Skip to main content

How to tell the difference between a Science Blog Network, a Fanny Pack and a Backpack

This is a network: http://scienceblogs.com
This is a fanny pack: http://blogs.nature.com
This is a backpack: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/science-blogs/

This is a network: http://www.fieldofscience.com/
This is a fanny pack: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/
This is a backpack: http://gu.com/scienceblogs

This is a network: http://sciblogs.co.nz/
This is a fanny pack: http://blogs.plos.org
This is a backpack: http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/

This is a network: http://scientopia.org/
This is a fanny pack: http://gam.southernfriedscience.com/
This is a backpack: http://www.labspaces.net/blogs

Comments

  1. Errr... must be a cultural thing, but I just did not get this post! :( Can someone explain, please?

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Pranab: That's a good question. I'm not exactly sure myself, but if I had to guess, I'd break it down like this:

    A fanny pack (in spite of its name) is usually worn facing front, like this: http://blogs.nature.com

    A backpack (with rare exception) is usually worn on the back, like this: http://gu.com/scienceblogs

    Anyway, that's as far as I get.

    ReplyDelete
  3. But that don't make no sense! The blogs on FoS are also blogname.fieldofscience.com. That makes them fanny packs too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, let's actually break it down as you suggest and see where we end up.

    If you lose the fanny pack (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/), you get http://discovermagazine.com/, which self identifies as a "Magazine."

    If you discard the backpack (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/science-blogs/), you get http://www.wired.com/, which also purports to be a "Magazine."

    But if you drop the "blog" (http://epiphenom.fieldofscience.com/) you get http://www.fieldofscience.com/, which describes itself as a "Science Blog Network."

    ReplyDelete
  5. So are you saying that just because these other websites do other things they can't call themselves networks?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have to admit the humour is a little lost on me too (part of it’ll just be that a 'fanny pack' is an American expression), but thanks for mentioning our lot: http://sciblogs.co.nz/

    (I write Code for life over that way...)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Edward, you've made similar comments in the past and I'm just trying to understand your point. I hope this isn't the typical blog network shit flinging I come to expect from less reputable bloggers.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm a super nice guy Brian. Ask anyone.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A New Wave of Science Blogging?

One can imagine science bloggers would be a (the) primary beneficiary in a landscape where Google ranks sites based on the correctness of factual information provided by the [blog] .  What's more, it is not a stretch to conclude that science bloggers could very well be in the vanguard of a new wave of bloggers who earn Google’s trust by blogging within the confines of what is known. The news that Google is working on a system of ranking sites based on the quality of their facts should be greeted by science bloggers everywhere as a game-changer.

640 Style Guide: Wider Videos and Images

YouTube video and Blogger image uploading and formatting specifications. [Note: These instructions are written for the classic Blogger post editor, composing in the Edit Html tab.] Instructions for posting wide screen YouTube videos. To embed wide screen videos, go to the video's url on YouTube . To the right of the Embed code, click on the Customize button. In the menu that expands below the Embed code, select 640x385 . Copy the Embed code and paste it into your post. Instructions for uploading images to be 640 pixels wide. [Note: These instructions work for images that are wider than they are tall.] In the image uploader, Choose a layout: "None", Image size: "Medium" To upsize images, double the width and height specifications of the image (width: 640px; height: XXXpx;) and change s320 to s640 in the image url. Advanced Image Editing: To place two "Medium" images side-by-side, delete the return break between them. Blogger's picture uploader d

If You Build It,...

Field of Science is a science blog network. FoS is so named because Field of Science is a good, practical name for a website about science, but also--thanks to a certain movie--said name evokes illusions that are, more or less, analogous to what FoS is all about . . . FoS is home to bloggers who are doing actual science and whose blogging is clearly informed by their work. If you are a science blogger and your blog is powered by Blogger (or you wouldn't mind switching over to Blogger), and you are interested in joining FoS , complete an application and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. If you want to know more about the nuts, bolts and actuals, watch this presentation .