There was simply no way I could have predicted that a groggy conversation over a cup of over-sugared coffee would be directly responsible for making me cry on a crowded plane as I headed back home to Hawaii.
Unlike just about every press person at this year’s AAAS meeting, I wasn’t looking for something to write about. My interest and presence at this conference of the largest general scientific society in the world was somewhat philanthropic. Way back in May of last year, I was asked by Linda Cendes to be on a AAAS panel organized by Cornelia Dean to talk about the importance of social media in science. At their suggestion, I pitched a workshop as well, both of which made it into the program. I was at AAAS as a resource, to help convince scientists of the importance of social media and help answer their questions about emerging media technologies. At a conference boasting over 8,000 people and over 1,000 press registrants, it was pretty much dumb luck that Dan Droulette Jr. and I ended up in conversation in the press coffee room.
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