CERN on the net
As all eyes turn to the LHC in the run-up to the big switch-on, online media are providing a keyhole into the deepest corners of CERN. From YouTube to blogs, communicating ideas has never before had the capacity to reach so many people.
A wide range of websites comment on CERN.
Blogs, YouTube, social networking, podcasting, Twitter, SecondLife, Flickr…. it’s easy to get lost in the ever expanding world of Web 2.0. But it’s also hard to ignore the fact that these web facilities are becoming a central part of everyday life, whether it’s for finding information, sharing interests with friends, keeping up to date with news, or simply for entertainment. CERN’s profile on these sites is also increasing, but as with everything on the Internet there is a huge range in the quality of information available, stretching from officially endorsed sites all the way to the plain ridiculous! This is our guide to some of the best CERN content in the virtual world. (See box for all web addresses).
The first stop for any discerning Internet surfer wanting to learn about CERN should surely be the new public website. Launched in December 2007, it’s the official voice of CERN, featuring news, publications, scientific information and details of the run-up to the switch-on of the LHC.
However, James Gillies, the Communication Group Leader, has a positive attitude to exploring other online media. "YouTube, for example, allows you to reach audiences that you wouldn’t reach otherwise and allows you to be in touch with them. The fact that we allow people to comment on videos delivers the message that we are very open."
CERN’s official channel on YouTube, ‘CERNTV’, has been accessible to the public since the Open Days in April this year. Featuring 42 documentary-style videos and animations, the site has over 600 regular subscribers and the most popular clip ‘CERN in 3 minutes’ has been viewed over 140,000 times. Silvano de Gennaro, from the Communication Group, explains the philosophy behind creating the channel: "The idea really comes from our mandate to inspire the next generation of physicists. We only put up official videos that were produced for the wider public, whether they are aimed at kids or documentary style films. What we don’t want to do is to put very technical videos on there which people find too difficult and then end up looking somewhere else."
However, there are some reservations. "With the new web, the global information landscape has changed such that it is no longer possible for CERN to retain full control of information," says Gillies. Certainly, there are many unofficial sites that contain information that is not correct, a good example being the site ‘LHC Countdown’, which claims to know when the LHC will start! There are also security fears on social networking sites that use ‘peer-to-peer’ (P2P) applications designed to share content between interconnected participants across the Internet. They are popular for sharing music, video, software and other data. Examples are: KaZaA, Napster, Gnutella, etc.
David Myers, Head of Computer Security, points out that "whilst newspapers have an address and can be sued, contributors to blogs and social networking sites can be anonymous and may have a hidden agenda, so readers need to exercise critical judgement as to the veracity of what they read." He also adds that "P2P file sharing applications violate CERN’s Computing Rules on file services in most configurations (see: http://htt/rp://cern.ch/security/file-sharing/). One reason is because they are known to be targets for viruses and some install spyware - software that can steal confidential information such as bank account transactions. Removing spyware is usually not trivial and often requires re-installation of computers from scratch."
These concerns aside, there are some non-official websites that do a good job in letting people know about CERN. One example is the ‘CERN Podcast’ that consists of short audio programmes of discussions between Brian Cox, a UK physicist and science communicator, and various VIPs and celebrities. Aimed at everyone from science-fiction fans to academics, the concepts behind the podcast have been tailored to suit web broadcasting. As Cox explains, "Our idea is not to make a radio programme, but a conversation. It means we do very little editing, have no particular time constraints and let things take their course. There’s an honesty to it that is difficult to get with traditional media."
Blogging is yet another phenomenon of Web 2.0, and as with the other online media there is a huge range of both content and quality to be found. Members of the CERN personnel author some of the blogs, often describing their scientific work alongside musings on life at CERN. For example the ‘US LHC blog’ is written by ten Americans working at CERN, with topics ranging from pixel detectors to social events. Other blogs, for example ‘Higgs: into the heart of imagination’ written by Dutch collaborators, take a more creative stance by including video interviews and news posts.
The topic is almost inexhaustibly wide. Each site finds its own audience and potentially reaches hundreds of thousands of people. See the box for a list of the sites and blogs we have mentioned here, and feel free to suggest more (Bulletin-Editors@cern.ch)!
CERN public website:
CERN TV:
Podcasts about CERN:
Blogs
US LHC blog:
Higgs: into the heart of imagination:
http://weblogs.hollanddoc.nl/higgs/
Look here
http://cern.ch/security/Recommendations/
for some suggestions as to how to avoid being caught out by Internet scams.
