01.23.08

NC Science Blogging Conference Redux: Science Blogging and Ethics

I am still recovering from my marvelous (but snowy) trip to North Carolina for the awesome Science Blogging Conference. The first session I attended was entitled Science Blogging and Ethics. I don't believe this session was recorded, like many others, but there are other discussions about it online.

Janet Stemwedel moderated the session, and the group posed some interesting questions about science and blogging ethics. Here are the points that stuck out in my mind and from my notes:

• Should science bloggers run their posts by others whom they've cited, in order to make sure they get the details correct? Some participants argued that a blog is an open conversation, not a newspaper, and thus bloggers shouldn't have to send their posts to others in order to get approval.
• On the other hand, scientists often spend time explaining details to Mainstream Media (MSM) outlets, which still get details incorrect---should science bloggers take this opportunity to make sure the details are correct?
• If you quote a blogger from their post, do you have to tell them? Should you link to them? In theory, blog posts are public domain, and can be used at whim.
• A Science Blogging Ethics Wiki was suggested for scienceblogging.com. This would he a place for best practices for science bloggers, rather than detailing a Science Blogging Code of Ethics.
• While it would be great to focus on the responsibilities of the blogger, what about the responsibility of the reader? They should be able to discern a science blog from a science journal, and react accordingly.
• Should bloggers be responsible for the ads displayed on their blogs? Are ads spam, or a way to monetize your blogging habit?

While it appears as though most of the science bloggers had shared experiences with ethics and blogging, there were a few dissenting opinions peppered here and there. Overall, I was impressed at the diversity in approach to science blogging, i.e. blogging about the life of a scientist vs. blogging a science opinion vs. blogging as one who points out science in the news and daily life. I've been a blogger for some time now and generally think of blogs as opinion pieces, and treat them as resources for people's personal experiences. I search news sources for facts, but I can see how the lines could be blurred in the world of science blogging.

Tags: blogging, ethics, science blogging, scienceblogging.com