The Defense Department’s “Armed with Science” blog was honored Dec. 18 for the second consecutive year as one of the nation’s top 50 “must-read” information technology blogs.
“Armed with Science,” which began in 2009, was recognized by FedTech, an organization which explores technology issues federal IT leaders and managers face when they’re evaluating and implementing a solution.
This year, the DoD blog was again selected among the top 50 in the country, and FedTech’s announcement advised, “Forget what you think you know about science blogs. This Defense Department blog chronicles cutting-edge projects led by DOD and its partner organizations.”
“From stories about wearable tech suits to virus-zapping robots,” the announcement continued, “there’s plenty to keep readers engaged and coming back for more.”
A Notable Achievement
“It’s actually pretty exciting because FedTech magazine does a lot of news aggregation in regards to technology, and they follow a lot of the federal blogs,” Jessica Tozer, content manager for Armed with Science said.
“For this year, in particular, it’s exciting because they try to change up a lot of the positions on their top 50 list and give different organizations a chance to shine.”
They only really repeat organizations, she added, for their top contenders or top performers, so to have Armed with Science on twice says that the blog did a pretty good job two years in a row.
Showing that ‘Science Matters’
According to Tozer, the audience for Armed with Science is 5 to 6 million people a year, along with a social media presence on Twitter and Facebook.
“Twitter is about a 5.1 million reach every 28 days,” she said. “So it’s a pretty widespread and wide-viewed blog.”
Tozer said Armed with Science serves as a “conduit” to celebrate men and women involved in cutting-edge research and development at DoD.
“It’s dedicated to discussing the science, innovation and technology that’s shaping the future of the force every day,” she said. “And the blog posts are designed to be engaging and encourage open discussion about the amazing contributions the Department of Defense is providing to the world of science and technology.”
Tozer, who has guided the DoD blog since 2012, noted it is updated with one post per day, but covers several different categories that range anywhere from science, robots, lasers and space matters to cyber security.
The site also has several features, she said, like “Meet the Scientist,” a Monday blog that focuses on a particular scientist or engineer so people can understand what they do a little better.
Part of what drives the blog, Tozer said, is a desire to emphasize the importance of science and technology.
“I came up with a slogan a couple of years ago that says ‘science matters,’” she said. “I think my overarching challenge is to spend every day and every blog post illustrating why science matters to the audience -- both internal and external to the military and Department of Defense.”
Future of Armed With Science
Despite being a “one-man band,” Tozer said she’d still like to expand the blog with more original content, video pieces and a video-specific sub-category series with video snippets.
“I’d like to see some bigger stories,” she said. “… We’ve done some great, amazing things -- we’ve done a [National Security Agency] story that reached international audiences. It was seen by a quarter of a million people within the first week or so.”
“I’d like to do more things like that,” Tozer said. “I’d like to see how far we could make science matter.”
Tozer said it is good that people are continuing to keep the conversation going and taking a “vested interest” in science and technology.
“I’m totally thrilled that FedTech decided to recognize us for the second year in a row,” she said.
But really it’s more about people liking the blog, continuing to read it, staying interested in it and sharing it with their friends, Tozer said.
“So as long as the audience is happy with it, I’d say that’s a job well done,” she said.
(Follow Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone Marshall on Twitter:@MarshallDoDNews)