During my postdoc, I set out to share my scientific knowledge with as many people as possible. Despite having little experience in science communication, I knew right away that a science blog was the perfect format for me.
My goal was to tell the world about the amazing things that bacteria do and how they impact our daily lives. I wanted to share my fascination for the bacterial world in my own way, without having to stick to rules or content limitations posed by some platforms.
Diving into the science blogging world
So, I decided to dive into the blogging world. I learnt to create and design websites with WordPress, write online articles (as opposed to academic articles), about social media marketing and search engine optimisation. About five years later, “BacterialWorld” is still online with increasing numbers of visitors and about 100 blog posts and counting.
When first starting the blog, I did not expect my new science communication project to have such a huge impact on my next career steps. But as it turned out, for me a science blog was the perfect outlet to express my passion for bacteria.
We may all have different reasons why we want to share our scientific knowledge. Some want to raise awareness of a scientific topic. Others want their audience to make better-informed decisions about their lives or how to treat the planet and the environment. Whatever your reason for communicating your science, starting a science blog might also be the ideal project for you to achieve your goal.
In this post, I want to give you some ideas on how a science blog can help you reach your audience, so they learn about the amazing science that you’re doing and how it impacts their daily lives.
The power of science blogging in the digital age
Let’s start with a brief introduction on what exactly a science blog is and what it can look like. Originally, the term “weblog” defined the regular publication of pieces of information on a specific topic in the form of an online journal. Individuals, groups and corporations publish this information as either news collections from different online sources or as original material.
These journals used to be mainly written, with pictures, audio and videos being important elements. Considering the digital advancement, science blogs are now of any format depending on the scientist’s preferred superpower: Written blog posts are published on text-focused platforms or personal websites. Other authors write newsletters on social media platforms or send them straight into the email inbox of their subscribers.
In comparison, some science blogs publish audio content as podcasts, audiobooks or video channels. Visual and video scientific content, on the other hand, can be found on image or video-focused social media platforms, personal websites or as stories and reels.
Do you have a creative superpower that you want to leverage for your SciComm project but can’t decide how? I can highly recommend you check out the SciComm Strategy Guide to understand how your superpower helps you nail down the format of your SciComm project and create engaging content.
As you can see, science blogs come now in different formats published on any platform. However, in my opinion, creating and publishing a science blog on your own website is the best option and in the next sections, I will share with you my reasons for this.
Making an impact with your science on a global level
By creating your own website and publishing articles and posts about science accessible to everyone, you are basically providing education for free. Everyone with an internet connection can access your website, your articles and thus your knowledge.
In comparison, many social media or publishing platforms restrict access to their content by requiring readers to sign up. Or some people may lack the financial or logistical means to access this kind of knowledge and learn for free. Furthermore, thanks to free translation tools, you can even provide your website in different languages. Readers can also translate your content into their preferred language.
By sharing your scientific knowledge and empowering your readers, you help them make better decisions for themselves, society and the environment. And people will adapt this new knowledge to their own life situations; situations, you maybe hadn’t even considered yourself. Or young not-yet-scientists may get inspired by your research deciding to follow into your shoes.
So, you never know who you are reaching with your blog and how they may use their new insights. But your science blog could be the bridge for many to an otherwise closed world of knowledge and education. Just by sharing your science with a global audience, you at least give EVERYONE the same chance.
How running a science blog impacts your career and research
As everyone has access to your blog posts, they can also engage with them, leave comments or share them on their channels. This can lead to inspiring interactions as your audience may send you feedback, questions or ideas. These exchanges may spark ideas for your project, thus fuelling your research.
Another scenario would be a scientist on the other side of the world stumbling across your blog. Chances are you may find a new collaborator just by talking about your research online.
For me, starting a science blog also allowed me to live out my creative genius. My goal was to explain in a non-scientific way how bacteria react to their environment and why they do what they do.
By brainstorming how best to communicate scientific concepts, I usually get into the flow state with creativity rushing through me. This used to change my perspective on my research project and sometimes gave me ideas for new research questions to pursue. Even now it fuels my curiosity to keep exploring new scientific topics.
Create a unique SciComm project
While a science blog may sound like a huge commitment, it also comes with a lot of freedom and flexibility. You decide when, how often and what kind of content you publish. So, it is up to you how much time, effort and resources you invest in the project and how far to push it. And with this you are really improving your project and time management skills.
And even if you have some spare time – which I know is rare in the scientific world – there is always this little project waiting for you. Or creativity strikes you? You could use the momentum and create engaging content about a scientific topic. At any point, you decide whether to work on your science blog or do something else, as there are no deadlines or other conditions involved.
Lastly, creating and publishing a science blog allows you to design the website and its content exactly the way you want. You are not restricted by character limitations, illustration formats or algorithms to reach your audience. You decide what each blog post looks like and the types and amount of media and links included. This is completely your project and you can make it as unique, colourful and complex as your research project.
Share your knowledge globally with a science blog
As we’ve seen, writing and publishing a science blog has many advantages both for your professional life and career as well as for your audience. Maybe you want to share general concepts from your field, explain the newest and most complex research or discuss how your science impacts your reader’s daily life. Whatever your motivation, any keen reader could potentially stumble across your blog happy to learn from it.
I hope I could show you the impact a science blog can have. With today’s digital advances, websites—and their wealth of knowledge—are at everyone’s fingertips. This makes it easier than ever to reach a global audience and educate them with your science.
So, are you ready to start a science blog and make an impact with your research? Check out our video science blogging course, in which you will learn all about starting a website, writing blog posts and creating engaging content that sticks.
I am very much looking forward to seeing you make an impact with your new science blog!
