SEB Bulletin January 2008
Nature Network
"forums, blogs and networking for scientists"
With science, as with so much in life, it's not what you know, but who you know.
Finding people with the right skills, knowledge or equipment is vital for scientific collaboration. A career can suddenly jump in exciting new directions thanks to a chance encounter at a conference. And, of course, it's always fun to meet like-minded people.
With the rise of social networking sites, such as FaceBook and LinkedIn, people are embracing online technologies to find people, share information and tell the world what they're working on. Nature Network is building these tools specifically for scientists.
The Network has been running since spring 2007, and is growing by over 1000 scientists per month. When you join (for free) you get your own profile page, and access to those of thousands of other scientists worldwide. You can use this space to list your scientific achievements and publications, and build a network of friends and collaborators.
Once you've built up your profile, try out the discussion forums. Anyone can start their own, and we now have around 300 ranging from a general postdoc forum to subject areas like bioinformatics and molecular biology. We even have cultural forums such as 'musical scientists' and 'science and arts'.
The forums are both entertaining and instructive. Scientists are using them to help with experiments. For example, in the Nature Protocols forum, you can ask questions about experimental procedure and expect to receive help and advice the same day.
We're also working with naturejobs to create a careers forum, where you'll be able to ask questions from experts from all scientific vocations.
Nature Network is also a blogging platform. Many everyday scientists are blogging on Nature Network as a way of sharing their daily toils and scientific thoughts with the wider community. We welcome new bloggers, so if you have something to say, get in touch through the site.
Science is, of course, a global enterprise, but sometimes, you need to know what's going on nearby. To this end, we're building local 'hubs', beginning with London and Boston, MA. Through 2008, we plan to launch local hubs for many more cities across the globe and hope, by the end of the year, to have all major UK cities covered.
Taking the London hub as an example, we list all the scientific events happening in town - from niche lunchtime seminars to plays, films and book launches with scientific themes. If you're looking to further your career, the hubs also have local jobs sections, fed by naturejobs.com. We also report on local issues in our news section. As well as news about new laboratories, politics, funding and discoveries, we celebrate the rich cultural and historical aspects of science in London. Where are the blue plaques commemorating scientists? What museums and attractions might a visiting scientist be interested in? Where are good places to go for a drink around Imperial College?
With new releases every couple of weeks, and many new members each day, Nature Network is rapidly building into an invaluable resource for scientists. So drop by soon and start a conversation.
Matt Brown
Editor
