If you happened to be cruising Twitter last Thursday evening – come on…what else is there to do on a Thursday night? – you may have noticed that I was tweeting about a Social Media for Scientists presentation at the San Diego Biotech Network (SDBN). The host was Comprendia’s Mary Canady, a definite guru at the intersection of social media and the life sciences.

The purpose of the session was to introduce scientists to the social media resources that have the potential to revolutionize the way the scientific community interacts with one another and shares ideas. For those outside the biotech and broader life science community, I think the perception is “well, you’re all science geeks, you must be engaged in all that social media stuff, right?” But if you’re reading this blog, I am sure I don’t have to tell you that’s not the case. Maybe this is your first intro to science-y social media…or maybe you’re an early adopter who has tried to get your colleagues to jump on Twitter so you can talk shop off hours. Either way, you know that there’s a lot of work to be done in order to convince many scientists of the value of engaging online.

The SDBN presentation was a great step in that direction. Mary and her co-host, William Gunn, did a great job of presenting the social media landscape in a way that was accessible and compelling for new media newbies. I’m not sure how many of the attendees went home and jumped on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, but I’m guessing there were a number of converts.

We at IAmBiotech couldn’t be more supportive of the goal of bringing more voices from the biotech community into the online debate. Whether it’s about taking advantage of tools to communicate with colleagues or spreading the word about biotech advances with the general public and countering misconceptions, there are clearly many compelling reasons for the biotech community to begin to engage more online. WATCH THIS SPACE, because we’ll be bringing you much more on this in the coming months, including the tools you need to get started.

Note: You can see the full slideshow from the SDBN presentation here. There are some slides that won’t make sense without the audio, but you’ll be able to get a good overview of social media tools and their value for the scientific community.

UPDATE: You can now find the “slidecast” (slideshow w/ audio) HERE