ScienceOnline2013

This session will address exposure on the internet, and how much we should be thinking about what we say and how we say it across different venues. Are there political, personal, or social ramifications to what we share online? What are the advantages or disadvantages of "professional-only" interactions online, versus personal ones? We'll cover these issues as they relate to various types of communication: As more of us are likely to be jumping between different mediums, we'll discuss how to strike a balance, remain true to your voice, and not have what you write in one place come back to bite you in the ass in another.

Questions:
- What are the advantages or disadvantages of "professional-only" interactions online, versus personal ones?
- How much opinion is too much?
- How can journalists balance their persona across mediums with differing rules (newspapers=objective, Twitter=voice, etc)?

Increasingly, people in the science world seem to play multiple roles. Some are scientists and journalists. Others are journalists and PIOs. Some teach with one hand, research with the other, and blog with their faces. How do we handle the tensions between roles that can have conflicting priorities and values, and how do we partition our different identities online?

Recently many blog post archives on scienceblogs.com went offline. (Temporarily) Based on tweets just after the outage this is a real problem to many people. One issue is the disappearance of links for citations in scientific papers. This points out a "real" problem, data can be ephemeral. We are all here because we think science blogs matter, and as we see science blogs being further integrated into science communication we know we need to figure out better ways to make sure big chunks of the science blogs universe don't just disappear overnight.The goal of this session is to try and hash out some practical ideas for how we might go about preserving a wide swath of science blogs.

Questions:
1. Do we want to create an opt-in list where anyone with a science blog can alert libraries and archives that they are happy to give their permission to archive their blog? (If so how would something like that work?)
2. What role can different kinds of libraries and archives play in preserving science blogs? For those affiliated with universities, how could institutional repositories become means for preserving this content?
3. Would some org be interested in creating a science blogs archive or repository that would not just aggregate feeds, but save copies of them?

Freelancing as a science writer is fascinating work, but the often-solitary nature of the job can make it hard to learn what tricks might help you out most in the field. We'll share our best tips and worst fears about freelancing, inviting everyone to share theirs so we can all be better science writers. We'll tackle common problems and solutions that pop up at different times in a freelance career.
Under 140-character description: We'll share our best tips and worst fears about freelancing, inviting everyone to share theirs so we can all be better science writers.

Questions:
- What are your best tips for succeeding as a freelancer?
- What are your worst fears as a freelancer? How do you overcome them?

People who would never read about the latest genomics discoveries will turn out in droves for scifi movies like Prometheus that deal (poorly) with genomics. How can we turn pop culture events into teachable moments that help mainstream audiences understand the fundamentals of real science? We'll explore few ways to do this that can be applied in journalism, teaching, or other forms of science communication. Three of the obvious avenues of engagement are: 1) debunkery (showing how Prometheus gets it wrong), 2) complimentary stories (what is the real science that could make the panspermia scenario in Prometheus possible?), and 3) "found science" stories where we pick scenes or moments that can be used to demonstrate concepts and principles in science (e.g., fight scenes and classical mechanics). But those are just the beginning. Bring your questions and ideas!

Questions:
- In our writing, how can we strike the right balance between having fun, keeping it at the right level for a general audience, and still making sure the science is accurate?
- How do we measure "success" in conveying difficult scientific ideas to a lay audience?
- What are some good examples of using science fiction to explain science to a general audience? Bad ones?
- Do we risk dumbing down or inappropriately spicing up our stories by using science fiction to explore science?

How do you explain evolution to an elementary-schooler? Can you make teenagers care about tectonic plates? If you’re not cool enough will they give up on science forever (and pick you last in kickball)? This session will explore the challenges and rewards of writing for kids. We’ll discuss getting to know your audience and speaking their language. We’ll ask how graphics, humor, games and activities can help get your point across. We’ll talk about social media presence and reaching out to new groups. And we’ll see why if you can talk about science to kids, you can talk about science to anyone.

Questions:
- How can you get to know your audience (whether preschoolers, high-schoolers, or homeschoolers) and what excites them?
- Can you simplify complex topics without dumbing them down?
- How should you handle controversial subjects (and your readers’ parents)?
- Should you say that on Twitter? How important is outreach and your social media persona?
- How can cartoons, graphics, humor, games, and hands-on activities help you engage audiences of different ages?