Tools to bridge communication: Science reaching the public

Yesterday Pew published a study showing the communication and understanding gap between the public and the scientific community.  As we face many critical future decisions regarding our environment, there is no greater time in recent history that the general public needs to be informed and educated about the natural world they live in.  A few years back I was in Duluth Minn. for the yearly Society for Conservation Biology meeting .  Like most of these meetings many of the topics centered around the public communication.  We have all these findings, now how do we communicate them beyond the choir.  Many of the closing workshops rehashed communication skills and press release writing styles, as well as the standard "public outreach" solutions.  Many of the scientists I talked to were pretty skeptical that the divide we all knew existed with the public could ever be bridged.

Fast forward to today, and we now have tools we never imagined would exist.  Twitter , Facebook , Youtube , and blogs have turned each of our offices into press briefing rooms and communication studios.  In fact the regular outlet scientists have relied on for decades, the press, is still trying to play catch-up as print media outlets fold everyday.  Now we not only have a way to get our papers, studies and critical findings to the public, we also have a way to receive instant feedback.  We can engage in conversations all over the world.  With the new search tools we can now find the conversation happening about the subjects in our field and add our input, correct false assumptions and bridge the gap.  Are these tools and the social media phenomenon a cure all? No. But they are a far better tools than the regular press release and email blast.  If you are a scientist and you are not using these tools, the world is waiting.  They are talking and waiting for you to engage.