Why I Decided to Write a Blog

I'm a busy guy. I enjoy my life, and have a good number of hobbies I like doing. Why would I take the time to write a blog, when there are no guarantees anyone would want to read it?

Well,  I'm glad I asked. It started with a paper I read in a scientific journal about social media in the sciences by an acquaintance of mine from a neighboring lab at UC Davis, where I study/work (I never did decide which description is more accurate to describe grad school in the sciences, where you get a stipend for learning about and doing science). Holly Bik wrote this great paper in PLoS Biology (a very respected scientific journal) which included a part about blogging which got me thinking about the benefits of having my own blog. I later attended an event put on by her and others about social media and the sciences. I was persuaded that it would be good for me even if few people ended up reading what I wrote.

One factor that convinced me was that it might help my writing skillz. Another is that potential future employers could get to know who I am by blogstalking me, which would tell them more than a formal resume/CV ever could. I have been in a position to hire/advise about hiring people before, and when deciding between the otherwise qualified candidates I know I would have liked to be able to see who someone really is by reading a blog they write before making a decision.

Another reason is that I think this is a better forum for my thoughts than what I had been using: Facebook. I was getting tired of writing thoughtful Facebook posts that probably just annoyed half my friends who don't care about science/my research/my views and just want to see pictures of my pets or laugh at funny memes I share. (I must admit to feeling similarly about some of my friends' posts who are just into different things than I am.) I would put effort into writing a post that I thought was insightful and would inspire debate and get one measly like. Then I would post a picture of a tree or something and get thirty likes and 10 comments. (Not that there is anything wrong with the tree, or that likes are a good measure of something's worth... but still!) This is probably my fault for expecting too much of the medium and not using it appropriately. I figure writing a blog will be a way to separate my personal and professional lives a little more. Through a blog I can reach people who care about the things I do more easily, and include people besides Facebook friends from high school, who may just want to hear about my major life events.

Seriously, this tree is one of my more popular Facebook posts, beating out my analysis of the Supreme Court decision regarding patenting human genes-- getting 7 times as many combined likes and comments. I guess it is a pretty tree though.

I am on Twitter as well (@zactlewis), but I feel that 140 characters and shared links aren't my cup of tea. I like it for some purposes (its great for keeping up on microbial ecology and finding papers) but I worry I am not communicating very clearly on it.

The last reason is that I feel my blog can be a public good. Other people can benefit from my work in reading and sifting through the amount of information that I do (I am a news/info junkie-- just ask my wife) and maybe have to do less of it when I share things they might find valuable. I know I use other blogs this way. I will probably talk about some of my own research after it is published, and telling "the story behind the paper" can be useful for other people who end up being interested in my research.

So here I am. Welcome to my thoughts. Enjoy your stay.