This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Here in the incubator, there are hatchlings, who are currently learning the trade of science journalism in college or through internships; fledglings, who are beginning their own careers; eggs, who are just starting to experiment with science communication.
While the hatchlings and fledglings are actively involved in science communication, the eggs are still at the happy-go-lucky stage. They casually dabble in science communication because they love science and they want to spread their enthusiasm to others. They are typically doing so in their spare time and are enjoying it.
Eggs are an important part of the science communication community. Their voices may not be as polished or refined as the more experienced communicators but they are joyful, funny and enthusiastic. The topics they address are those they have at heart and find cool. All of these make for a great recipe to reach others in their same age group, but also the more mainstream audience. In addition, those eggs are the future of science communication.
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So, it is important to promote the eggs and their endeavours. This is exactly what the YoungScienceBloggersTumblr (YSB) does. YSB scouts the science blogosphere for blog posts by bloggers under the age of 20 and actively features them on the tumblr site. You cannot comment on any posts on the site—instead YSB encourages you to leave your comments on the young bloggers’ blogs.
The YSB site is basically a continually-updated list of blog posts. In time though, it may also forge a sense of camaraderie amongst the young bloggers. This is important, especially in the era of Friends in Low Places (see this blog's introductory post by Bora for more info).
Since YSB is based on Tumblr, you can easily follow them if you have a tumblr account. In addition, YSB is also present on Twitter and Facebook. Now, go visit YSB and read, comment, tweet, and like the eggs’ blog posts. If anything, you’ll motivate a young science communicator.
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Here is what you need to know about Young Science Bloggers Tumblr:
Website URL: http://youngsciencebloggers.tumblr.com/
Twitter: @YoungSciBlogs
Facebook: Young Science Bloggers
Founder: Catherine Anderson (@genegeek).
What it does:
Scouts the science blogosphere for bloggers under the age of 20 who blog about science and feature links to their blogs/websites.
Promotes their content via social media.
Creates a community of young science bloggers.