Blog Breakdown, or a Brief Review of Scientific Blogs

Are you a bird lover? If so then you’ll definitely want to check out Punctuated Equilibrium. The author, who goes by GrrlScientist, posts pictures of birds and then waits 48 hours to post the name of the bird as well as some general information on the species. This format serves double duty, bird experts or anyone with some knowledge of birds can test their skills and make a “game” out of it while those who won’t be able to guess can still read about the birds. Plus, who doesn’t like looking at beautiful pictures?

But even if birds aren’t really your thing, it’s still worth a look. While this blog is full of photos and information on different species of birds, there are also posts on a wide variety of other science topics. Some of the posts even include videos… a real life paramecium video game?! Being the owner of a weird box-loving cat, I also appreciated the short video clip, Simon’s Cat in ‘The Box.’

Something interesting I found was the post discussing Google’s new online science fair. This program allows kids from around the world to compete for the chance to win scholarships and find work opportunities. I’m not sure about the situations at other schools, but science wasn’t too popular at my high school; for students interested in science but feeling disappointed by the opportunities at their school, this is a great program. 

I think Punctuated Equilibrium is set up really well to draw in people without a science background. There are plenty of pictures which makes the blog seem less intimidating and I think people are less likely to just move on than if the page were full of just text. The author also writes in a way which is easy to understand rather than using a lot of jargon.

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As a self-admitted (and proud!) nerd, it’s not surprising that Observations of a Nerd caught my attention. The blog’s author, Christie Wilcox, is currently a graduate student and a perfect example of how science blogs are not only a valuable tool for communicating with the public but also how they can be extremely beneficial for those who take time to maintain them (she recently won a $10,000 scholarship for blogging!). I enjoyed the broad scope of themes, ranging from evolution to research… to makeup? No, that wasn’t a typo, and yes, it actually is on topic. It was also more interesting than I thought it would be.

Christie posted about National Geographic’s Great Migrations series and highlighted the focus of each episode. I hadn’t thought about it before starting this class, but series such as these are great for captivating audiences with science in a way that is accessible to those without a science background. This post also got me thinking…  am I the only one who gets made fun of for taking up tons of space on the DVR every time there’s a new science/nature series? If my family wasn’t already convinced that I’m a nerd, I’m sure the conversation about which narrator I like best sealed the deal. (Just in case you’re wondering, it's David Attenborough). In case you missed it, the Feast or Famine episode replays February 14th at 8pm.

Overall, I think Observations of a Nerd is a great blog to read while in our class; not only is it a science blog, but it’s also entertaining and has plenty of advice to keep in mind when starting our own blogs (It just so happens that the most recent post focuses on photography as a valuable communication tool). This blog was able to keep my attention through a good balance of science and personality. Those are just a few observations of this nerd.