (and should or should not be) associated with nature stories and pictures?
- What is the best nature essay you've read in the past year or so? Why did you like this essay so much?
- Log in to post comments
How to deal with situations where the emotional attachment to an element of the natural world blinds one to the confirmable reality of what is being observed? Alex teh Wonder Pigeon being but one example.
She is a NATURIST sitting naked at her computer.
She is not a NATURALIST till she gets to Central Park (if she makes it that far).
She? Is this a scientific comment?
Do be sure to keep the conversation updated for those of us playing at home, Grrrrrl.
I'm wondering about the utility of making such a distinction between science writing and nature writing, for instance. I think there might be a lot of overlap, but I suppose that might hinge on our definitions of the terms. That of course leads us back to the question as presented.
What I learned when I went to a nudist camp in my 20's (under pressure and protest): in the course of non-sexual activities, all naked bodies are attractive & none are perfect. It was highly instructive.
G/S,
My life is immeasurably brightened when through the work product of a nature blogger I learn something so amazing I have to go outside and look around as I experience a personal paradigm shift.
G/S,
My life is immeasurably brightened when through the work product of a nature blogger I learn something so amazing I have to go outside and look around as I experience a personal paradigm shift.
Hola,
I'm Ken-ichi, one of the developers at iNaturalist.org. I wasn't able to make it to this conference, but I'm eager to see the results of this session. I hope you guys will post some notes here or on the conference wiki page!
I am so sorry I missed this session. I was really looking forward to it but literally had to choose between nature and blogging. This time, nature won! I'm looking forward to hearing how the session went.