Egon Willighagen has done a tremendous job in setting up and running Chemical Blogspace: http://cb.openmolecules.net/ . It’s a tremendous site, not only aggregating all the blogs but also providing many services on top, such as indexing/ searching for molecules in the blogs. No Egon is moving and his involvement with Cb comes to an end.
Hi all,
some weeks ago I asked if someone was interested in helping Chemical
blogspace online. Once again, the systems needs a reset, but I have no
longer time to maintain the website. It was fun, and I know
appreciated, but it doesn’t help me.
I am pulling the plug in it, so, if you like to take over after the
four first years, and be the next Dr. Who of Cb, please let me know as
soon as possible. Otherwise, the website will go offline soon.
Thanx to all for the positive feedback I got over the years!
Egon
In the Blue Obelisk we have a tradition of people taking over from each other at irregular, unplanned intervals. It’s the heart of volunteer activity and action and is a natural healthy process. I have likened this to the Dr Who regeneration process /pmr/2009/06/06/the-doctor-who-model-of-open-source/ .
Many blogs are personal and aren’t easy to transfer, but Cb is a community resource and has many similarities to OS. It’s a significant commitment, but Egon has built much of the software and it’s a running efficient machine.
Why should anyone do it? Here are some reasons:
- Because you want to. That’s the main and possibly the only reason. You shouldn’t force it
- Because you want to add a dimension to what you already do. Blogging can be fun and addictive. It broadens the mind and teaches you new skills.
- For personal advancement. No, it won’t get you merit equivalent to scientific presentations, but it will get you noticed. And if you want a career which may not be mainstream research there’s lots of chemical and other science bloggers who are doing exciting stuff and – from personal contact – enjoying it. There is (or should be) and increasing demand in all science for people who combine the human and machine aspects of communication and personally I think blogging is a better preparation for life than 5 steps in a multistep synthesis of some little known compound with zillions of chiral centres. And in any case much of that is spent watching reactions bubbling – blogging is a way to pass the time.
- You need something to keep you busy in the Third Age. Blogging is an excellent way of avoiding Alzheimers. (I hope)
And, if you find you (or your supervisor) doesn’t like it – there is no shame in passing on.
Thanx for spreading the word!