New paper-protocol-lab-knowledge sharing website out of Stanford

Stanford PhD student Jason Hoyt in the Department of Genetics was fed up with the inadequate presence of literature resources on the web, specifically good discussion surrounding papers, so he's set out to build his own website that would allow users to post, rate, and discuss papers, in addition to other features. Jason says,

Hey fellow colleagues and grad students. So, about a year and a half ago I got tired of the lack of good discussion around research literature online. For instance, what was the best review paper in the field of a new research project I was about to start? So, I started building a website.

What I ended up with was:
-A citation manager called 'My Libraries' (easily download papers to EndNote)
-A lab database called 'WikiGroups' for any lab in the world
-A protocols database
-A paper search that gives better results than PubMed (this depends on you adding more
papers)
-Import papers from PubMed
-Contact or colleague manager called 'Notes'
-A 'My World' page that gathers all the latest from your colleagues, lab group activities
and school seminars.

It's in beta, so please report any bugs or feature requests (form available on all pages).

It's called Ologeez. From the plural of the suffix "-Ology," it refers to every branch of learning. If you find it useful, let other departments or schools know.

After very briefly exploring Ologeez, it seems like a competent addition to the handful of other science oriented resource and knowledge sharing websites currently available. OpenWetWare offers lab websites and shared protocols, but doesn't have literature-oriented resources. PLoS ONE has a journal club feature, but just for PLoS ONE and PLoS doesn't host lab websites or protocols. Laboratree and SciLink offer nice networking and some content management features, but don't support lab websites and literature discussion is indirect at best. Although Ologeez has very few users and entries right now, people may find it useful to be able to set up a lab presence with shared protocols and papers, post and discuss interesting papers, and keep up to date with what their colleagues are doing, all in one website. It includes categories for all branches of science and research, including business/econ, law, and math.

Given its inclusiveness, it has the potential to spread school-wide, though it'll be interesting to see if it catches on enough for the discussion and search features to be useful.

Collaboration for change: an example from the entertainment industry

Disclaimer: This post has some political content.

The music industry has a long history of coming together for big projects meant to raise awareness and funds for good causes. Charity concerts, albums, and tours feature artists from all over the musical spectrum (and sometimes related industries, such as movies) to combat AIDS, fight poverty, help disaster victims, or call an end to violence. It may be useful to reflect on some of these as collaborations outside of science.

In addition to collaborative performing, we might stand to learn from the music industry's experiences with sharing. There is still a battle going on over the issue, but I think it's accepted that being more open with your music is the way to survive. Indie bands offer their music for free on their websites, artists make a name for themselves online, and, as Radiohead demonstrated, you can release your album as a user-priced download and benefit. With the explosion of video content that is YouTube, practically everything you'd ever want to see or hear is now free and shared.

Today is Super Tuesday in the US - the day when most state primaries happen, determining the presidential candidates for the election in November. A few days ago, a group of artists released a music video which has been subsequently proliferated on other websites and YouTube. The video endorses Barack Obama in a creative, artistic, and very moving way, bringing a diverse group of musicians and performers together to send a message. They recorded the video in 2 days, and reached millions in less than that.

Even though this example is politically charged, I think it encapsulates the power of openness and sharing as a mechanism for accomplishing something much bigger than one individual could achieve.