Geobites: Grassroots Training for the Next Generation of Geoscience Writers

Science writing—produced by practicing scientists for the general public—is gaining in popularity as scientists increasingly recognize the positive implications for policy of a scientifically aware society. A variety of opportunities exist for science writing in magazines and other outlets, but training for scientists on effective science writing has not expanded to meet the proliferation of science writing opportunities. Geobites is an AGU-supported grassroots science writing website created explicitly to enable early career geoscientists to hone their science writing and editing skills. Geobites is a member of a larger family of "science bites" sites, all adhering to a similar publication model. Volunteer writers choose recent papers that interest them, and publish short (~500 word) articles interpreting the paper for a general audience. Articles are edited by volunteer peer-editors, providing authors with valuable feedback to improve their writing.

Here we present statistics on the Geobites website since its launch, and discuss ongoing initiatives. Since launching in March 2020, Geobites has published 19 popular science articles by 13 unique writers. The site has received over 4,000 views from about 1,500 unique visitors, and hosts articles on topics ranging from grassland ecohydrology to sea-level-modulated magma production at mid-ocean ridges. The main sites referring visitors are Facebook and Twitter, implying that article promotion is the primary source of visitors and that a substantial proportion of visitors may be scientists. However, many visitors also are referred by search engines, which we interpret as a positive sign indicating that people interested in geoscience are coming to Geobites as a reliable source of information. The primary focus of Geobites going forward will be to grow our group of writers while integrating additional resources for writers to improve their science writing skills.