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Lab Group Communication

Choosing which software to use for your lab’s primary digital communication can be complicated by the sheer number of platforms that are out there.

For this workshop, we are going to cover a popular platform with free/paid access, SLACK (Searchable Log of All Conversation & Knowledge), and Gitter

Remember, the intention of these platforms are to improve productivity not become a distraction.

Some things to remember

SLACK

  • Slack has plenty of apps for coordinating multiple services, i.e. Calendars, Github, GoogleDrive, Box, etc.
  • Slack can be limiting unless you’re willing to pay for the professional support.

Gitter

  • Native integration with Github or Gitlab
  • Uses your Github (or Twitter) handle for all Gitters that you’re a part of

Networking

Although we didn’t cover it explicitly in the announcement for the workshop, communicating with the public and other members of your science community is one of the most important parts of your science!

There are many ways scientists use social media and the web to share their data science ideas:

  1. “Science Twitter” - is really just regular Twitter, but with a focus on following other scientists and organizations, and tweeting about research you’re interested in. By building up a significant following, more people will know you, know about your work, and you’ll have a higher likelihood of meeting other new collaborators.
  2. Blogs - there are numerous platforms for blogging about research, the older platforms tend to dominate this space. Other platforms like, Medium offer a place for reseachers to create personalized reading spaces and self publish.
  3. Community groups - There are lists (and lists of lists) of nationals research organizations, in which a researcher can become involved. These older organziations still rely on official websites, science journal blogs, and email lists to communicate with their members. In the earth sciences there are open groups which focus on communication like the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) with progressive ideas about how data and science can be done. Other groups, like The Carpentries and Research Bazaar are focused on data science training and digital literacy.

Important

Remember Personal and Professional Accounts are Not Isolated

You decide what you post on the internet. Your scientist identity may be a part of your personal identity on social media, it might be separate. A future employer or current employer can see your old posts. What you post in your personal accounts can be considered a reflection of the organization you work for and may be used in decisions about hiring or dismissal.

Self-Paced Materials

15 Data Science Communities to Join

Python & Slack

Slack CLI notifications

Gitter Services

Meetups

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