The blogosphere is a colourful world full of opportunity. Blogs provide scientists with the chance to share the wonder of their research with new audiences beyond the environs of their particular scientific communities. The blog network also creates a forum for the discussion of new scientific research and of the issues of the day facing the scientific community
The cosmologist Mark Trodden is one of the scientists to grab this opportunity, through his regular contributions to Cosmic Variance, a blog hosted by Discover magazine. In this audio interview with Physics World, Trodden talks about how his urge to start blogging was triggered by a long-standing interest in politics.
Trodden – who by day works at the University of Pennsylvania – shares his thoughts on what he believes is the key to a successful blog. He talks about how he draws his inspiration for new blog entries and the need to regularly produce new blog articles in order to generate a buzz. Trodden also addresses some of the challenges facing bloggers, such as moderating reader comments to generate productive discussions.
