http://seedmediagroup.com/blog en jesani@seedmediagroup.com Copyright 2010 2010-05-19T07:09:45+00:00 http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/researchblogging-receives-academic-kudos/ http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/researchblogging-receives-academic-kudos/#When:06:09:45Z ResearchBlogging is recognized as an invaluable resource for the science community. By Seed’s Joy Moore An independent analysis of ResearchBlogging.org data by researchers Paul Groth at VU University in Amsterdam and Thomas Gurney at the Rathenau Institute has shown that, at least when it comes to coverage of the chemistry literature in the blogosphere, the use of social media is starting to positively contribute to scientific discourse. Groth and Gurney presented their paper, “Studying Scientific Discourse on the Web Using Bibliometrics: A Chemistry Blogging Case Study” at the 2010 Web Science Conference, the second in a series of conferences that brings together both computer and social scientists around studying the Web as both a social and technical phenomenon. Their study comparing scientific discourse on the web to traditional scientific discourse using Researchblogging.org was well received. In particular, the attendees appreciated the fact that the effort combined both computer science and social science approaches. Additionally, their presentations sparked discussion on what Researchblogging.org and science blogs in general could be used for in terms of studying the process of science. Finally, Researchblogging.org was recognized as an invaluable resource for the science community as a way to link both traditional and new science communication. From Groth: “In our paper (Studying Scientific Discourse on the Web Using Bibliometrics: A Chemistry Blogging Case Study), we used a combination of biblometric and webometric techniques to study the relationship between blogs on chemistry and the scientific literature they cite. We found that scientific discourse on the web is more immediate and more more contextually relevant than traditional academic literature. It focuses on the non-technical implications of science using high quality science as backup. Science bloggers connect what’s current in the scientific literature to what’s impacting society and science today.” For more thoughts from Groth about Web Science & WWW, and links to his slides, see http://thinklinks.wordpress.com/2010/05/04/two-themes-from-www-2010/ 2010-05-19T06:09:45+00:00 http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/sunny-memories/ http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/sunny-memories/#When:18:20:26Z Four renowned design schools took on the task of designing products that made use of the recently invented solar dye cells. This week we’re heading to the Center for Architecture to check out the Sunny Memories exhibition that merges solar technology (specifically solar dye cells) and industrial design. Led by the EPFL+ECAL Lab, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Sunny Memories was actually a series of workshops that took place in collaboration with the University of Art and Design Lausanne (ECAL), the California College of the Arts (CCA), the Royal College of Art in London (RCA) and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle in Paris (ENSCI). Students began their projects with the following challenge: how do we use energy to record our memory, heritage and knowledge? How can we employ solar energy to preserve history, while increasing autonomy, mobility, and sustainability? Professor Michael Graëtzel of EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) is credited as the source of this solar innovation when he began to use molecules from colorants to transform the sun’s light into electricity. Inspired by photosynthesis, he developed an award-winning technology that allowed solar dye cells to take on varied shapes, colors and forms. The exhibition showcases the 28 projects that were chosen. It’s on view from May 13 - June 5 at the Center for Architecture in New York. 2010-05-10T18:20:26+00:00 http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/what-were-reading/ http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/what-were-reading/#When:19:49:04Z Our fave books this month This month, Seed editors pored over new releases that traced our modern obsession with bottled water, the birth of quantum theory, and the elusive quest for absolute silence (hmmm…). Check out the Seed reviews here. I’ve personally been reading the new book Bounce to and from work these days. It’s similar to Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers but it’s actually authored by someone that’s personally experienced the concept of success through circumstance—not talent. As he looks back at his professional career, Matthew Syed (once the number one table tennis player in Great Britain) illustrates how practice, circumstance, and perseverance contributed more to his success than innate mental strength, agility, or reflexes. The implications of this newfound power of perseverance may very well change our education system in the years to come. A book worth reading! Read the Seed review here.     2010-05-04T19:49:04+00:00 http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/design-criticism/ http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/design-criticism/#When:17:31:18Z Inaugural D-CRIT Conference - Friday, April 30. Next Friday we’re headed to the D-Crit Conference, a first-of-its-kind event held by The School of Visual Arts. Heavyweight moderators include Kurt Anderson, host of Studio 360; John Thackara, founder of Doors of Perception; and author Peter Hall. We’re particularly interested in the session on the convergence of biology and design as well as the session on design and smell by Seed friend Amelia Black. For all those that have the Friday off, the conference is free to attend - just RSVP on their site. For more info, visit D-Crit Conference 2010-04-21T17:31:18+00:00 http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/human-pop-ups/ http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/human-pop-ups/#When:19:46:58Z Event Horizon makes its debut in Manhattan As we had our lunch today in Madison Square Park - a few blocks from the Seed office - we noticed large human sculptures standing atop the buildings around the park. Yes, it was eerie but somehow really fun to start picking out how many you could see in a 2-block radius. It’s actually the Manhattan version of Event Horizon - acclaimed British sculptor Antony Gormley’s famed art installation. Gormley, a 1994 Turner Prize winner, is known for his abstractions of the human body, usually his own. If you’re in New York this summer, see if you can spot all 31 nude figures in and around Madison Square Park!   2010-04-12T19:46:58+00:00 http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/science-pillows/ http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/science-pillows/#When:16:21:55Z Getting cushy with your science textbook Textile designer Heather Lin has reproduced anatomical diagrams using eco-friendly felt for her Science Project pillows. And yes, we’ve now developed a serious case of ‘want’. We only wish she had actually labeled all the different parts of the diagrams… Via Cool Hunting 2010-04-09T16:21:55+00:00 http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/the-lego-sculptor/ http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/the-lego-sculptor/#When:20:46:07Z Lego humans - compelling, disturbing, or just amazing? The lego brick was the ubiquitous childhood toy that spawned engineers, scientists, and all those that loved to break things apart and put them together again. Nathan Sawaya (dubbed the Lego Man) recently binned the lawyer job and went back to lego, choosing to make some curious and inspired sculptures. Sawaya’s solo show is on exhibit at Agora, till the 13th April. Via New York Is he rising or falling? 2010-04-08T20:46:07+00:00 http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/mad-men-the-science-category/ http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/mad-men-the-science-category/#When:17:44:52Z Science & Tech ads from the 50’s and 60’s As I was mindlessly searching Flickr the other day, I came across an entire collection of science and tech ads from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Bustbright, an after-hours studio based in Los Angeles, has uploaded over 1200 ads culled from the science magazines of yesteryear. It’s worth checking out   New 2010-04-06T17:44:52+00:00 http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/natgeo-wins-adweeks-website-of-the-year/ http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/natgeo-wins-adweeks-website-of-the-year/#When:19:06:21Z ScienceBlogs’ Partner National Geographic.com named AdWeek’s Magazine Website of the Year. ScienceBlogs’ Partner National Geographic.com named AdWeek’s Magazine Website of the Year. AdweekMedia’s picked NationalGeographic.com “for harnessing the brand’s value through top-notch photography intertwined with robust reader interactivity.” NationalGeographic.com recently went through a redesign. From the article on AdweekMedia: The relaunch is the achievement of Rob Covey, svp of content development and design for National Geographic Digital Media. A longtime print and television artistic designer, he was brought on board in 2007 by Johns to tap the portal’s potential.  “The clear purpose of the redesign was to build a site that placed photography out front because that’s one of the strongest representations of the brand,” Covey explains. “We wanted to let the photography be the centerpiece around which we designed a branded house of all the component parts of National Geographic. And we wanted it to be representative of the magazine: clarity of design, direct and unadorned imagery, ease of navigation and based on the philosophy of the society—not to mention a ton of content.”  Yet Covey knew that the brand’s best-of-class photography wasn’t enough to drive visitors to the site.  “People are inherently interested in sharing, whether it’s our brand or another brand,” he says. “They want to see their thoughts and images, and so once you accept that fact, it’s the way to attract traffic and distribute our content.”  The strategy has paid off handsomely. In the past year, the site has more than doubled its audience to 7.3 million unique monthly visitors, per comScore. (National Geographic’s in-house estimate puts the monthly traffic much higher, at 14.5 million uniques.) Noted 2010-03-29T19:06:21+00:00 http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/headspace-on-scent-as-design1/ http://seedmediagroup.com/index.php/site/headspace-on-scent-as-design1/#When:02:57:21Z This Friday, Seed is looking forward to an unusual day. Today Friday, March 26, Parsons, MoMA, IFF, Coty, and Seed has teamed up to present Headspace: On Scent as Design. Headspace is a one-day symposium on the conception, impact, and potential applications of scent. It will be a day full of surprises, discussions, more surprises, presentations of commissioned design projects, and - of course - smells. Read an interview with the organizers on SEEDMAGAZINE.COM Read more about the program and speakers on Headspace2010.com. Logo and web design by Mike Pick. Events 2010-03-26T02:57:21+00:00