Playing around with communication

Sarah: Most of the time, I write about science.

But I also like to dabble in other bits and pieces as well.

For example, recently I’ve written about fashion, long distance running and twitcher tourism.

From a broader perspective, I’ve also been playing around with making micro-movies using Vine and Vinyet.

In the kitchen I’ve shown the process of putting together an omelette, making moustache biscuits and constructing an easy ice-cream cake.

At the South Australian Museum I’ve recorded a giant squid and compiled skeletons. At the Adelaide Zoo, I captured a panda…ACTUALLY MOVING.

With just a few minutes planning, you can easily use these tools to share your experiences and even tell stories. Each time I capture footage, I perform a very quick analysis of the following points:

• Visual appeal: what’s going to make this look good?
• Structure: what’s the beginning, middle and end of each mini-film?
• Audience: who might view and like this?
• Marketing: how should I send this out, and tag it?

Playing around with communication skills is really so easy with a mobile phone.

[image thanks to David Guyler]

Bloggy birthday: celebrating 3 years in 2015

Sarah: It’s my bloggy birthday!

It’s now 3 years since I had the crazy idea of blogging about the science in my life every single day starting in National Science Week 2012, and ending in National Science Week 2013.

It was a most excellent experience in more ways than one.

Although I have dropped my post frequency to once a week now, it’s still a project I love doing and plan to continue into the future.

It’s fantastic that National Science Week consists not only of actual live physical events around Australia, but also a range of online and digital activities for all to enjoy.

This year the WeAreBrisbane and WeAreAdelaide curated twitter accounts will feature a new scientist every day for the week 16-23 August.

Living in South Australia, I’m taking the reigns for WeAreAdelaide on Tuesday 18th August, but check out these other peeps too:

Monday = @emilybuddle

Tuesday = @sciencesarah

Wednesday = @Jo_Sund

Thursday = @NobyLeong

Friday = @hixson_josh

Saturday = @Ivalaine

Sunday = @dabeattie99

Just follow WeAreAdelaide to interact with each scientist over the week, and follow individual accounts to keep the conversations going for longer.

Enjoy National Science Week 2015 – but remember that science happens and can be applied every day of every year. Science is for life!

[image from here]

Adventures in winter

Sarah: It can be tough to get through winter with your body and mind in good shape.

Dark mornings, wind and rain, layers of clothing and too much calorie-laden food usually conspire to dampen my mood over Australia’s June, July and August.

But this year I’m finding it easier.

I’ve become adventurous, and joined a trail running group.

Every Wednesday I’m taken on a guided tour of sorts through Adelaide’s hills and dales. There’s a bit of jogging, but not always. We climb up rocks, we scale slippery slopes, we balance over logs and streams. We see kangaroos and small marsupials, we hear birds and we enjoy spectacular views over our city.

Now I’m getting more confident, I’m starting to hit the trails on my own when I have spare time. I feel like a kid, brave and strong.

I snap photos, I look around, I take my time. If I want company, I rely on my favourite podcasters to natter away in my ear (RadioLab, So You Want To Be a Writer, and Science Vs most of the time ).

Winter’s not so bad with adventures.