Article: Social Networking Grows Up

At last, it seems like the value of social networking is being recognized by "the establishment." Quoting the article:

Have you ever minimized your Facebook browser window when your supervisor walked past your desk, afraid you might appear unprofessional? Social-networking guilt may soon be a thing of the past as a new breed of social networking sites for scientists clamor to be the next great timesaver in the lab--for you and your supervisor. These science-specific, Web-based networks combine handy library and
document-sharing tools with a social twist. Such sites permit scientists to "help out each other with protocols, discuss topics, prepare for scientific meetings, maybe even show off your research a little bit," says social network user Erika Gyengesi, a neuroscience postdoc at Yale University.

Sites mentioned include:

• labmeeting
• MyNetResearch
  
• Connotea
  
• ResearchGate
  
• ResearchConnect
• SmallWorlds

The article notes that no site is dominating the scene thus far, so a scientist may need to try several sites and then decide which one fits her.

Some things for a scientist to consider while using these sites are:

• Understand what you are prepared to discuss online
• Remember not to compromise your research by disclosing proprietary information
• Information about your colleagues is likely more up-to-date in a social site than elsewhere, because they can update it themselves (good for doing background research on colleagues)
• Researching colleagues publications may be go more quickly through the social sites
• You may feel more connected to your research community by using these sites
  

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Technorati tag: Social Networking Tools