Twittering around

Lately I've been using Twitter, that short-form (140 characters or less) cross between blogging and instant messaging.

I don't post that many "tweets" myself; I mostly use it to keep track of some colleagues and former students. But I'm finding it interesting to see how others are using it.

For example, I see people using Twitter to:

• Keep in touch with friends and colleagues
  
• Promote themselves or their latest blog posts, videos, podcasts
  
• Pass on breaking news, or to link to interesting items they've found on the web
• Request information or assistance
• Network

Here's a new wrinkle: One of my former students, a newly minted grad, is using Twitter as part of his job search (see below). He's already gotten one helpful plug. I hope networking on Twitter helps him find a job.












PS: Here's a link to Kyle Hansen's resume.


PS2: You can find me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cynmc...or read my latest tweets in the sidebar of this blog.

PS3: Here's another recent post I wrote about Twitter -- A Twitter shout out? -- on one of my class blogs.

PS4: If you're interested in Twitter, you should also check out Twitterific, a fun Twitter application for Macs, and tinyurl.com.

Open-source science?

The collaborative, open-source approach that's worked so well online -- think Linux, Wikipedia, Wikileaks and countless other open source software and social media development projects -- is now being applied to scientific research.

That's the first thing that popped into my mind as I read an article about the Myelin Repair Foundation in yesterday's SF Chronicle.

The Myelin Repair Foundation is a nonprofit organization that's trying to speed up the development of new drugs and other treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), a disabling autoimmune disease, by changing the way research is conducted.

The foundation has focused on one key aspect of the disease: the destruction of myelin, the substance that protects our nerve fibers. The organizers developed a research plan that focuses on the kinds of research needed to understand how myelin works, how MS disrupts it, and how to repair it. Then they found scientists with the expertise needed to do that research. The researchers share their results and brainstorm the next steps. The approach is collaborative, not competitive.

That's quite different from the typical scientific (or corporate) research model. Since scientists and research institutions compete for government funding (or with other companies), most are unwilling to share their research ideas and approaches. In this model, their results may be propriety or may be kept under wraps pending publication in a scientific journal.

The result: It can take years, decades even, for promising results to work their way through the system and actually become available as a new drug or treatment.

The folks at the Myelin Repair Foundation hope to get their research far enough along that a for-profit drug company can clearly see its potential and will be willing to complete the process. They also hope other non-profits will see the merit of this approach...and help produce faster results for all the people now waiting for a treatment or a cure.

Pointers on writing for the web

You'll find some good pointers on writing headlines and copy for the web in Who Needs Headlines? at A List Apart, a blog on "the design, development, and meaning of web content."

As Shaun Crowley, a freelance copywriter and author of 100 Copywriting Tips for Designers and Other Freelance Artists, notes:

People often go online for quick, easy guidance. Headlines like How to…, 10 reasons why…, and 50 top tips for… promise the reader valuable tips, and they help you to highlight the key benefits.

I also like Crowley's suggestions to...focus on the product's unique selling point...use a quote...start a story. All good advice that works just as well offline as on.

Also check out Human to Human Design, an article by Aussie web design consultant Sharon Lee, who says, "A good website is built on two basic truths -- that the internet is an interactive medium and that the end user is in fact human." It's always helpful to remember there are people on the other side of what you write.