iSGTW - What it is
- 1. * International Science Grid This Week started 2006 at Fermilab in USA, to promote grid computing. * Online, weekly source of information. * Short (350-500 words avg article), pithy, interesting. Up to 2500 words on very rare occasions, 800 words for guest opinion pieces. * Jointly published. 1 GridTalk editor at CERN, 1 co-editor at Fermilab. * Most stories come from Europe and USA, but try to justify “international” in title with global coverage. * Special theme months. Starting geographically themed issues (such as So America issue, timed for BELIEF conference in Brazil). Cultivating sources for Australia, Africa, Asia etc. iSGTW European editor – Dan Drollette, GridTalk iSGTW - What it is
- 2. TYPICAL ISSUE: Front page Main Feature Blogwatch Announcements Archives Resources Search (Screenshot from special issue on LHC startup. Note all-physics subject matter) iSGTW Overview, 1
- 3. TYPICAL ISSUE (continued) Features Link of the Week Image of the Week Calendar Tags Feeds iSGTW Overview, 2
- 4. * Promote the grid by sharing stories of grid-empowered science and scientific discoveries, as per DoW. * Primarily aimed at those using the grid now, and also at researchers who could benefit from the grid if they knew of its capabilities – i.e., non-experts. * Secondary audiences, in no particular order: journalists, the public, and decision-makers. * Therefore, must explain new developments yet still be fairly accessible and readable to outsiders. iSGTW Goals
- 5. * 8 members, evenly balanced between Europe and USA. * Preview each issue before it goes to press, and after editor has completed fact-checking with scientists and otherwise completed issue. * Look for balance in: geographic coverage, projects, gender, age, newcomers versus old hands, other issues. * If there is a problem, Board Member and editor and writer work together to solve. Example: use of editorial cartoon to illustrate Women in Grid theme. * Ultimate decision to veto a story is with any one Board Member, but editor runs publication on daily basis and handles all editorial decisions (story selection, style, spelling, format etc). No stories vetoed to date. iSGTW Advisory Board
- 6. (Source: readership surveys and Googleanalytics data) * 80 - 85% male. Mostly in 30s and early 40s (66%). * Working in Information Technology or science (64%). * Read it every week, 34% on same day as publication. * 98% like technical level as is, or want it even more technical on occasion. Only 2% said they wanted iSGTW to be less technical. * Want quick reads, to the point. Typically spend 2 - 3 minutes on it, or about the same time as the length of a traditional TV newscast. * 80% say they want articles of current length. iSGTW Audience in detail, 1
- 7. *38% work for an EC-funded project, 34% work for a national project, 21% in other projects, 25% no affiliation. Some work for multiple projects simultaneously. ********************************************************** Subjects of interest, from reader survey: iSGTW Audience in detail, 2
- 8. * Grid itself, security, middleware * Applications (“Variety is your strength” said one reader response) (62 Euro projects alone) * Not just particle physics, but also topics such as: - Mapping pesticides in groundwater - Reconstructing lost ancient musical instrument - Europeana digital library - Ariane rocket and temperature of deep space - Studying climate change - Best mode of operating on a tumor - New drug design - LHC rap - Volunteer computing iSGTW Subject Matter
- 9. Projects/Institutes covered in this story: Europeana Koninklijke Bibliotheek The European Library European Digital Library Foundation (EDL) Sample iSGTW subject matter: Digital library
- 10. Projects/Institutes covered in this story: Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) FOOTPRINT Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) Sample iSGTW subject matter: Pesticide modelling
- 11. Projects/Institutes covered in this story: EGEE European Organization of High-Energy Physics (CERN) UN Institute for Training And Research (UNITAR) UN Operational Satellite Applications Program (UNOSAT) UN Interregional Crime & justice Research Institute (UNICRI) Sample iSGTW subject matter: Satellite mapping
- 12. Projects/Institutes covered in this story: Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, US Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) British Atmospheric Data Center World Data Center for Climate Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison (PCMDI) National Snow and Ice Data Center National Environment Research Council Datagrid (NERC Datagrid) British Oceanographic Data Center Open Middleware Infrastructure Institute – UK (OMII-2) World Data Center Glaciology Earth System Grid RealClimate.org Sample iSGTW subject matter: Climatology
- 13. Projects/Institutes covered in this story: CERN Fermilab Medical Physics Web Kansas City Cancer Centers g-Lite/EGEE Sample iSGTW subject matter: Radiotherapy
- 14. Projects/Institutes covered in this story: Ancient instruments Sound/Timber Reconstruction Application (ASTRA) Grid INFN Laboratory for Dissemination Activities (GILDA) EUMEDGRID GÉANT 2 EUMEDCONNECT Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe (DANTE) Conservatory of Music, Salerno Sample iSGTW subject matter: Digital reconstruction of lost Ancient Greek musical instrument
- 15. D3.1 - Fifty (50) issues published, reflecting 2-week break over Christmas/New Year’s holidays D3.2 - Two (2) Readership Surveys 11.6% average return rate, achieved via prizes. (Results on previous “Audience” slides) D3.3 - Marketing Strategy completed. Highlights: * 2-pronged approach: print and on-line * Press releases * Blogs * Forums * Automatic subscriptions (continued) Deliverables Completed, 1
- 16. D3.4 - Resources so far (256 pages, rest of deliverable due Nov 2009): * Jobs in grid * Glossary * RSS feeds * Facebook community site for new users * Archives: LHC, Women in grid All deliverables met or exceeded. Deliverables Completed, 2
- 17. M3.1 - Three (3) posters produced, for a total print run of 1200 copies distributed. 8,000 postcards produced, of which 4200 have been distributed halfway through the project. M3.2 - Links to GridCasts, announcements of same, podcasts direct from LHC control rooms on same day as startup. M3.3 - Launched community forum in the form of Facebook site, for those newer to grid. 60 bloggers signed up so far, including Ian Foster – who literally wrote the book on grid computing. (“Milestones” continue, after accompanying poster and postcard samples) Milestones Completed,1
- 18. iSGTW : posters
- 19. iSGTW Posters and postcards (8)
- 20. Increase in subscribers. M3.4 Goal: 25% Actual Increase: 31% 4,755 in April 20, 2009 (In comparison to 3,609 in April 2008) All milestones met or exceeded, so far. ( M3.5 Goal: 50% increase, or 5,417 subscribers by April 30, 2010) Milestones completed, continued. Number of iSGTW subscribers
- 21. “ Excellent survey of grid around the globe for those of us too busy to find out on our own nickel.” “Great job.” “Like the diversity.” “It’s fun, has a nice balance of technical and quirky articles, and it also has decent pictures and ‘wow’ articles.” “I like the balance of stories.” * 8 out of 10 on Google Page Rank (same as CERN) * Most popular Image: “Los Alamos’ Map of Science” (right) * Most popular issue: 10 Sept 2008 (LHC startup, slides 2 & 3) * Most popular Link: “LHC: The Underground Movie” * iSGTW is first item on Google under “science grid computing” * Readers from 197 countries & territories, speaking 114 languages * Posters in competition for Communication Arts design award * Most popular Feature: “Reaching for the exa-scale,” by founder of volunteer computing - BOINC Other Metrics
- 22. Strategies to increase readership to the full 50% by end of April 2010 (M3.5) : * Write in “layered manner” – more technical, detailed and in-depth as the reader goes along * Develop Resources page for newcomer (D.3.4) by month 18 (Nov) * Nature Networks forum for more grid-savvy readers * Ask the expert section on Nature Networks * “Viral marketing”: - More multimedia - Press releases - Uploading articles to technology blogs, wikipedia, popularly oriented websites * Wider partnerships, such as with Asia iSGTW Future plans