Comments

  1. Fran Bagenal said:

    OK so now, on top of our regular jobs as scientists and in addition to making sure we are visible and involved by sitting on committees, reviewing papers, mentoring students, writing about our lives, giving public talks, writing news and views, etc etc, you want us women scientists to write a blog!
    Forget it – I’d rather read a book, go to the movies, get some exercise – have a life.

    1. Lixia Jia said:

      Completely agree!
      Dear author, please find something else more constructive to promote.Woman scientists SHOULD have the right to enjoy life with the already limited “free” time! If blog is to mentor or self promote, as suggested, quality of blog is essential, which takes effort and time investment. The author simply failed to state a compelling reason for me, as a woman, to invest on blog.

      1. Tara Smith said:

        I’m not sure why all of this has to be either/or. I have a life (and two children as a single mom), and go to movies, and recently received tenure/promotion, and also have maintained a blog for over 7 years now. Compelling reasons? How about online networking? Gaining attention of journalists who become familiar with your work and provide your research some publicity? Note that articles tend to be more highly cited when they are covered in the mainstream press, so this isn’t just vanity.

        How about making contacts with other colleagues who may become collaborators? I’ve started projects this way, and also ended up asking a colleague to write me a recommendation for my K01 award who I met via blogging. Yes, it does take some time and effort, but for me the payoff has been large. Perhaps it might be less time-consuming to dip your toes into the science social media community by posting on Twitter and following people there, and then expand into blogging if you like what you see. Certainly it’s not for everyone, but you may be surprised how useful it can be.

      2. Jacquelyn Gill said:

        I agree with Tara. For me, blogging has been an important part of networking, mentoring (and being mentored!), getting my name out there, and self-promoting, all of which have ultimately increased my productivity in one way or another.

    Report this comment Cancel report
    Your details

    Please confirm the words below

    In order to reduce spamming, this process ensures you are a real person and not an automated program.

  2. Beth Schachter said:

    I totally agree with Tara. It need not be either/or. And blogging offers the chance to write in an informal or semi-formal voice, unlike the voice that scientists typically use for their research manuscripts. If the only writing you do as a scientist is as part of a team, whether you’re the first author or the senior author, you don’t really get to speak as YOU alone. But in the blog post, you’re flying solo. So, using the blog posts to work out your ideas and your means of expressing them may help you become more articulate and persuasive in writing you do for peer-reviewed manuscripts.