10 lessons that I've learned from developing deepseanews.com I challenge paradigms and call for a new formula for how we approach science outreach

1. Deep Sea News
deepseanews.com @deepseanews #deepsn
Lessons From Creating an
Online Outreach Empire
N
Craig R. McClain, Chief Editor DSN, @DrCraigMc

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This blog is salt of the earth, or in this case, salt of the sea. It casts back to the best traditions of popular science,
sparking curiosity and bewonderment, explaining the phenomena in comprehensible language. It’s all about
communication between the expert and an interested reader, a transfer of knowledge and ideas, sharing the passion.
-Blog Critics Magazine

3. 1. Be Strategic. Be Deliberate.
Mission Statement:
Demystifying and humanizing science in an open conversation that instills
passion, awe, and responsibility for the oceans.
Deep Sea News
1. Direct from the bench and the trench.
2. Saying things others do not.
3. Reverently irreverent.
4. Promoting ocean literacy.
5. Perspective through a plurality of voices.
6. Awareness through scrutiny, not negativity.
7. Expanding the culture of ocean science.
8. Call to Action

4. 2. Branding...Branding...Branding...
Ángel Guerraa, Ángel F. Gonzáleza, Santiago Pascuala, and Earl G. Daweb (2011). The giant squid Architeuthis: An
emblematic invertebrate that can represent concern for the conservation of marine biodiversity Biological
Conservation, 144 (7), 1989-1998 :10.1016/j.biocon.2011.04.021

5. 3. Find Your Niche & Story
Reverently irreverent. We will be true
to who we are in real life, leveraging
humor to keep the science dialogue
informal and accessible.
“This "oh-so-hip" presentation of a very interesting
phenomenon is regrettable. I stopped reading
halway [sic] through it as I couldn't take any more.
Just present the science. Tarting it up for people to
read is pointless. Such readers have no value. Too
bad, I would have liked to learn the real scinece
[sic] presented here.”

6. 4. Get Yourself A Super Team

7. 4. Get Yourself A Super Team

9. 5. Embrace the World Around You

10. 6. Network + Good Story = Viral

12. 7. Stop Taking Refuge In Our Irrelevance

13. 7. Stop Taking Refuge In Our Irrelevance
588,737
Current Population of Miami: 413,892

14. Producing something popular on the
internet is as much about passion as it is
about good content. With passion and the
right writing style, you can make any type
of science cool.
Deep Sea News

15. 8. The deficit model is dead
Stop shouting the
same information
more and more
loudly

16. 9. Create prestige for public scholarship
The
Tradi)onal
Formula
First
and
foremost
publish,
both
the
number
and
the
impact
ma5er.
Write
and
ul8mately
receive
grants
to
both
maintain
our
research
(to
produce
more
papers)
Keep
grant
funds
flowing
though
our
departments
and
universi8es.
Required
to
teach
and
mentor
students,
and
poten8ally
do
it
well.
Service
to
the
school
in
the
form
of
commi5ees.
Mentoring
to
ul8mately
increase
our
own
research
output.
The
new
outreach
demand
on
our
8me,
largely
from
outside
of
academia,
oFen
conflicts
with
the
formula.

17. 10. Stop Treating Outreach & Research as
Separate Entities.
We Need a New Formula
Outreach
Research
Outreach
Research
Deep Sea News
What if we started to create differently?
New graduate training, courses, lab cultures, and departments