Pharmaceutical Technology Europe interviews Greg Cruikshank, CEO at LabRoots about the official launch of a social networking site for the scientific community.

Q1: Recently, many new social networking sites and tools have been launched. Do you think this is just a phase or are they here to stay?
Social networking is not only here to stay, it has revolutionized the way people communicate on a daily basis! I like to use the analogy of email or mobile phones; both are relatively new technologies, but they have become staple for communication, as is social networking. Sometimes people perceive social networking as some new fun way for the younger generation to go online and chat, but that's not the case. Just because the word 'social' is in the title of this new communication vehicle, people associate it as something different to what it really is — the most recent, innovative way to connect, collaborate and learn in a professional capacity. Social networking is the communication line of the future and the future is now!

Q2: Why do you think they have suddenly become so popular?
For the same reason email and mobile phones became so popular — it's a more effective (and free) way of communicating and connecting with the community. With the popularity of computers and the internet, it makes sense for social networking to evolve. Social networking also has the added advantage of having no geographical boundaries.

Q3: How have these websites and tools benefited science and research?
Two reasons:

• Collaboration. By establishing a forum or one central place for the scientific community, social networking increases collaboration.
• Education and awareness. Data Mining technologies bring relevant information to each user based on their profiles, such as news, events, publications, user content, jobs, groups, etc.

Q4: Some scientists may feel wary about using social networking sites. What would you say to encourage them to try it out?
Actually, research shows that scientists were the early adopters of social networking and the originators of discussion boards. For those who may feel wary, it may be because they see social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook that feature huge oceans of people and information, which can be overwhelming and intimidating. That's what is great about the new revolution of niche social networking sites, such as LabRoots. LabRoots is specific to the science and engineering community so the people and information are relevant.

Q5: The LabRoots website was released to the public in beta form 6 months ago. What was it received?
LabRoots is now considered to be one of the fastest growing science websites on the internet. We have received great feedback from the community. We're now out of beta, our site is stable, and the community is growing organically.

Q6: During this time, you received constructive criticism about the site from users. What changes did you implement to address this?
We've made some tweaks here and there to stabilize the system, but overall feedback has been good. Recently, we've released additional features and functionality, such as the Jobs Board and Network Activity. Both features received great feedback. We are also working on some new features that will be introduced later this year, but I cannot comment on those yet… : )

Q7: What benefits does LabRoots offer compared with current professional networking sites?
LabRoots offers all the general features and functionality that most social networks have, but we've also integrated some science-related applications. For example:

• A 'News' feature that delivers breaking news from hundreds of science related sources.
• A 'Publications' feature where scientists can post their work and research, as well as access the libraries of PubMed, NASA, IEEE, and more. We essentially have full access to PubMed so our users don't have to leave the site to perform their research. Everything can be downloaded directly into LabRoots.
• An 'Events' listing of thousands of science events.
• A 'Q&A Forum' for users to post and answer science questions.
• A 'Blogs' feature.
• A 'Reviews' feature for users to articulate their opinion about a product, service, company, book, research… or anything you can name.
• A 'Jobs Board' for science-related positions.
• A 'Network Activity' feature where the entire network is shared to the community, giving users an idea of what's going on.
• A 'People with Similar Interests' feature that leverages our data mining technology to bring like-minded people together.
• 'Visitors To My Profile' feature shows what users are looking at you, helping to create connections and collaborations.
• A 'Groups' feature, where users can create or join targeted groups and communities.
• A fully integrated messaging system where all messages that go through our inmail system also go to the users email.
• A 'Tool & Widgets' feature, which allows users to add fun and useful widgets to their homepage, such as a scientific calculator, periodic table, dictionary, weather, RSS feeds, translator and more.

Q8: The website already incorporates the latest advanced data mining tools. How else can the website be improved?
As I mentioned before, we are in the midst of developing all kinds of new features and functionality, such as videos, photos, attachments, a Webex video conferencing tool for groups, live chats and discussions, online auction feature, and more. In addition to these features, we will continue to improve the website to please our users.

Q9: What is your prediction for the future of social networking amongst the scientific community?
I think social networking will continue to grow and improve, and I believe the scientific community will be in front of the curve — just as it was when this phenomenon began.

www.labroots.com