“Curious, have you considered joining a blogging network?” was how Brian Mossop, then Community Manager of PLOS ended his email to me over a year and a half ago.
I hadn’t. It only took two phone conversations–one from Brian and one from then PLOS blogger David Kroll–for me to get excited about the possibility. I already knew of PLOS and appreciated its open-access mission. I was impressed by how quickly its new blogging network had attracted a close-knit and talented group of writers. I couldn’t wait to join.
I’ve loved my time here. I’ve loved the editorial freedom, the community, and especially the readers. But after a year and a half, I’m moving again. I recently joined Scientific American‘s blogging network, where I will be writing bimonthly posts.
I sincerely hope you follow me there.
I would also like to thank Community Manager Victoria Costello, for her work and support. She asked me to add this to my farewell post, and it is truly an honor:
Shara Yurkiewicz’s insights into the human condition, filtered through the extreme circumstances faced by students going through the second and third years of medical training, uniquely inform the open access biomedical research that forms PLOS’ core publishing mission. As I wrote recently in Ten Essential Qualities of Science Bloggers, “Shara shows the heart of a lioness…always with a healthy dose of self-deprecatory humor.” We’ll miss her narrative talents as much as her attention to scientific detail. And we wish her well at Scientific American Blogs.
– Victoria Costello, PLOS Blogs Manager