An Exploratory Study of Science and Nature Collaborations in Pinterest

Reid Isaac Boehm, University of Tennessee - Knoxville

The following paper is a proposal. I have scheduled the data collection process for the coming weeks. I wanted to make sure that I communicated that the finished piece would also include the results of the proposed study. I hope this will be appropriate. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Abstract

Users are developing diverse ways of employing the social media Website Pinterest as a collaborative tool in their lives for recreational and work-related tasks. In particular, science organizations and agencies are beginning to use Pinterest to connect with the public. In one example, the San Diego Zoo invites pinners to create a panda-themed Pinterest board. NASA Edge pins photos from the Mars rover. Inspired by examples such as these, this paper is the initiation of a study of the utility of the science and nature category of Pinterest for the purpose of citizen science collaborations. The research explores how individuals are already engaging in science content curation while using Pinterest, facilitating an understanding of how this type of activity can be applied to citizen science research practices. Using a theoretical framework of Virtual Transactive Memory Systems, the proposed study includes content analysis to explore the activity and the collaborative nature of contributions to the science and nature category of Pinterest over a period of one month. The goal of the research is to understand the nature of Pinterest as it applies to scientific communication that includes the public sphere to contribute to the literature of collaborative content curation. By understanding the current landscape of collaboration and citizen involvement, future research will be equipped with information to begin to delineate user needs and best practices for citizen science collaboration in Pinterest-like environments.

Keywords:

Pinterest, Content Curation, Virtual Transactive Memory Systems, Collaboration, Social Media, Citizen Science, Public Engagement, Science Communication

 

An Exploratory Study of Science and Nature Collaborations in Pinterest

CCI Auditorium, 321 Communications Building

Users are developing diverse ways of employing the social media Website Pinterest as a collaborative tool in their lives for recreational and work-related tasks. In particular, science organizations and agencies are beginning to use Pinterest to connect with the public. In one example, the San Diego Zoo invites pinners to create a panda-themed Pinterest board. NASA Edge pins photos from the Mars rover. Inspired by examples such as these, this paper is the initiation of a study of the utility of the science and nature category of Pinterest for the purpose of citizen science collaborations. The research explores how individuals are already engaging in science content curation while using Pinterest, facilitating an understanding of how this type of activity can be applied to citizen science research practices. Using a theoretical framework of Virtual Transactive Memory Systems, the proposed study includes content analysis to explore the activity and the collaborative nature of contributions to the science and nature category of Pinterest over a period of one month. The goal of the research is to understand the nature of Pinterest as it applies to scientific communication that includes the public sphere to contribute to the literature of collaborative content curation. By understanding the current landscape of collaboration and citizen involvement, future research will be equipped with information to begin to delineate user needs and best practices for citizen science collaboration in Pinterest-like environments.

Keywords:

Pinterest, Content Curation, Virtual Transactive Memory Systems, Collaboration, Social Media, Citizen Science, Public Engagement, Science Communication