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GIA 2008 Excellence Winner
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Jeff Miller, director, creative
development and communications
Thomas Watson, manager, Web communications
Julie Bernstein, Web developer
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Electronic Communications - Electronic Content
University of California, San Francisco, Public Affairs
Science Café
Science Café is a mixed media online story space for original interviews, features, videos, and podcasts that shed light on the conduct, culture, and community of science at the University of California, San Francisco. Begun in September 2006 with little fanfare and limited promotion, the weekly Web feature has attracted an aggregate audience of more than 15,000, thanks in part to its growing library of more than 50 episodes.
Goals
- Create a Web-based product to communicate news releases about important scientific advancements and build understanding and
support for the university.
- Find an audience for a different kind of story about science and then feed its appetite on a regular basis.
- Use Web-based tracking to determine audience growth, which types
of stories attract new readers, and which topics drew the most external links. This kind of measurement data was seen as an immediate
evaluation tool that could shape communications strategy.
Results
- Aggregate number of visitors to this site is 16,500 with more than 10,000 classified as new visitors since January 1, 2007.
- Average number of page-views per week ranges from 500 to 2,000 depending on the story and placement on the page. The most popular stories deal with some aspect of the brain (everything from aging and addiction to sleep), alternative medicine, and profiles with a high degree of surprise.
Read the full narrative (Word document)
Contact: Jeff Miller, jmiller@pubaff.ucsf.edu
Back to GIA 2008 Awards for Excellence Winners
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