Edit: This project has moved to its reddit url: http://www.reddit.com/r/FoS/
If you're wondering what I do all day (like I sometimes do), I'm often tinkering under the hood of Field of Science. More often than not it's stuff that doesn't amount to much, or stuff that no one but me is likely to notice or care about. Yesterday, however, my tinkering resulted in something that is worth sharing if only because it will give you some insight into how I think and how I see FOS as constantly evolving.
I forget how exactly, but I ended up on reddit. You'll no doubt recognize their little alien mascot. Reddit, it turns out, allows you to create your own reddit and host it on your own domain. What for? Worry about that later. What's important is it can be done, so under the hood I go. Fast forward a few hours and... fos.fieldofscience.com. Not perfect--reddit runs its ads and I still need to customize the look a bit--but functionally (once you figure out what to do with it), reddit-dot-field-of-science works like a charm.
So back to the what for? The way I see it, a community bookmarking/rating/commenting tool (which is what reddit is) could be a great way for a science tribe to collaborate and enrich itself. But it's a bit too soon for that. Our science tribe is not big enough (yet). Nevertheless, Field of Reddit is a good example of the types of projects I naturally gravitate toward (when left to my own devices). It also gives you some insight into how I imagine Field of Science. FOS is not a static website with preset round and square holes that you either fit into or you don't. Rather, FOS is an amorphous, evolving, fluid collection of tools and experiments and projects and ideas... In other words, FOS exists to serve its tribe, and what it is at any given moment is a reflection of the collective and individual needs of its tribe. So when I say FOS is evolving, I really mean it. My role is that of occasional catalyst and constant enabler.
Anyway, back to the nuts and bolts. A quick outline and some instructions before I can put this on the back burner.
If you're wondering what I do all day (like I sometimes do), I'm often tinkering under the hood of Field of Science. More often than not it's stuff that doesn't amount to much, or stuff that no one but me is likely to notice or care about. Yesterday, however, my tinkering resulted in something that is worth sharing if only because it will give you some insight into how I think and how I see FOS as constantly evolving.I forget how exactly, but I ended up on reddit. You'll no doubt recognize their little alien mascot. Reddit, it turns out, allows you to create your own reddit and host it on your own domain. What for? Worry about that later. What's important is it can be done, so under the hood I go. Fast forward a few hours and... fos.fieldofscience.com. Not perfect--reddit runs its ads and I still need to customize the look a bit--but functionally (once you figure out what to do with it), reddit-dot-field-of-science works like a charm.
So back to the what for? The way I see it, a community bookmarking/rating/commenting tool (which is what reddit is) could be a great way for a science tribe to collaborate and enrich itself. But it's a bit too soon for that. Our science tribe is not big enough (yet). Nevertheless, Field of Reddit is a good example of the types of projects I naturally gravitate toward (when left to my own devices). It also gives you some insight into how I imagine Field of Science. FOS is not a static website with preset round and square holes that you either fit into or you don't. Rather, FOS is an amorphous, evolving, fluid collection of tools and experiments and projects and ideas... In other words, FOS exists to serve its tribe, and what it is at any given moment is a reflection of the collective and individual needs of its tribe. So when I say FOS is evolving, I really mean it. My role is that of occasional catalyst and constant enabler.
Anyway, back to the nuts and bolts. A quick outline and some instructions before I can put this on the back burner.
I've set reddit fieldofscience as Restricted (anyone can view, but only contributors can submit links) for now.If you want to become a contributor, register per the instructions belowand send me your reddit username.
1. Register.
2. Create your account.
3. Install the bookmarklets.
4. Be sure to select the subreddit FoS when submitting new links.
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