Not only fashion columnists can blog

Have you blogged today?

Blogging is no longer confined to fashion and politics. Researchers have also adopted the new communication form. But why should researchers blog?

Why?

The question is if research blogs just are a new fad or if they are actually making a difference. Associate Professor Maja Horst from the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy just received the Research Communication Award 209 from the Science Ministry, Communication is absolutely necessary for her research. According to Maja Horst, a researcher’s blog can have many different purposes.

- Some researchers use their blogs to initiate a debate, discuss their own research and the societal position of research. Other researchers can use blogs to get in contact with informants who generate new knowledge or other new perspectives to be used in research, says Maja Horst.

The blog is an opportunity

Professor Nicolai Foss from the Center for Strategic Management and Globalization and Professor Peter Klein from the University of Missouri manage the research blog organizationsandmarkets.com with more than 1,000 visitors a day. Some people may see blogging as amateurish and time-consuming, but Nicolai Foss is able to reach a broader target group than possible until now. At the same time, feedback from the readers form the basis of new knowledge.

- My blog has several purposes. I advertise my published articles and working papers, so that they reach a wider audience. I criticise research, which I find ridiculous, praise good research and comment on new research. For instance, one of our categories, Pomo Periscope, critically adresses post-modern perspectives within social science, explains Nicolai Foss.

Network, network, network

Another type of blog inspired him to use the new communication form in his work.

- I started to co-blog at a political blog, punditokraterne.dk, which was an instant success. It made me consider a research-oriented blog. Peter and I have written quite a lot of articles together about theory of the firm, entrepreneurship and Austrian economics, and the blog was launched on the basis of this partnership. Now I meet people all the time at conferences who know me from my blog. It is a good way of establishing contacts and keeping in touch, says Nicolai Foss.