Bubbles in the Bathtub

The internet is abuzz with lots of new social networking and user-generated content sites and tools. Think wikipedia, digg.com, twitter, MySpace, YouTube and a multitude of similar sites. While user-generated content sites like wikipedia have obvious benefits (for example, a wikipedia page usually comes out at the top of almost every web search I run now and it's scary how often the articles contain exactly the information I am looking for), the same is not necessarily apparent of social-networking sites. However, just as with press releases, participation in social networking sites can be an effective means to reach new audiences with your message. In this case, the conservation of sea turtles and their habitats. In the end, the most effective thing we can do to conserve sea turtles is to educate the public. Currently most sea turtle information goes in to niche publications. Imagine the impact you could have getting the "sea turtle message" in front of a million eyeballs at a popular social networking site loaded with people that would otherwise never hear about sea turtles.

So, let's try a little experiment. A story came out yesterday in reference to a new publication by Annette Broderick et al. This story was dugg by a user at digg.com.

Visit the digg post and add your vote.

If we can push the number of diggs up high enough the story will show up on the digg home page and may be featured in their weekly podcast (not for the faint of heart, but with a whole other untapped audience).

Let's put the digg effect in play for sea turtles.

Posted by Michael Coyne at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hilarious story from the Motley Fool poking fun at Comedy Central and the Colbert Report for not financially supporting "Stephanie Colburtle" in the Great Turtle Race, the only turtle out of twelve that does not have a financial sponsor.

:)

To be fair, they are giving a ton of free publicity to the Great Turtle Race.

Posted by Michael Coyne at 05:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK, so maybe TWiST (This Week in Sea Turtles) is not an appropriate name for our semi-occasional podcast. Particularly given the fact that we have not produced a new episode in about a year!

But never fear faithful listeners, we have heard your near silent cries. We will TWiST again! In fact we have been trying to coordinate a time all week. So far tonight seems the most likely candidate, but it will be a miracle if everyone actually ends up being available at the same time; if I don't screw up the audio; or something else doesn't get in the way. But we will try.

Given that, we'd like to hear from YOU!

• Do you have a comment to make on a past discussion?
  
• Would you like to suggest a topic for future discussion or a special guest?
  
• Do you have any questions?
  

Posted by Michael Coyne at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It would have been this week, but things have been busy...

I traveled to New Hampshire last week for a PI meeting at the Large Pelagics Research Center at UNH. Sorry, turtle related topics end here. The rest is just a rant...

No problem getting up there, but on my way back through the airport in Manchester, NH they confiscated my shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste. This despite the fact that I was able to carry it on the plane without incident on my way to the meeting. Not a big deal. There wasn't much in the bottles (and tube), maybe a couple of ounces each. The signs at the airport actually say you are allowed to carry on 3 oz of each, but apparently this is based on the size of the bottle and not the actual amount of the substance. Apparently we were under an "orange alert" for domestic and international flights, but I have no idea why. This means we are at "high risk of terrorist attacks". Right.

The real kicker came when I got home and started to unpack. I realized that I had a Swiss Army knife in my backpack that I had put in a few months before and forgotten about. This went unnoticed by the same TSA agent that confiscated my toiletries (and she was not particularly nice about it either).

So, way to go Department of Homeland Security. A job well done.

And what is my point? I guess it's that I don't mind the extra security and hoops, or I wouldn't, if I felt that they were actually effective. Current travel restrictions in the US seem arbitrary both by definition and enforcement and smack more of an agency trying to make it look like they are doing something as opposed to actually doing their jobs. What is the point of all the added inconvenience if it is so obviously ineffective?

Posted by Michael Coyne at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)