Ten reasons why more scientists should be on YouTube

A couple of weeks ago I tweeted ten reasons I think more scientists should be on YouTube.

I know it’s hard & takes time, but there are lots of reasons why scientists should enter this #scivid contest! https://t.co/P5HWHKRFxe pic.twitter.com/Fb4x5ANJQ3

— Andrew Maynard (@2020science) July 24, 2017

For anyone who’s been following me for the past several years, my enthusiasm for getting more scientists engaged in video creation shouldn’t come as a surprise – I’ve been writing about this and pushing for more scientists on YouTube for over six years now.

Of course, most scientists are already working impossible hours under ridiculous pressures, and don’t have time to create video masterpieces. And they’re often not encouraged to communicate their science to others, and rarely taught how to use video efficiently and effectively.

But then, it wasn’t that long ago that to most scientists, writing for public consumption was also considered to difficult, and too much to ask.

The reality is that, not only is video more accessible than most scientists thing – it’s also a critically important medium for increasing access to and the accessibility of science.

This is why we set up Science Showcase as a way for scientists to stretch their YouTube muscles, and why we’re running this summer’s science video contest.

And it’s why I thought it worth it worth exploring some of the reasons why getting more scientists on YouTube is important.

So with no further ado, in reverse order (and with the occasionally cryptic illustration):