Until Feb 14 Nature Network has been established for 2 years. Not long after its opening I joined and published my first post on a May Monday in 2007. Before that I had been blogging in English on Blogger.com, first on topics my English level could afford, then on chemistry. My only purpose to blog then was to practice my English, like most of the Chinese young students were and are doing. However, after joining here my thought on many things on science became rich. I had questions much more than English grammar.

Blogging in Nature Network

I essentially blogged on research papers I found interesting before joining Nature Network, where as there are few research blogging posts in the beginning of the archives in this blog, because when suddenly confronted with a global and stable network of scientists, I automatically shifted myself as a talker from this particular country, China. Before, I was simply confined in a strange country and had no idea about the unreasonable things going on there. I thought people in this Network could tell me whether things were similar in their country, and help me distinguish abnormal things from normal ones in China.

This was only my first feeling, though; it disappeared soon. I unexpectedly found the comments on my blog posts not that unexpected. The confidence on my own judge quickly strengthened. In fact many issues in China are just so simply unreasonable that one doesn’t need any comparison with others to form his/her judgment, while the reasons for these unreasonable happenings — they do exist — were too complex and too vague to address in paragraphs. Therefore “sociology” is not a proper topic.

Then I returned to research blogging for a while, but didn’t last long. Attentions to research findings are highly specific. Even for some works that are really interesting for a vaster audience, replies from laymen can hardly be longer than “Interesting! Thank you!” When I only knew to judge the value of a blog by number of comments, I concluded for one time that research blogging was not a proper topic, either.

So what was left? — Occasional posts on very casual topic, with no attention to grammar.

Blogging in ScienceNet Blogs

It was things outside Nature Network that provided me many lessons I’ve learned.

I somewhat slipped back to Chinese language environment after I found the ScienceNet Blogs (here is an English introduction to ScienceNet.cn) had something more than just a poor looking BSP. By actively inviting famous Chinese professors, it created a platform for debates on many academic and social issues, with depth and accuracy that was only possible among scientists. Unlike those on Nature Network, discussions on ScienceNet.cn have touched many of the most serious and sensitive issue in China.

I have been updating very frequently since I joined ScienceNet.cn Blogs. I gradually found myself capable of writing good critiques on such vast topics as science literacy, peer review, pseudosciences, brain drain, the standard of professsorship, etc., which was never tried on Nature Network due probably to language limitation. I even quarreled with other professors there. The comments/posts ratio of my blog there is 3.84.

Blogging as a junior science writer

Now, when I occasionally talk with others about my contact with some editors with others, people often show surprise as they thought I was something.

Indeed I once thought I wouldn’t have any relationship with editors as I’m not a writer at all; I wouldn’t make a living by writing. However after I finished Master and started my Ph.D. period I decided to cut the economic support from my family. I had to found more money than the student’s allowance. I posted a resume on my blog on ScienceNet.cn where I listed some articles in my early blogs and asked for part-time position from the readers. Immediately there were many replies both from comments and from emails, offering translation or articles. Finally I chose to work for ScienceNet.cn as a part-time translator.

Recently, I became a column writer of the Chinese version of the Italy based Focus magazine. I was asked to do what I seem to be good at, deriving interesting gossips from original research.

Then I finally relied on research blogging, which, ironically, I had once concluded negatively before. I started to recognize that whereas it might not provoke many comments, research blogging can be quite readable. This recognition strengthened after I knew ResearchBlogging.org one day, from a post of a science blog I subscribed. In my own field of study, or even in the general field of chemistry, I can go through hundreds of titles in my RSS feed of journal articles without difficulty, only to pick out a few really interesting papers. But outside my familiar field where I also wish to read something interesting, I simply can’t do the same thing. And this is exactly why research blogging is desired and I was asked to ‘blog’ a column in a magazine.

In the near future I am going to blog more about research than the monthly 700-character column task. Since ResearchBlogging.org doesn’t currently support Chinese, I will do my research blogging here. And I have tried to seek the possibility that ResearchBlogging.org also cooperated with ScienceNet.cn to include Chinese science blogs. Let’s see.