 Hello, welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining our virtual IGU short course about science blogging for beginners. If you are here, you are probably interested in communicating science and in writing a blog post about science. Our webinar will take 30 to 40 minutes. If you don't have the time to watch the video, you can also access the slide through the link below in the YouTube description. Also other useful links that will be presented in the short course, and you cannot click in the video, you can access in this description. Before we start with the content of the course, we want to shortly present ourselves. We are all early career scientists who are involved in IGU division blogs. Me, Clara, and Violin, we are involved in the IGU cryosphere blog. Valeria is the main editor of the IGU natural hazards blog, and Eleonora is the main editor of the IGU tectonics and structural geology blog. Eleonora cannot join us today, unfortunately, but she was strongly involved in preparing the content for this short course. As I already said, we are not fully, we're not working 100% on the blog. This is something we do on the side of scientific research. But this is maybe not the main interest of this course. What you're interested in is more what we're going to do. So in the next 30 to 40 minutes, we want to share with you some experience we had in running the science of the IGU division blogs to help you draft a blog post. We will start with thinking about the motivation behind writing a blog post and the topic you want to share. Then we will think about is there a best moment to write a blog post and where to publish your post? Do you want to do it on a personal blog or join a collaborative blogging platform? Then also you will have to think about who you want to reach with this blog post. And finally, a big chunk of the short course will be about actually writing a blog post. This was supposed to be a participatory short course at IGU. Now it's a pre-recorded webinar, but we still encourage you to actively participate. And to do so, we have prepared some practical exercises that you can do throughout the webinar, where whenever you found the symbol shown here. You can then pause the video to work on these exercises. And if you have done them all, at the end of the webinar, you will have a draft for your own blog post. Please take your time, do it at your own pace if you think some exercises are not interesting to you. Then just don't do them. If you have a draft at the end, you can send us the draft for feedback and we can help you get it published on the IGU division blogs if you're interested. If you're not interested at all in the practical part, just watch the webinar without breaks and it will give you some inspiration. So let's start about thinking about your blog post. And the first thing you should ask yourself is why do you want to blog? So think about your aim. It could be advertise your own research to your peers. Or you want to share your research or science in general with more than just your peers, a larger audience. Or you want to get a new perspective on an interesting subject and you want to share this as well to other people. Or you want to network because writing a blog post will make yourself visible to the rest of the community or even a larger public. And you will get to know other bloggers. And finally, the aim probably behind all of these is also communicating about science is interesting to you. Now comes directly our first exercise where you can think about the reason why you decided to follow this webinar. Why are you interested in science blogging? What would you like to achieve by writing a blog post? What is your aim today? Once you have your aim, you can also think about the topic very rapidly because often it is very closely related to your aim. For example, if you wanted to share your research with other people, then topic will be your own research. Then, of course, you have to think about what parts of your own research you want to share. Maybe also you want to write about a particularly interesting publication. Or you just want to, if your aim was to share about science in general, you could write about basic scientific principles or scientific fun facts. And finally, you can also share experiences from your life as a scientist, such as field work or career advices or advices for mental health. Here again, take a bit of your time to think about the topic. Do you already have a topic in mind? If not, take some minutes to think of a topic you want to write about today. Now that you have your aim and your topic, let's think about when should you start to write. There is not really a rule about this. We would advise just write when you feel inspired and motivated, and of course, if you have time. Otherwise, there are not really limits. You can write a blog post from the beginning to the end of your scientific career. You can write about your research in the beginning, so the motivation behind it or when the publication is ready. There we would advise to write when the publication is ready because then the results are peer reviewed, but that's up to you. And then of course, it's also nice to share about a particular field campaign or experience. So it also depends on the aim and the topic when you want to write. Also, the publishing is a matter of timing. Usually just publish after having gotten feedback that improved your piece, but if your topic fits the current news context very well, you can also try to aim for this timely way of publishing. For example, I'm in the ETU cryosphere blog and I'm a CI scientist, and every year in September, the Arctic CI reaches its minimum extent, and then it's kind of natural to write a blog post about CI's at that point. Okay, and so now you approximately know what you want to write about and when. Now is, you also need the question of where. Because you can either publish on a personal blog or on a collaborative blog. The advantages of a personal blog is that you have complete freedom because it's your own. It will reflect your main interest and it will be advertisement for your person, so it will be all about you. But of course you have to keep in mind that it is also very time consuming because you will have to take care of the website, take care of the structure, do everything by yourself. While if you join a collaborative blog, the structure will be there already. You will have a platform to network, discuss, and have feedback on your pieces. You will have more visibility from the start because maybe the blog is already famous or reaches already a lot of people. You have to invest less time because even if you want to post regularly, you can do so with much more time because other people would post as well. But keep in mind also here that this is a team effort and that not everything will go after what you want. So conflicts may originate. In this webinar, we will go through principles that are applicable to both structures, but keep in mind that we might be a bit biased towards a collaborative blog because that's our background. And now we also want to quickly present to you the EGU division blogs because we have been mentioning them several times already and you might not know exactly what we're talking about. So they are what we call a collaborative blog platform. EGU provides a possibility for each division to have a blog and what you can see here are the divisions who already have blogs. And these blogs are run by volunteers, often early career scientists. And although the publishing platform is provided by EGU, you still have much freedom for the content as long as the chief editors check it. It is based on a few regular contributors but they also have scientific research to do so they are very happy if guest authors take up the task of publishing blog posts once in a while as well. If you are very interested about the EGU division blogs, we also have a display in another session where you can see some statistics about the audience and the posting ratio of some of the EGU division blogs. As an exercise here, we invite you to navigate the EGU blog universe to find inspiration and maybe a blog that you feel your topic could fit in if you want to go for collaborative option. And now I give to Valeria who will continue. All right. And after I've thought about the aim, the topic and when and where you wanna publish, something important to keep in mind is who do you want your blog to be read by? Who can you help the most with what you want to write? So your target audience. And that could be the broader community of peers if you want to maybe blog about your main research topic or something very specific. That can be of interest for your community but also the general public if you want to blog of science in general or some basic principles that you would like to explain. Or why not the specific group or community? Let's take an example of an earthquake that happens in a specific region of the planet. And you are an earthquake as a researcher so you are a seismologist. And you would like to explain a little bit better what happens, what happened there and what are the basics behind like earthquake hazard. So you may want to address this topic for exactly a specific community in that region. But if it's not only important for you to know what is your target audience, it is important as well to know how to be found by your target audience. An easy way to find blog posts is generally to browse the internet and use keywords. And keep in mind as keywords because they will come later again when we talk more about how to structure blog posts. So what are readers potentially looking for? So what are the most topics or the most research questions on internet? So depending once again on your target audience with your peers, maybe you want to check out the research gate a question area for maybe hot questions around your discipline. While if you want to target the more general public, why not check out what is asked on Quora, for example? Still related to your discipline or your field. And another important point is definitely the language that you decide to use in your blog post, English or your mother tongue of course, if that is different from English. And this will depend on your aim, on your topic, on your target audience, as well as the blog style. For example, the EGU division blogs, we all write in English more generally, actually always. So you have chosen a topic you would like to write about by now and who do you want your posts to be read by? Just think about it as this exercise. And if it's not only important who is going to read your blog or your blog post, it's also important who is going to understand you, jargon. Let's talk a little bit about jargon because it's very important. So jargon is any word or phrase that we use in our particular field or profession that loses or completely changes the meaning when you use it with the people outside your field. Some examples, dating. So if you are a geoscientist, for you dating is probably determining the age of your sample, maybe your rock sample. But more commonly, this is the initial stage of a romantic relationship. So careful. Or stress. Generally, it's a mental or an emotional strain. But scientifically, it can mean a pressure, tension, or exerted on an object. And what about bar? I mean, this is the unit of measure of atmospheric pressure, but don't you usually go there for having drinks as well? So why don't you think about one word in your field that may be misinterpreted or not understandable to the general public and try to find a more accessible alternative? So try really to use a specialized language only for a specialized audience. Replace jargon when possible with a simple explanation of the concept or the process. And if you can't avoid to use jargon, please make sure that you accompany that word with a simple example. But at the same time, do not talk down your audience. They are still knowledgeable people. So using the same jargon word that you choose in the previous exercise, now try to substitute it with the simple explanation of the concept behind it. And now we go towards the structure of an actual blog post with BOLAN. Okay, so now that you have chosen both the topic and the target audience of your future blog post, the next step is to define how you want to present your content to the reader or more specifically define the format of your future blog post. So in the next few slides to help you do that, we will show you some examples of typical formats that can be used for a blog post. So a first option if you decide to write a blog is to write what we call here a quick and short post. And we show you an example of it in this video here. So typically in this short post, you won't have any detailed explanations of the scientific processes that they are addressed. And that will make this short post very quick and easy to read, which means that they will typically target a quite general audience. And also this short post can be very photographic. For example, focusing on one central figure or picture as in our example here. Another option is to write a long and more detailed post as in our second example here. And the idea here is to tackle the subject more in depth and really take the time to explain the concepts and the scientific processes that are related to that subject. Which means that these longer posts can be a little bit more specific and maybe harder to follow if you're not from that specific field of study. Which means that they might be addressing an audience which is a little bit more specialized. You could also decide as in our third example to interview a person of interest and then to transcribe the questions and answers of that interview in a nice way within an interview post. And the big advantage of these interview posts is that they will be very personal and then easy to read and follow. And finally, the last example that we are going to show you is opinion pieces. Such as the SASE scientists post from the Geodynamics Division blogs. So typically the opinion pieces are very subjective posts that leave room for humor or even sarcasm if you want to. So now we propose you to post the video and browse through the EGU blogs for inspiration and try to choose a format that would work well both with your topic but also the audience that you are aiming for. So I've just shown you different formats that can be used for a blog post but you might have noticed that actually there are all based on the same very basic principles that we call here the main pillars behind every good blog post. And these main pillars are a good storyline, a catchy title, a hooking introduction, a fluent main body and nice pictures and layout. So what we propose you to do here is to grab a pen or maybe more grab your keyboard if you prefer and actually start writing your own blog post. So if you've never written any blog post before or even if you have but that you don't feel very comfortable with it, don't worry because we are going to guide you through each of these main pillars and give you some tips along the way. And also note that we have chosen to organize these pillars in a specific order which is of course subjective. And so feel free to adapt it according to what feels right to you. Now before we get started, let me give you a first tip which is don't be afraid that your blog post is not perfect. Keep in mind that you are only making your first draft here and that the most important thing is to get started and then let the blog editors help you over the line if you decide to submit your draft to our team after watching this short course. So now let's start writing. So if you want your blog post to be fluent and easy to read which is a very good thing for a blog post, a first important step is to try to define a good story for your blog post, meaning to decide how you are going to organize your ideas. So try to outline what you are going to write in your post and a good tip for that could be to ask yourself some questions. For example, what is the key message or information that you want to transmit to the reader? Or why should the reader be interested in that specific topic? Or again, what is the information that is needed to transmit your key message in an efficient way? Or what are the implications for the reader or even for the future? So again, keep in mind that according to the format or the audience that you've chosen for your post, you might want to limit the number of questions that you are going to cover in your post and maybe focus only on one or two of these examples of questions here. So now the next step is to try to organize your answers to these questions in a logical order. And that logical order will make what we call here the structure of your blog post. So here to give you some inspiration, we show you an example of a blog post with a very well thought structure. And so in that blog post, which is called The Journey of a Snowflake, the author wants to explain us the formation of snowflakes. And so to do that, she will start by explaining us what exactly is snow. And then she will tell us the journey of a snowflake by going from waiter vapor to ice crystals and then from ice crystals to snowflakes. And finally, from snowflakes to building a snowman. So a good tip that you could get also from watching these examples here is that you could use these questions or even the answers to these questions as subheadings to guide your reader through the reading your post. So now go ahead and try to list all the questions that you want to answer to in your post and will it point them in a logical order to try to build the structure of your post. So now a next important step in writing and drafting your blog post is to write a catchy title. So your headline is quite an important element of your blog post because it will really influence whether the reader wants to read the rest of your post or not. So a good headline could really make all the difference. So we know that you haven't started writing your blog post yet, but we think that having a working title in mind while writing your post is a good thing because it can provide you with a sense of direction as you write. And of course, once you finish drafting your blog post, feel free to change and adapt your title into something that maybe provides a more accurate description of your final content. So now how to draft a catchy title. So try to craft a headline that will accurately represent your post without sounding boring. Also try not to be too long and maybe to limit yourself to six to eight words or around 140 characters. So this is what is considered to be optimal for a good headline. And finally, and maybe most importantly, try to be catchy. And to do that, you can, for example, use puns or famous references or you could even ask questions directly to the reader. For example, did you know that? So here to give you some inspiration, we show you examples of headlines that were used within the EGU division blocks. So now what about you? So what could be a catchy title for your post? And what I propose you to do now is to try a few headlines and show them maybe to your friends and family to figure out whether these headlines would make them want to read the rest of your post or not. Next, another very important element of a good blog post is to have a good and hooking introduction. So again, we give you some tips here. So try to hook people in with bold statements so they want to read the rest of your blog posts. Also try to talk about what is going to be covered in the post to give the readers a quick overview of what they are going to learn, but don't tell everything. So they still want to read more about your post. And finally, as Valeria said before, try to use good keywords in your introduction. Again, here we show you some examples of good introductions that were used in the EGU blocks to help you to get some inspiration to now you draft a few sentences that will introduce the reader to your subject, but without revealing all of it. And now for the following, I will give the flow back to Valeria. All right, so you have maybe a catching title by now, maybe a short introduction. What about the rest of the post? So what you want to do now is create a good flow in the main body. So you may have convinced your reader to start reading, but now you have to keep their attention up until the end. So try to guide really your reader through your text by removing any possible obstacles. Some of these obstacles may be scientific jargon, and we already talked about it before. But also try really to transition in a fluent way between paragraphs. And don't be too long. I really try to avoid big rules of text. They are scary for readers, especially online. So try to use short paragraphs, 68 lines, and not long sentences. Usually 15 words work best. And very importantly, by the end of your blog post, deliver what you promised in your introduction, not something else. And you may deviate a little bit in their main body, but try not to go too far from your main subject. That could be the subject of another blog post later on. Don't really try to stick to what you want to deliver in the introduction until the end. So an example of connecting fluently paragraphs is from this blog post on the Dectonic and Structural Science Division blog. Let's read it together. So for centuries, Civita has been fighting against the natural degradation of the cliff, with your Korean landslides slowly taking down the edges of the plateau. The top of the plateau consists of a 20 meter thick layer of consolidated rock formed from a can cache. Yeah, you may say that, well, I don't really see why it doesn't work. Well, it may work, but definitely the two paragraphs are not fluently connected one to the other. If we add just a little more general introduction to the second paragraph, it reads much better. For centuries, Civita has been fighting against the natural degradation of the cliff, with recurring landslides slowly taking down the edges of the plateau. The geology of the plateau explains why this town is so prone to landslides. The top of the plateau consists of a 20 meter thick layer of consolidated rock formed from a can cache. Don't you think it reads much better? I think so. So try now to write individual paragraphs following your predefined story, so introduction, and try to make sure that there is a good reading flow until the end. And once you have done all that, you may go back and look at the layout of your blog post and make it pretty, because also the layout plays a big, big role in convincing your readers to stay from start until the end. For example, keep in mind that out there, there are quick readers. They want to pick keywords or key concepts and have them very visible in your main text, so that they don't have to read all of it if they don't want to. So make sure that your introduction stands out. As we said, you can use sub-eaters or in different font color or using bold and italic, or in the middle of the text if you want to maybe underline a specific word or concept. Please try to leave enough space, enough white space between the different paragraphs and around images is also at the highest not to get too tired. And use quotes to break the text. So again, with maybe main concepts, so that they are catchy and readers can easily find out. And another very important part of a blog post are images within it. And that accompany your text and sometimes gives the plus to the content of the post. So try always to choose a header image and make sure that it stands out. That's also very important for later advertising your post. For example, on social media. But what's really important and we would like to stress out always credit the images you use. Don't steal them. Check the copyright and of both photos and scientific figures and make sure that you are allowed to use them. And again, credit the owners. There are, of course, sources of free images. For example, here we show some website. And in this presentation, all the images came from Unsplash or Pixabay, unless otherwise credited. Other sources of free images are, for example, national organization like NASA or ESA. And to wrap up on the layout and make it pretty, let's go for two examples of the same blog post. In the first case, the left side. Not much layout thing was used. So the text is all the same size font. The same font size. There is no bold or no italic. There is no quotes standing out. So it's pretty heavy. Also, the white spaces are not that many. The paragraphs are really long and dense. Let's see what happens when we add some tabeddings. Or we use a little bit of a bold to highlight the introduction. We also break the paragraphs a little bit more. Definitely, this will read much more easier and won't tire your reader eyes. So now you have a text ready, maybe a draft. And the content is great. But what about the layout? So let's make it attractive. So now head images, figures, try to use different fonts, play a little bit around with spaces, and white spaces as well. And make the structure as clear and as attractive possible. And now we pass the ball again to Clara for the last part. So now we're approaching the end. Ideally, your blog post is ready, finished, looks nice. And it is time to publish. You have already decided before where you want to publish. So you publish it through your preferred outlet. Hopefully, you have gotten a bit of feedback before so that you are happy with what you publish. And now comes the time that you want it to be read. So it's time to share it. You can share it with your friends, your colleagues, your family, with other people as well. But of course, you want to reach a larger audience because you spend a lot of time writing this blog post and you think it is interesting what it contains. So you can reach also your target audience via email if you know some lists, for example, where people would be interested, but also on social media. Each social media has a different way of highlighting content. So keep in mind how you want to present it. But what they all have in common is that additionally to a catchy title, you want to write a short teaser of one to two sentences to get the people to click on the link to the post. To do so, you can hook the reader with an analogy or a connection to current events or emotions. You have to, as the word hook says, you have to get the reader with your teaser and your title so that the reader will click on the link and read what you have spent so much time and effort on. You can also use appealing keywords, as Valeria already mentioned before. Hashtags are used in several social media platforms. And again here, either a header picture or if you for any reason did not use a header picture, another picture to increase the visibility. Always remember what you would find interesting to click on because this is also what other people might be interested in. And as a closing exercise, think about one platform you would like to share your post on. Think about what content this platform is specialized on. Write a short teaser to accompany your link and find a fitting picture if you're not happy with your header picture, for example. So that's it. We hope that you have learned a lot. We had a lot of fun preparing this short course and we hope to hear your feedback or to read your drafts. We hope you enjoyed it. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any question, if you're interested in joining a blog team. If you do not know where to start, but you really like to do some science blogging, do not hesitate to contact us. The worst is that we don't answer you, but I don't think we're there. We are motivated. We want you to communicate your science. If you have done all the practical exercises, send us your draft and we'll try to give you feedback in the next weeks, depending on how many drafts we get. We can also help you to get it published on one of the EGO division blogs. If you're interested, if you don't have your personal blog and you can find the email to which to send it here. This will reach all of us here. Again, if you're interested in the links we had in the presentation, you can find them in the future description below or in the slides, who are also linked below. Thank you very much. Looking forward to your drafts.