August 26, 2012

Eight is eternity

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

After some years on Usenet newsgroups, commenting on other people's blogs, writing diaries on campaign blogs and places like DailyKos, I finally started my own first blog on this date in 2004. Compared to a bunch of my friends, eight years of blogging makes me a relative new-comer. But I understand how eight years might seem like eternity to those who just started.

Eight years is sufficient time for a blog (and blogger) to undergo quite a lot of changes. I started out writing about politics. Moved to science later. Now I split my time about halfway between science communication (and other thoughts on the media) and science itself. My blog split into three blogs in early 2005, then re-fused back into a single blog - and got a new name, "A Blog Around The Clock" - in June of 2006, when I joined Scienceblogs.com. After #PepsiGate in summer 2010, I moved the blog to Wordpress, and, once we launched here at Scientific American, the blog moved here as well. And while this is still my personal blog for my own musings, I tend to spend much more time managing the network, editing posts for Guest Blog, Expeditions and The SA Incubator, and using other outlets, online and offline, to promote science, science communication, and more.

Blogging did a lot for me - I now have a big online and offline community, lots of friends, invitations to travel, and I got two jobs (including this one) directly due to my blogging. I still do not understand exactly why - I never suffered from Impostor Syndrome during my ten years in research, but have it badly as a writer, blogger and editor. Still bewildered that people take time to read my 40,000-word screeds! But thank you all for doing it, for whatever reason you do. And thank you for supporting me all these years - it's now time for payback (or is that 'pay-forward'), welcoming new people to the community, promoting new bloggers and writers, helping other people succeed. I have no intention of ever stopping, so please come by every now and then and say Hello.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American