This post is copied from one I wrote in 2013, two months into graduate school at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Completing my Masters there was an absolute dream. It was also some of my earliest exposure to the idea of science communication – that the science itself is far less meaning if it only ends up published in academic journals. This was a precursor to the much more important idea, that the impacts on and by humans in all of these sciences was a far more important factor. And later, in grad school my second time around, that that the idea of a wilderness and science separate from humans is a tool of settler colonialism – one used to enforce the idea that North America was a vast pristine wilderness, devoid of human inhabitants, ripe for the settling by foreign colonial powers. (If you’re not following the connection, we’ll get there in some later posts).

Marine biology is also a facet of my life that I left suddenly (after the death of my dad, and other events), and that I long for restoring some balance in. For now, enjoy this post from Oct 13, 2013 – The 5 Coolest Things I Learned at ScienceOnline: Oceans!

It’s Sunday afternoon, and I just returned home from the first ever ScienceOnline Oceans conference. It also happened to be my first ever marine biology conference, having entered graduate school a mere two months ago. The conference, organized by ScienceOnline Executive Director Karen Traphagen and University of Miami’s PhD candidate/shark conservationist extraordinaire David Shiffman, brought together marine scientists, science communicators, filmmakers, journalists, students, bloggers, and other ocean nerdy types for a weekend of discussion, learning, networking, and a hell of a lot of tweeting. 

(You can read more about the conference here. http://oceans.scienceonline.com/what-is-scienceonline-oceans/ )

The result: the best, most mind-blowingly awesome educational conversational inspirational conservational crustaceanal (teehee) experience ever! Yes, I’m a newb in this world, and maybe it was just a first-conference high, but I’m pretty blown away, and it seemed like others were as well.

Here are the top things I learned: 

1. Holy schmoly, communicating cool science is where it’s at! 

Hardcore science is great, and with research and publication being standard metrics of much of our educational and professional success, it can be easy to lose track of the importance of sharing ideas, inspiring curiosity, and facilitating discussion. This weekend reminded that half of the fun of learning “stuff” through science, is sharing it with others! 

What’s the fun of discovering a new funny-looking ocean species without seeing memes of it travel around the internet? What’s cool about research on echinoderm digestive systems unless you can write funny and popular articles about butt-munching sea cucumbers? What’s engaging about conservation stats and figures until they used in emotional, entertaining, inspiring eco-films? 

The scientists and communicators who straddle the line between research, education, and entertainment are not only having ridiculously good times, but seem to have a pretty wide reach of net positive influence! 

2. Networking, Networking, Networking…

Only in my dreams have I gotten to spend a whole weekend bonding with a bunch of other nerds who found Magic School Bus to be a highly influential part of their childhood, or heard a roomful of dreamy sighs when asked how much we all love octopuses. In the short day and a half of contact, I met a ridiculously large amount of people with whom I will very seriously keep in touch, share ideas, learn from, and collaborate. 

3. Hanging out with people who are much cooler than you is inspiring and motivating! 

When I called my sciencey and supportive dad, mid-conference, to tell him how great it was, I told him I felt like I was “running with the big dogs”. Every person I met (every single one) is doing something more creatively, more passionately, or more challenging than me. Far from making me feel inadequate, it inspires me to think bigger, work harder, and get off my butt and do the stuff I want to do. Plus, now I have a whole bunch of new “teachers” to learn from! 

4. Twitter kind of rules. 

For years, I didn’t really understand it. I’m on Facebook and Instagram, and like those well enough, but didn’t quite get the real value of tweeting culture. Everyone seemed to be really into it, though, so I decided to make an account, download TweetDeck (great tool!!) and join the party. I got into it pretty quickly, and following the example of some other super-tweeters (@sarahkeartes @davidmanly @rebeccarhelm were great!), turned into a tweet-monster. 

Contrary to my preconceived notions, it actually allowed me to make more human connections to my peers, and made all of the conversations happening so multi-dimensional. 

To follow the conference, check out #sciooceans. There are lots of other #hashtags for session-specific conversations, which can be found here. http://sciooceans.wikispaces.com/Session+Hashtags+At-A-Glance 

5. The ocean is a topic that everyone can rally around. 

The ocean makes up 70% of the surface area of the planet, so it makes sense that in it, there’s pretty much something for everyone. The conference gave me tools and ideas for reaching the potential ocean-loving audience out there.