Looking Ahead to SCW18’s “How I Scicomm” Panel What does it mean to be a science communicator in 2018?

Alice Fleerackers

[***Looking Ahead to SCW18's "How I Scicomm" Panel*** ]{.s1}

[What does it mean to be a science communicator in 2018? With new apps
and social platforms emerging each year, Canada's media landscape is
rapidly transforming---as is the way we share and consume research. But
how are these changes affecting today's science communicators? What
challenges and opportunities do they present? And what are the
implications for public engagement, community building, professional
support, and ethics? ]{.s1}

[On April 12, a diverse panel of science communicators will explore
these questions and more at an event called **"**[**How I Scicomm:
Mapping the new frontiers of science communication in
Canada**]{.s2}**"**. Organized by the Scholarly Communication Lab's own
Germana Barata**,** the event is part of this year's Science Writers and
Communicators of Canada's Annual Conference and will be moderated by
SWCC President Tim Lougheed. ]{.s1}

[To find out more about this exciting event, we interviewed three of the
panelists: Instagrammer and biologist [[**Samantha "@science.sam"
Yammine**]{.s2}](https://www.instagram.com/science.sam/?hl=en), science
YouTuber [[**Kurtis
Baute**]{.s2}](https://www.youtube.com/user/ScopeofScience), and science
communication researcher [[**Germana
Barata**]{.s2}](https://www.scholcommlab.ca/people/germana-barata/)**. **]{.s1}

<figure id="attachment_505" class="wp-caption aligncenter"
aria-describedby="caption-attachment-505" style="width: 1920px">
<img
src="https://www.scholcommlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/KurtisBaute_tomatoshot.png"
class="size-full wp-image-505" loading="lazy" decoding="async"
width="1920" height="1080" />
<figcaption>Science YouTuber Kurtis Baute</figcaption>
</figure>

[**ScholCommLab: What does good science communication mean to
you?**]{.s1}

[Kurtis Baute: The key thing to me is that it needs to be engaging.
Maybe it tells a story, maybe its a spectacle, or maybe it's a sort of
puzzle---but no matter what, it has a thoughtful way of keeping people
interested until the end.]{.s1}

[Samantha Yammine: To me, quality science communication should strive to
be as inclusive, respectful, and accurate as possible. In an ideal world
it would also be a lot more discussion-based.]{.s1}

[Germana Barata: Science communication is a powerful tool to inform,
engage, and empower the public to make better decisions about topics
related to science and technology. This can include everything from
health and food consumption issues to questions about privacy and the
environment. My main concern as a science communicator has been to
provide open access to information, mainly through social media. ]{.s1}

[**SCL: Has that changed since you first started working in science?
How?**]{.s1}

[KB: Definitely. Some of my first science videos were simply me
explaining a science concept, and when I managed to do that clearly it
was useful for those who already wanted the explanation. I've learned
that to spread science to those who might not seek it out, you've gotta
be really engaging.]{.s1}

[SY: While I've always had the curiosity, patience, and privilege to
learn about science, I didn't always have the access so my passion for
inclusion hasn't changed. I do think that I've only really started
appreciating just how exclusive science communication can be until more
recent years. Further, I didn't appreciate the importance of relatable
communicators until I saw other industries have success with this more
personable approach to sharing information.]{.s1}

[GB: The main changes I've noticed recently are all related to social
media as a channel of public participation. It has impacted scholarly
communication in many ways, forcing universities and researchers to
communicate more openly and frequently with the general public.
Scientific journals have changed their centennial way of communicating
to peers by releasing papers on socially relevant topics like public
health as soon as they have received them---even before peer review
process. Finally, the paper evaluation and publication system has sped
up, allowing information to be shared faster and enriching the knowledge
building process.]{.s1}

<figure id="attachment_508" class="wp-caption aligncenter"
aria-describedby="caption-attachment-508" style="width: 1000px">
<img
src="https://www.scholcommlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/IMG_20171031_182826.jpg"
class="wp-image-508" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1000"
height="1500" />
<figcaption>Biologist and Instagrammer Samantha Yammine</figcaption>
</figure>

[**SCL: What is the biggest challenge you face as a science communicator
today?** ]{.s1}

[KB: Its hard for science videos to compete with videos of, say, a guy
sneaking hot-dogs into strangers' pockets. Social media has tailored
itself to human psychology, and most people just want to be entertained.
I've made it my mission to be entertaining while sneaking in science
messages. Sort of like hot dogs in pockets.]{.s1}

[SY: Acceptance. While I've received a ton of verbal support I'm
grateful for, it's still unfortunately difficult to be taken seriously
in an academic environment communicating through social media. On the
high level people are very understanding, but in the moment when I need
to walk through the lab or crowd of scientists taking a selfie video it
can get awkward.]{.s1}

[GB: As researchers, it can be very hard to access data about social
media, limiting our analyses and making it difficult to understand its
role in the sharing of scientific information. It's a stark contrast to
how openly these social platforms share their users' personal data with
big companies.]{.s1}

[**SCL: Who or what inspires you?** ]{.s1}

[KB: The scientist who's had the biggest influence on me is Carl Sagan;
his poetic perspective on the Universe opened my eyes to science. On the
opposite end of that inspiration-spectrum is the band OK GO. Their music
videos involve taking simple things, like treadmills, and creating a
spectacle out of them.]{.s1}

[SY: There are many fantastic Canadian science journalists and
communicators who do a great job of distilling important science topics
into their most fundamental parts, and telling stories that can have
important societal impact. I look to them to hone my storytelling
skills, and social media experts from other industries to learn more
about how to make those stories resonate on social media. I've learned a
ton by following a few key fashion bloggers, because that's an industry
that has been largely self-made by young female entrepreneurs innovating
how we communicate at scale.]{.s1}

[GB: Currently, I'm most inspired by people who are doing great science
communication work in creative and inexpensive ways, such as some of my
colleagues at this roundtable. They are a tiny part of a huge community
that is impacting thousands, sometimes millions of people through their
efforts on social media.]{.s1}

<figure id="attachment_509" class="wp-caption alignright"
aria-describedby="caption-attachment-509" style="width: 300px">
<img
src="https://www.scholcommlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Germana-Barata-PP-300x298.png"
class="wp-image-509 size-full" loading="lazy" decoding="async"
width="300" height="298" />
<figcaption>Science Communication Researcher Germana Barata</figcaption>
</figure>

[**SCL: What change do you hope to see in the future?** ]{.s1}

[KB: At least on YouTube, complicated and relatively obscure phenomena
like "Black Holes" have way more content about them than equally
interesting and more basic phenomena such as "gravity". If we only talk
about sexy science concepts like Black Holes but we don't explain core
concepts like gravity, than there is a barrier to entry that will
prevent a lot of people from learning any actual science. I hope to see
that change.]{.s1}

[SY: I hope we can start emphasizing the process of science more than
the fun facts, since it's the scientific method that can be more broadly
useful in day to day activities. I also wish that we will find
compelling ways to inspire wonder in biology without a health spin,
because I think this actually does more to hurt the public's interest
than it helps. ]{.s1}

[GB: I hope to see scholars, research institutions, and universities
start to think about science communication as something valuable and
strategic, rather than simply "cool." Science should't just be about
talking to peers. It needs to involve a dialogue with society if we ever
hope to understand the demands we need to meet.]{.s1}

[**SCL: What are you most looking forward to about the panel?**]{.s1}

[KB: I'm excited to have some discussions with other science
communicators, and I'm looking forward to learning something new!]{.s1}

[SY: I can't wait to learn from my fellow panelists and to have an
opportunity to exchange philosophies and strategies in communication
media that are relatively new for science!]{.s1}

[GB: I'm hoping to better understand the challenges that come with doing
science communication on social media and how associations like SWCC and
ACS can empower people to communicate science with quality and beauty.
We have an opportunity to fight fake news and to increase public
awareness about the relevance of science, and I'm excited to see where
that will take us. ]{.s1}

[***"How I Scicomm: Mapping the new frontiers of science communication
in Canada" will take place on Thursday, April 12 from 3:30 to 4:30 pm at
the Science Theatre. For more information, visit***
[[***sciencewriters.ca***]{.s3}](http://sciencewriters.ca/)***.***
]{.s1}


<em>
 <strong>
  Looking Ahead to SCW18’s “How I Scicomm” Panel
 </strong>
</em>
What does it mean to be a science communicator in 2018? With new apps and social platforms emerging each year, Canada’s media landscape is rapidly transforming—as is the way we share and consume research. But how are these changes affecting today’s science communicators? What challenges and opportunities do they present?

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Unpacking the Social Side of Science Communication