Many people who cannot attend SVP are interested in what happens at the meeting, and the use of such an icon would allow scientists to take another step in communicating their work outside of the confines of the meeting itself.Īs a supplement to this, I would like to see an official SVP annual meeting blog highlighting research presented at the event. I don’t know how many presenters would participate – perhaps not very many at first – but it would allow researchers to take the initiative in opening up communication. Create a logo – perhaps the Twitter bird with a green checkmark superimposed on it, or something similar – which could be placed on posters and the first slides of presentations as a signal that it is okay to tweet or blog about the information being presented. Not only does the GSA encourage web coverage of their meeting, but they set up a listing of attending bloggers so that readers know where to go for coverage, and it would be just as simple to set up a similar list for Twitter. Likewise, I think the SVP would do well to take a lesson from the Geological Society of America. (This caused me to create my own hashtag for the meeting, and many people from the event used both to keep up with events.) Both the account and hashtag should have been listed on the meeting webpage, they should have been included in the meeting’s promotional materials, and ideally someone should have been running the SVP Twitter account to keep things lively during the meeting. The SVP Twitter account doesn’t follow anybody and is rarely updated, and I did not know that there was an official SVP hashtag until I arrived at the first conference sessions.
Unfortunately, I don’t think they made the most of Twitter.
To the SVP’s credit, they did set up a Twitter account and a hashtag for the annual meeting. So what can the SVP do to improve their engagement with the online conversation about prehistoric life?
Based upon the conversations I have had with paleontologists about this, at the very least science blogs are a way to keep up with the latest research in the field, and have become a useful resource for both the public and academics alike. Twitter is a great way to share news and stories for discussion, whereas blogs can serve as platforms for science communication at a variety of levels (from the technical explanations of SV-POW! to the popular treatment of the Witmer Lab’s research at Pick & Scalpel and the more personal, “Hey, this is cool” style of Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs). There were several posters and presentations at SVP this year about the utility of online tools for communicating with various audiences. These tools can be used to communicate exciting new discoveries, analyze specific areas of debate or research, counter sensationalized media coverage, and share supplemental online materials (photos, video, etc.). What I want to suggest here is a way forward in which paleontologists can make the most of the unique communication opportunities presented by the annual SVP meeting.Īlthough often marginalized by cranks and pundits, blogs and micro-blogging tools can provide excellent opportunities for scientists to engage with the public. Blogs and Twitter have become increasingly important tools for science communication, but even though many within the SVP community write, read, and otherwise make use of these platforms there seems to be a reluctance about using the tools in the setting of the annual meeting. I felt honored by the overwhelmingly positive response.Īs wonderful as my first SVP experience was, though, there was one aspect of the conference which I think can be significantly improved. Meeting so many friends, readers, and colleagues was a fantastic experience many thanks to everyone who had kind words for this blog.
Yesterday evening I returned home from the annual Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting – held this year in Pittsburgh, PA.
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