SouWEST has reached a social media milestone this week, as it hit 100 likes on Facebook!  We are delighted that so many people out there are interested in our work, especially when they decide to share the page with friends and colleagues!  If you haven’t had a look yet, check it out!  We regularly post pictures and updates, from the excitement of whale ice-cream scoops to whale of the week facts!

What does an umbrella up a hill have to do with whale research? Tell us your ideas!

One of the fundamentals of being a good scientist is the ability to communicate clearly.  There’s no point doing all this amazing research and not telling anyone about it!  But for many people, it is pretty hard to find a scientist in their every day lives to have a conversation with…  This is why the use of social media (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc) is becoming increasingly important to the scientific community.

Researchers love talking about their work – they just need to be asked!  Social media such as Facebook and Twitter makes scientists more available, and has even led to the creation of online science events like “I’m a scientist, get me out of here!” where school students get the chance to interrogate and vote for scientists from a variety of research areas.  Another popular event is “Real Scientists“, where a guest researcher is invited to spend a week on twitter, sharing their daily activities and events with the world – a real look into the every day life of being a scientists.

So if you want to quiz a whale scientist, let us know!  Check out the SouWEST Facebook page, follow our Twitter account for @souwestwhales, leave a comment below or Contact Us via the website.  What marine questions are lurking at the back of your mind?  Would you like to learn more about our research team?  Have a whale mystery for us to solve?  And what exactly does an umbrella up a hill have to do with whale research?