Back to blogging! Exploring my identity as a science communicator and public engagement professional

I’ve been umming and ahing for over a year about whether I should start blogging again. Those who know of my history as a science communicator will be aware of my time on Instagram microblogging and my ‘Notes from the physics lab’ blog. I miss sharing my thoughts in an open, online forum, but I’ve also been on a journey in managing my autism as a full-time public engagement professional, as well as working out my work-life balance. A lot has happened since I was last active online in a science communication capacity, including a promotion and getting married. I’m also now balancing my work professionally at the National Quantum Computing Centre with my identity as the ‘freelance science communicator’ I was previously. My focus has very much been on establishing the public engagement function at the NQCC and improving my professional skills, but I’m now at a stage where I feel able to re-engage with online spaces.

I’ve also enjoyed spending some time exploring in-person public engagement through my job and have been considering questions around impact and quality of educational experiences in digital vs physical contexts. Giving in-person talks, workshops and shows to various audiences has been incredibly exciting. I’ve had interactions with thousands of people over the past few years, sharing my passion and knowledge of quantum computing and the work of the NQCC. Doing this work has allowed me to develop more of my unique style as a science communicator and educator, allowing myself space to unmask on stage. In the past, I’ve been incredibly self-conscious of how my autism impacts my presentation skills. I stim. I wander around the stage. I get passionate and enthusiastic. I have to go somewhere quiet to decompress afterwards. Some may think that my style is ‘too much’, but I’ve come to accept and embrace it. I believe that using online spaces for my sci comm meant that I was able to mask more and control things more. Everything was more ‘produced’ and I proofread things over and over again. While I also ensure a high level of rigour in preparing for in-person teaching and speaking, there is always an element of the unknown that I must embrace. The level of control and production is one of the great things about online sci comm, but I do think that those in-person interactions have a unique value in inspiring those in the room with you. There is also more space for genuine dialogue and conversation without the veneer of anonymity and the distance of communication from behind a screen.

My views on being a ‘content creator ‘ have also evolved. For the past three years, I’ve been asking myself whether I am still comfortable contributing to the culture of social media and essentially providing free labour for large tech companies. On the flip side, I do believe that online spaces are a promising space to cultivate knowledge among global citizens and that we need people with both a technical background and an understanding of good education and communication practices to exist in these spaces to challenge all of the misinformation that is propagating in this day and age. Although I haven’t been engaging with Instagram as I used to, I have been sporadically posting on LinkedIn, which has brought value and food for thought professionally, as well as keeping me connected with the public engagement and education community in particular. I see the value of these virtual communities, whether it’s a professional community of practice or a community of science-interested citizens seeking out trusted and accessible knowledge. My vision is to embrace a portfolio style of activities, utilising in-person and digital modes of education to establish multiple routes to accessing and engaging my teaching. Although I will likely look to utilise social media platforms to market any future digital education I do, I want to use my website as the ultimate repository of that content.

While I want to start dipping my toe back into online science communication, I also want to start cultivating my own online space for exploring my thoughts and practice around quantum education and public engagement. The most recent change in my life has been starting a part-time master’s in education specialising in teaching and learning (which I reflected on in this LinkedIn post). As part of my studies, we’ve been encouraged to start a learning journal. Although I am keeping a private learning journal, I also want to explore blogging as a form of engagement with a learning (and professional) community. This is an experiment in my own learning and professional development. In the coming years, I want to share my experiences as a learner and as a professional actively working on quantum-specific education, outreach, public engagement, and science communication. This blog will form such a tool, and I hope it will be of use to others as a resource in developing a community of practice in quantum education and outreach. Additionally, I’ll be exploring a return to some old online haunts for my education and science communication work, but that’s probably something for a future blog post!