TAG - Geological Society of Australia

Society UpdateEducation&OutreachThe 34th International Geological Congress (IGC) is longover and Earth Science Week has come and gone.Geoscience oriented documentaries have had their run ontelevision and we are not far off winding up business for theChristmas holidays. Does that mean outreach activities are doneand dusted for the year? I guess for many of us it is a resounding“yes” but as I said in my last column we ignore the 24/7 world ofsocial media at our peril.Perhaps it is just a sign of the times. No sooner had the inkdried on the last issue of TAG than the power of social media waswrit large in the conventional media as it documented theinfluence social media can have on the future of controversial radiopersonalities, high-profile politicians and sporting heroes. Now, asI write this column, we see six Italian scientists found guilty ofmanslaughter — further highlighting the power of words and theperils of the public communication of science.We know public support for science is crucial but a public poorlyeducated in the ways of science, the language of science and thelimitations of science is in danger of elevating the statements madeby scientists to heights they are not worthy of. On the other hand,some scientists use words and phrases in the public domain thatare ill-considered or are easily misinterpreted or misunderstood.Irrespective of the reasons for the Italian court’s decision it highlightsa dilemma for those of us engaged in the public communicationof science, whether in mainstream media or social media.No doubt some will be scared off ever talking to the media again.The reality is, though, that many scientists and the media teamsthat support them need media of all kinds to tell the public abouttheir research and to rally that vital public support.Is there a way forward? Thesimple answer is yes, although with aback-to-the-future caveat. With therise of the desktop computer, dubiousspell-checking software, ever-shorter deadlines and the ‘do-morewith-less’funding imperatives from governments,business andother agencies has come a concomitant decline in the externalreview process and editing of documents destined for publicconsumption. Social media, with its ability to reach millions themoment a comment is ‘published’ just makes this situation worse.However, the way forward is easy to see: simply don’t publishanything without an internal or external review and always makesure the penultimate product is competently edited. This all meansthe final publication is as good as it can possibly be, as accurateas it can possibly be and as beyond misunderstanding as it canpossibly be.This does not mean we have to sanitise all comments to thepoint of being meaningless. It just means we need to adjust ourwork program, our business model and our expectations to alloweveryone in the public communications chain enough time todigest what is being said — and reflect on whether it is appropriateand if it can be said any better. A picture may be worth a thousandwords but time to reflect, review and edit can take that thousandwords and shape them into a 500-word masterpiece.GREG McNAMARAGeoscience Education and Outreach ServicesSend all comments to Greg McNamara atoutreach@gsa.org.au14 |TAG December 2012