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Here’s a presentation I gave at the University of Minnesota about networking, including audio. I got great rapport from the grad students and they are hungry to network! We thought it would be great if companies or organizations sponsored networking events, seems like a win-win for all, and we do it in San Diego successfully. Let us know if you’re interested in holding events in your region!

We were thrilled when the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology asked us to host an event with them during the Experimental Biology (#EB2012) conference this month in San Diego, see descriptions of it on the SDBN blog and ASBMB website. The event will focus on improving science communication (#SciComm), and as you know we’re big proponents of using new media towards this end. We’ve seen some spectacular examples of scientists and organizations using new tools to reach their peers, the public, and even to get funding. Here, we highlight great examples of new media science communication, and invite those who will be attending the #EB2012 event (#EB2012Tweetup) to share their own stories.

1. #IAmScience. Kevin Zelnio, a freelance science writer who blogs for the DeepSeaNews and Scientific American, started a meme on Twitter around non-traditional paths to becoming a scientist. He found that many scientists described surprisingly diverse paths to becoming a scientist, fueled by passion more than genius (see the video of the Tweets). He thought that the collected stories would make a great resource to personalize scientists and encourage those who are intimidated because they see a scientific career as a ‘one size fits all’ endeavor. He ran a KickStarter project to raise funds, and he was very successful so the project is underway. The personal side of science is being communicated by those who have some extra time to tell their story and Kevin’s passion for the project, and the book will be in electronic form with some print copies for inner city schools.
2. #MyResearch. Great minds think alike, Vancouver professor Raul Pacheco-Vega started the #MyResearch hashtag on Twitter during the 2012 AAAS meeting in January to encourage scientists to describe their research. To date, more than 1700 status updates have resulted, and many tried to make their research understandable by laymen in 129 characters. In these first two examples, scientists have come up with easy ways that other researchers can take time out of their busy days to learn how to communicate and gain perspective, which is a big win.
3. SciFund. We’ve covered this fantastic initiative in which researchers raise money for their work in this blog post and Twitter chat. Through the help of passionate founder Jai Ranganathan and the crowdfunding application Rockethub, scientists pitched their research to the public last fall and raised $76,000! While raising money for science is cool, Jai admits he has a hidden agenda for the initiative, namely to help scientists learn how to communicate their research to the public. We’re soliciting questions about #SciComm from those registering for the #EB2012Tweetup, and several want to know how to achieve a balance between being accurate and capturing the attention of readers. Jai has done some analyses on which campaigns were the most successful, and sees that, perhaps not surprisingly, the number of pageviews correlates to the amount raised. Further, he finds that the size of network of the scientist directly relates to the amount of funding they raised, pointing to the importance of this facet of #SciComm. SciFund will begin again in May 2012 and we will watch its progress via their blog.
4. Great blogging networks. Where do we begin here? We scratched the surface on science blogs in a recent post about life science networks. They not only do a superb job of translating complex science for thousands of readers, but they also discuss the important issues surrounding science communication. Perhaps a good way to get a handle on them is to visit the website for their biggest IRL (in real life) gathering, ScienceOnline. Read the discourses on science communication on the blogs to get an overview of their role in advancing the topic, and follow the #scio12, #scio13, and #SciComm hashtags on Twitter as well. Also, it’s always a good bet to start from the source, and follow Bora Zivkovic aka the ‘BlogFather,’ and the Scientific American (#SciAm) blog network he helped develop.
5. Supporting life science organizations. We were not surprised when ASBMB approached us about the event at #eb2012 because we’ve been communicating with Angela Hopp, editor of ASBMB Today, on Twitter. ASBMB supports science communication through this publication, sometimes inviting bloggers and Twitterers to contribute. We’ve also had great experiences with the American Chemical Society, whose success with social media, including a great blog, encourages life scientists to participate in new media as well. We had a great time catching up with them at the latest ACS meeting in San Diego, and the number of Twitter status updates almost doubled in number compared to the last meeting (internal data). Great work guys! Equally impressive are the folks at Nature. They not only have great blogs and are active on Twitter, they support regional science online discussion groups in London, New York and they’re expanding to the US west coast as well.
6. Scientists using new media. We see great conversations happening on Twitter every day, from scientific discourses to daily encouragement. We see scientists who want to help their colleagues communicate better, a stellar example is this blog about creating better poster presentations by Zen Faulkes (the Comic Sans font used in the image is a hat tip to them, as they like to make fun of it). Clearly, new media tools make it easier for scientists to communicate with each other, and they’re doing a fantastic job. While it is hard to measure the benefit to the field, it is surely multiplied when more researchers and professionals decide to get involved with new media.

Our April 23^rd event will focus on helping scientists learn to use the new tools for science communication. We are polling them to find which area they feel as though they need it the most, here are the options:

• My career path and choices
• Funding my research
• Finding the right project
• Connecting with peers/networking

If you use new media for science communication and are attending the event at #EB2012, we want to hear your success stories! Please think about how your blog, Twitter discussions, or the use of other online tools have helped you in the areas above, and write about it. Leave a link in the comments below or tag a Tweet with the event hashtag #EB2012Tweetup. We’ll highlight the stories online and at the event. We’re also looking forward to meeting you all April 23^rd!

Special thanks to Geoff Hunt for helping organize this event and to New England BioLabs and Mendeley for sponsoring.

To share this post, cut and paste: New Media Science Communication, What’s Working? Our #EB2012 Event Will Highlight #SciComm Successes http://bit.ly/IclAWn

We’re gearing up to attend ScienceOnline 2012 (#scio12) in North Carolina next week, a place where bloggers, educators, and anyone interested in science communication online meet. The conference is growing due to many factors, including the way the fantastic organizers structure the event and increasing importance of science online for the public, scientists, and companies.

We see great synergies between bloggers and life science companies, something we covered after we attended the conference last year. Bloggers are digital influencers, reaching life scientists with great content and even becoming an important source of news for the area they cover. They require financial support to keep their blogs running and expand. This need represents an opportunity for life science companies, who are often looking for ways to promote their research tools online other than using a banner ad on a crowded news website. We’d like to make connections between bloggers and life science companies as we have broad networks in both areas. We’re meeting with as many bloggers as possible at #scio12, fill out one of the forms below so we can start making connections.

Blogger form
Company form

Also, join the #ls_chat Friday January 13th at 10 a.m. PT to discuss #scio12 and bridging companies and bloggers.

Note: The image is in reference to the Science Ink book and related tattoo parlor tour that will take place at #scio12. We’ll take part (and Mary may come home inked…) and have a fun contest at #scio12, stay tuned!

We’ve announced our Google Tools workshop webinar July 7th, and Workshop 2 is now available as a recording. Check out our workshops and training page for other offerings.

A quick post to let you know that we’ve announced our Social Media for Life Science and Biotechnology Workshop 2: The 4 B’s of First Party Applications webinar, which will take place June 9th. Also, our Facebook workshop webinar is now available for you to order and view at your convenience, along with others on our workshops and training page. As always, contact us if you have questions, and hope to ‘see’ you at a workshop soon!

To share this post easily cut and paste: Comprendia’s Social Media Workshop 2 June 9th & Facebook Webinar Available http://bit.ly/jyhqM4

A recent survey of life science marketers found that 52% plan to increase their level of new and social media advertising in 2011. The study, conducted by life science consulting firm Comprendia LLC, was comprised of thirty-three respondents working in the non-FDA regulated sector, dealing with products for research use only. When asked which social media applications were most utilized, Twitter and Facebook were the top results, with 58% and 39% using them daily or one or two times a week, respectively. Respondents indicated that social media monitoring is also prevalent, with more than 60% indicating they track mentions of their brand on social networks. The long term effects of these trends are unclear, but it is possible that increased interaction between these life science companies, their customers, and independent science communicators portends the development of better products and increased progress in biotechnology research.

These results indicate a shift from traditional, broadcast marketing such as print advertisements and even online banners to new, more engaging methods such as social networks and blogs. Are life science marketers fully ready for this drastic change, which involves much more engagement with their scientific customers? When asked how they’d create the additional content needed for new and social media, 67% of life science marketers indicated that their existing staff would allocate time. Anticipating this unreasonable expectation, respondents were also asked about partnering with existing websites such as science blog aggregators. Initial interest in collaborating with existing entities was low, but respondents indicated a willingness to work with web 2.0 sites such as Benchfly, LabSpaces, Science 3.0 and Scientopia, and events such as ScienceOnline.

The results of the survey were presented at the ScienceOnline 2011 conference in January, where several involved in the ‘science 2.0’ movement expressed interest in working with life science companies. These blogs and sites are filling an important niche as scientific content is becoming scarce on traditional sources such as newspapers. Some bloggers expressed concern with corporate content intermingling with their own, an issue that does not exist with traditional media where distinctions between editorial and advertising content are usually clear. However, ideas for creating new boundaries emerged from discussions at the conference, and all of the findings from the meeting and this report can be found at http://comprendia.com/lifesciencesm Support from life science companies could bolster the independent science entities, resulting in more scientific information being disseminated to the general public via these routes. Company representatives, bloggers, or writers who are interested in participating should fill out this form.

Mary Canady, Founder of Comprendia, said “Life science companies appear eager to embrace social media, and it is clear that forming close partnerships with independent science entities such as blogging networks and open science conferences are necessary. New advertising models that will meet the companies’ needs while not sacrificing the integrity of the science communicators will result in a collaborative environment benefiting all involved.”

Comprendia is a California-based LLC which develops social media marketing plans for life science and biotechnology companies. Comprendia is actively implementing related strategies and tactics in a variety of projects and also provides monthly life science social media workshops and customized training. Based on the results of the survey, we’ll begin with a Twitter Workshop March 10th.

CC Loren Javier on Flickr

If you’ve been following Comprendia via our writing or actions, you know that one of our major goals is facilitating communication between life scientists and the companies that serve them. With today’s tools, and the media landscape, more communication and collaboration is not only possible, but necessary. We also hear interest from both sides in working together. What form will this take, and how can you set up your blog or web 2.0 site to help it grow?

We ran two surveys to help bridge the gap between life science companies and researchers and will present the results at the ScienceOnline conference this weekend. We’d like to focus on these questions, and we’ll also be asking you during discussions leading up to the session:

What is your ‘big dream’ for your blog or website, and could you achieve it with help from sponsors?

Would a matchmaking site that would allow bloggers and companies to find each other help, and if so what would it look like?

Per unconference ‘rules’, this session will be light on presentations and heavy on discussion and action after. We’d love to start a dialog that leads to the development of infrastructure that will help you achieve your website’s goals. We’ll have a representative from the bloggers, Brian Krueger (@labspaces), companies Kristy Meyer (@kristy3m) and myself (@comprendia) Sunday at 2 p.m. in session E! If you can’t make it, track us down and/or look for us to post more information on how you can get involved soon, even if you’re not at the conference. If you work at a company, look for us to publish the research report soon or contact us with questions.

If you’ve been following this blog or the San Diego Biotechnology Network, you know I’ve obtained complimentary passes for myself and others to blog at life science conferences. I am incredibly grateful to those who have obliged, but I always want more. We’ve all noticed that IRL (in real life) conferences are suffering due to the economy. It is sad to see that several of them are not leveraging the new media model fully to improve their situation. Those of us who live and breathe social media realize that you need to ‘let go’ in order to grow in this new era, something Seth Godin explains expertly in his book Meatball Sundae (which I’ve reviewed along with two other of his great books). Below, find my suggestions to help life science conferences not only adjust, but thrive in this new economy.

Use social media to engage year round. I normally see a flurry of activity from the social media champions of a conference a few months before the event. While this is a great start, the smart conference organizers are engaging scientists all year round. As I’ve covered earlier, social media works best when it’s a sustained effort. You’ll gain a lot, from getting feedback from scientists, to getting more ‘tweet cred’ and followers in the process.

Employ a team of bloggers. I talked with a major life science company who actually canceled a press conference at a recent meeting because there wasn’t enough media there. Do you know how many scientists are dying for the chance to cover your conference? Even if the media coverage suffers due to the economy, a few free passes will go a long way in getting the word out about the conference. You may need to become more involved in structuring the guidelines, etc., but in some ways, you’ll have more control, as those who receive a free pass will feel obligated to cover as much as possible. Give all bloggers press passes as well, so they can access computers and other items necessary for covering the meeting. Want to see great information about bloggers and journalism? See famous science blogger Bora Zivcovik’s excellent blog posts on the subject.

Make your website as informational and interactive as possible. There are three life science conferences I’ve been to in the past year in which the full schedule was not available online before the event. I really don’t know why this happens–how can an attendee plan properly, let alone a blogger? Leading to, and during the conference, your website can be a nexus for scientists to learn about the event. Also, your search engine rankings will likely benefit greatly as well as you add more content to it and get more visitors.

Post all social media policies well in advance. I’ve encountered a few ‘SURPRISE!’ announcements while covering a conference as a blogger, for example the big ‘no tweeting allowed’ signs at one conference last year. The AACR meeting’s social media policies are a great start, and you can see from the twitter stream that when attendees feel encouraged and confident, that more coverage results. In addition, scientists presenting at the conference will feel more comfortable, knowing that such policies exist.

Offer free, good quality WiFi. I talked with Bora Zivcovik about the Science Online conference he holds every year to discuss innovations in online science communication. In 2010, for WiFi support they actually hired the company that handled WiFi for the superbowl. Now, this group likely used a lot of bandwidth due to their nature, but you should consider that WiFi is an important part of getting your conference covered, along with access to power sources.

Live stream video from the conference. In the ‘world’ of social media, live video streaming of conferences is the norm. Mostly, companies use the Ustream service, which is free to users, and I’m sure there are many options. Benefits? Your conference is now viewable and ‘shareable’ globally. You’ll be able to save and reuse the content as you need, a powerful way to get content for your website for the entire year. Worried about people not attending? Face to face networking is still of utmost importance, and many wouldn’t trade that for virtual attendance–my view is that your attendance will remain the same. Indeed, I’ve heard that views of live streamed conferences can be 5-10 times the IRL attendance. Think that will help you to attract sponsors and speakers? Definitely!

Flip cams in the exhibit hall. Know how easy it would be to give some scientists flip cams, and task them to upload videos to your YouTube channel? Dead easy. Exhibitors, attendees, those not attending will love it, as one of the most important parts of a conference is the ‘buzz’ on the exhibit hall floor. Also, I’ve found that blogging a conference is hard work–videos of those who want to spread the word about their products are easy and speak volumes. Think of it as those disposable cameras they distribute at weddings (but be sure to get the proper clearance before distributing videos).

Open, open, open. Conferences run the gamut from very academic (e.g., ASCB, AACR), to those run as a business (e.g., Cambridge Healthtech Institute). Regardless of a conference’s position on this spectrum, benefits can be made from choosing to open up access rather than restricting it. Academic conferences have at their heart goals to further scientific progress–what better way than to encourage dissemination of information? Those worrying about being ‘scooped’ are naive and should realize that unethical behavior, be it word of mouth or information shared online, is a possibility at any conference, and the latter is more easily tracked and punishable. Conferences run as businesses can also benefit from opening up access. There are myriad benefits to speakers and sponsors from providing more access. Smaller fees can be imposed for ‘virtual’ attendance, and likely with a very minimal expense for software and broadcasting.

In conclusion, with every decision you make about your conference, choose the more ‘open’ option. One upcoming conference is restricting all media from their plenary talks. My prediction? It will completely backfire, as nothing motivates a twitterer, etc., more than a restriction, and there will be a large amount of negative attention that will result. Controlling access to information is no longer a business model, but the good news is that there is plenty of progress for life science conferences, and money, to be made with the new model. Try opening up your next conference–what do you have to lose?

To share this post easily, cut and paste An Open Letter to Life Science Conference Organizers http://bit.ly/ajyEzH