Networking on the Web

Web 2.0 is well established. Most of us are very aware of sites, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Wikipedia, which allow people to connect with each other, share content, and collaborate on projects. In recent years, many services have grown up, and some are now directed to those of us in chemistry and other sciences.

These sites will certainly be an important communication tool throughout our careers with the extreme popularity of social networking online. Facebook has over 120 million users worldwide. The ACS has established groups such as ACS, ACS Graduate Student Community and Younger Chemist Committee.

There are many networking sites with a more specific focus, including:

• LinkedIn: General professional networking
• Graduate Junction: Centered around graduate student and post-doc research
• Academia.edu: A unique interface placing students, post-docs and faculty in a tree structure by university and department
• Pronetos: An emphasis on sharing papers and online journals
• Academic Commons: Academics at liberal arts institutions
• Under the Microscope: Networking for women with the goal of encouraging young women to enter STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) career fields
• Scientists Without Borders: Global activism, connecting scientists with needs in the developing world

While it's impossible in one article to list all of the blogs that would be of interest to chemistry graduate students and post-docs, this post on Depth-First has some good insights and links to several blogs. A few sites to note include:

• Chemical blogspace: An aggregator gathering content from a large number of chemistry-focused blogs
• Sceptical Chymist: From the editors of Nature and Research
• ScienceBlogs: Home to over 60 bloggers from across scientific disciplines

Micro-blog services such as Twitter are an interesting new development with great potential. The ACS has recently established two Twitter feeds, ACSpressroom and act4chemistry. Other services allow academics to post video or audio content, including:

• SciTV: Lectures by prominent scientists
• SciVee: The innovative postercast allows you to share both a poster and your audio presentation of your research, other lectures, and demonstrations
• Open Culture: Aggregating lecture—and even whole course—podcasts from many universities

Whatever the field, there is an explosion of online resources you can use to connect with others and share information. A number of great resources have been developed for chemists, and the scope of offerings will only expand in the years to come.