Dirk Hanson - Addiction Inbox

Today we have another post in our Get To Know A Scienceblogger Series.

Dirk Hanson is a freelance science writer and business journalist with more than 30 years of professional experience. He has written for numerous magazines and trade publications, and is the author of three books including The Chemical Carousel which received an Independent Publisher Book Award in the Health/Medicine/Nutrition Category.  His current area of coverage is the neuroscience of drug addiction.  Dirk currently maintains a popular blog on drugs and the science of substance abuse called Addiction Inbox, serves as senior contributing editor for the new health web site The Fix, and has contributed phenomenal articles at BrainBlogger. You can learn more about Dirk and his books at www.dirkhanson.org.

 

 

What is the topic of your blog?

Addiction Inbox covers articles and health studies about drugs, addiction, and alcoholism, with an emphasis on the most recent scientific and medical findings. And anything else I find interesting related to drugs and the brain.

What was your primary reason for starting a blog?

I kind of jumped and got pushed simultaneously. I was finishing a book about scientific research on drug and alcohol addiction. Print outlets were in disarray, authors and editors were clueless, and I wanted an online platform from which to continue the conversation and to serve as a point of contact for the book. But the blog grew slowly and steadily and took on a life of its own. I’ve been an online journalist ever since.

How often do you post, and roughly how much time goes into each post?

I’ve gone slightly against the grain on this one. My posts are longer and less frequent that many bloggers—although this is a tendency throughout the science blogging community.  I sometimes put up 1,200 word posts or longer. I try to put up something new every 3-4 days—which, from the old-school blogging perspective, is an eternity, not to mention a slow and painful death. Happily, I found out that a sort of bastard hybrid—call it long-form blogging—works for me, and allows for more in-depth posts, which I like. How long does it take to write a good blog post? From about 20 minutes to maybe three days.

How do you fit in time for social networking?

I think at least some of it comes out of time that was previously eaten up by the telephone and television. And in my case, since I earn part of my living online, I just make sure to make time for it. I admit I never expected to be drawn into the world of Facebook and Twitter through my blogging activities, but that is, in fact, what has happened. As a journalist doing the bulk of my nonfiction writing on the net these days, I’m pretty deeply involved with those two media at the professional level on a daily basis.

Have there been any benefits to blogging, either personally or professionally?

Tons: Exposure in an easily accessible form, access to other bloggers, information exchanges, job offers, and the actual acquisition of real friends in real space—these have all been a part of my blogging experience. I continue to “meet” interesting and accomplished people that I would be unlikely to connect with in any other situation.

Have there been any downsides to blogging, either personally or professionally?

A blog is a cruel mistress—harshly insistent, constantly in need of new outfits, and insatiably hungry for the new and exciting. If you build it, they will not come—not unless you do a lot serious arm-waving and shouting along the way. Nothing much happens without serious effort—links, comments, email exchanges, repostings, etc.

What piece of advice would you give other scientists/students/funding agencies/journalists in your situation who are considering moving into social media?

Like any other media, social media can take up a lot of your time, if you don’t watch out. And there are so many blogs out there about nothing in particular that you had better have a pretty sharply focused idea of who you are writing for, and what you’re writing about. As the whole thing continues to grow, I think we’re looking at more segmentation, more niches. Nobody can read everything.

If you have experience with writing for print media, you will have to recognize going in that some of the rules of blogging are different–links being one of the major differences. Blog readers expect you to show your work, in a sense—to link with your research, particularly anything you are naming by name. This can come as a shock and a surprise to those making the transition to online writing. As writer or reporter, you’re vulnerable in a different way to both focused attacks and helpful corrections.

Also, with a byline in a magazine or newspaper or journal, you at least have the weight of the publication pushing readers your way. For independent blogs, unaffiliated with a blog network or an aggregation site, this can be a real hurdle, attracting readers is a constant struggle.

What have been the most effective ways of promoting your blog?

Links and mentions from high-quality, high-traffic sites, are without a doubt the best way to become visible in the search engines and visited by more and more readers willing to take a look at what you’re offering. Nothing else comes close. There’s a process of legitimization that takes place when you start up a blog. It’s like, who are you? And why should I read your blog? One of the things your posts have to do is answer those questions. It should go without saying that well written and timely posts are part of the legitimization process.

Were you surprised by anything blog related, either good or bad?

I was surprised by the number of seriously excellent blogs out there, written by dedicated people for next to nothing. Also disappointed to find that blog comments continue to be a haven for spammers, flamers, and malcontents of every stripe–even though some very thoughtful group discussions take place in comments sections as well.

Any other information that you think people would find useful?

In the long run it’s probably best not to be at the mercy of some hosting outfit for troubleshooting and customer service. Which means sucking it up and learning just a little HTML. You don’t have to be fluent, but it helps to be able to sneak into the back room and make some fixes late at night or over the weekend.

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Thanks Dirk!

-Travis

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