Friday, December 3, 2010

Carnival of the Blue No. 43: The Seasonal Arboreal Phasianid Edition


December's carnival is up at Dr. Alistar Dove's Deep Type Flow blog. Al is an Australian marine biologist living in the United States, where he is currently Senior Scientist at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Carnival of the Blue Guidelines

I've been meaning to post guidelines for the Carnival of the Blue for quite some time. This is geared mostly towards new CotB hosts, but there are also pointers here for anyone wishing to contribute a post. If you have questions about this information, please let me know.
- Jason (dotoftheblue @ gmail . com)

BACKGROUND
Blog carnivals collect together links on a particular topic (blogcarnival.com/bc/faq.html). There are carnivals about botany, politics, neurology and more. They occur on a cyclical schedule, usually weekly or monthly.

The Carnival of the Blue is a monthly roundup of blog posts related to the oceans. The CotB got its start in June 2007 by Mark Powell (aka, blogfish). His goal was to celebrate World Oceans Day and also bring the ocean blogging community closer together.

CURATOR
The curator for the Carnival of the Blue is responsible for the overall management of the events. This includes posting and maintaining the CotB main website (see below), finding hosts for each month, composing and sending out the CotB newsmail and updating the Twitter account. The curator also forwards any contributions received via the blogcarnival.com submission form (see below).


Mark Powell is the Carnival of the Blue founder. Jason Robertshaw is the current CotB curator.

HOSTS
Deadlines
A call for participation is posted at the CotB website once or twice a year. Bloggers can sign up by commenting on the call for participation post or by contacting the curator. Slots are often booked up to a year in advance. Subscribe to the CotB newsmail or Twitter feeds for announcements (see above). Each month a different host makes a Carnival of the Blue post on or near the first Monday of each month. Contributions are due the Friday before the first Monday of each month.

A host might receive contributions anytime during the month prior to their hosting date. So someone hosting in May might receive posts throughout April. Contributions may come directly to the host from contributors. The curator also forwards any contributions that come in via the blogcarnival.com submission form. Most contributions theypically arrive closer to the submission deadline (and sometimes even past it). It is up to the leniency of the host to decide how far past the deadline to accept contributions.

Host Guidelines
Guidelines for contributors are listed below. Beyond those, there are no hard rules as to what can be included in a CotB post. It is up to the discretion of the host as to the appropriateness of content, but profane, derogatory and discriminatory content is never befitting. The hosts can also, at their discretion, include a few links in addition to those sent in by contributors. Special Note: there are scammers that take advantage of the blog carnival system, looking to boost their search engine rankings by fooling legitimate sites into linking to them. An easy way to spot fakers is by looking at the contributed link. If their website looks phony, doesn’t have an archive of ocean-related content and seems to be hawking online degrees, timeshares or merchandise, they are probably fake. If you have any question about the legitimacy of a contributed link, please contact the Carnival of the Blue curator (see above).

Format
The format of the actual Carnival of the Blue post is open. Visiting previous Carnivals of the Blue is the best way to get a sense of how other hosts have structured their posts. Archives of past posts are linked on the CotB website. However, each month’s contribution typically fall into self-evident themes like: invertebrates, art and poetry, deepsea, conservation, coastal, education, etc. You can organize by these themes, or by geography or alphabetically—whichever way works best for you. Each link is usually given a summary by the host. This summary can be just a few words or a whole paragraph, but should be enough to give a reader some context. Some hosts include photos and other images too. Be sure you have permission to use any copyrighted content and give proper attribution as necessary.

CONTRIBUTORS
The Carnival of the Blue is posted on or near the first Monday of each month. Contributions are due the Friday before the first Monday of each month. Guidelines for contributions are as follows:
  1. Written in the previous month since the last posted Carnival of the Blue.
  2. Be on some topic related to the oceans. Your entire blog does not need to be about the oceans. Just the contributed link. For example, if you write about knitting but have a blog post about woolen whale patterns, by all means consider sending it in.
  3. Written by the contributor. Don’t submit links you have not personally written.
  4. In blog format. Direct links to PDFs, videos and other non-blog format content is not suitable.
  5. News articles are not the intent of the Carnival of the Blue. If it’s something ocean-related and really interesting, write a blog post about it and then contribute that post.
The easiest way to contribute a link is by using the blogcarnival.com submission form: blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_8736.html

Alternatively, links can be sent directly to the Carnival of the Blue curator or to that month’s host. Email contacts are provided on the CotB website.

It is typical and graceful for any contributor included in a Carnival of the Blue post to mention it on their own blogs with a link back to that month’s post. This creates a virtuous circle between the hosts, contributors and readers.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Sign Up to Host in 2011

It's time to start filling in the roster for next year. If you are interested in hosting the Carnival of the Blue on your blog next year, please send an email to dotoftheblue @ gmail dot com with your preferred month or leave a comment on this post. Thanks!

BTW, I am writing a simple how-to guide that explains how easy it is to host a carnival on your blog and will have that available soon.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Carnival of the Blue No. 42–The Chilean Edition

This month's carnival is up at Oceana's Beacon Blog. This is the first time the carnival has stopped by Oceana's shores. So head on down to the southern hemisphere and check it out.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Carnival of the Blue No. 41

Carnival of the Blue No. 41 is live on my Cephalopodcast blog. From modified salmon to intersex snails, this edition has all kinds of curious creatures.

Next months edition is scheduled for November 1, 2010 at Oceana's Beacon blog. It is also time to start filling in the roster for next year. We've got one fresh face for January already. Ann from The Beachchair Scientist will be leading the Carnival of the Blue into the new year. If you are interested in hosting a month, please leave a comment on this post with your preferred month or send an email to me at dotoftheblue @ gmail dot com.

Carnival of the Blue Community Meeting
I am also planning an informal Carnival of the Blue Community Meeting for early January (date to be determined). I am looking for feedback on the future of the carnival and how best to manage the backend of the project. The meeting will take place online with a follow up ad hoc during the Science Online 2011 conference (if enough blue bloggers attend).

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Carnival of the Blue XL: Saipan Blog

Angelo has and extra-large edition of the Carnival of the Blue this month, with nearly 30 entries. Check out the Saipan Blog for your end-of-season reading.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Carnival of the Blue No. 39 - Arthropoda

"[L]et’s put on our mask and fins and dive headlong into the best of July’s ocean blogging…" The latest edition of the Carnival of the Blue is up on Michael's Arthropoda Blog.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Please Standby

The next carnival will appear later this week on the Arthropoda blog.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Carnival of the Blue No. 38 - Water Words that Work

The July edition of the Carnival of the Blue is up at Eric's blog, Water Words that Work. Eric is a water blogger and environmental communication consultant that helps the conservation community with crafting environmental writing that is clear and compelling. This month's carnival features more on the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, squirming worms and girl power for whales. Next month's carnival finds another first time host, The Arthropoda.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Carnival of the Blue No. 37

Following an ancient migration pattern back to its source, the Carnival of the Blue is alive on Mark's Blogfish blog. This is the 3rd anniversary of the Carnival of the Blue, which Mark started in 2007 on World Oceans Day. In this edition, there are several posts covering the Deepwater Horizon oilpocalypse. There is also a quiz about what links World Ocean Day, Jacques Cousteau, and World Cup football. Check it out.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Carnival of the Blue #36

Ahoy mates, and welcome aboard the 36th edition of the Carnival of the Blue! And while you are on board, take a gander at Observation of a Nerd's new digs at scienceblogs.com/observations. Thanks Christie!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Thar She Goes! Carnival of the Blue No. 35


The Carnival of the Blue is a rotating monthly compilation of the "best of" ocean blogging, bringing together ocean bloggers and readers.

Next month's carnival will be at Christie's spanking new blog at scienceblogs.com/observations

Monday, March 29, 2010

Carnival of the Blue, 2010 Schedule

Here's the latest lineup for the Carnival of the Blue in 2010. Some new blue blogs are rounding out the year. Just one hosting slot left! If you'd like to fill the final niche, email me at dotoftheblue @ gmail . com.

To contribute your blog post to one of the upcoming carnivals, use our handy Blogcarnival submission form: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_8736.html

To receive monthly reminders, sign up for our email notification list: http://eepurl.com/hk2P

Monday, March 1, 2010

Carnival of the Blue No. 34 at Southern Fried Science

Carnival of the Blue No. 34

The March 2010 Carnival of the Blue is afloat at Southern Fried Science. Thanks and a tip of the fin to David and the SciFries for hosting and posting. Please read, share and comment on their blog.

You can pickup a customized No. 34 web badge here.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Heave away, Carnival of the Blue No. 33

Heave away, me hearties! Check out Carnival of the Blue No. 33, the Sea Shanty edition. Now live at Deep-Sea News. Thanks, Miriam!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Monthly Invitations to Carnival of the Blue

It appears there is confusion over how to use the blogcarnival.com submission form. Or maybe a lack of awareness that it exists? As an alternative, I am setting up a mail list and campaign system to help with sending monthly email reminders.

To get the latest reminders and updates about the Carnival of the Blue, sign up using the link below. This service will send you about two notices a month. The first will be a reminder about future Carnivals and participation procedures. The second will be an update when the latest Carnival of the Blue is posted. Previous Carnival of the Blue participants will be added to the system automatically. However, if you wish to be removed from the system, please reply to dotoftheblue @ gmail . com and let me know or use the Unsubscribe features included with the system. This is a spam-free list. You only get bacn.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Where Blue?




The next Carnival of the Blue is scheduled for Monday, February 1 at The Oyster's GarterDeep-Sea News.

In March we sail on over to The Southern Fried Scientists.

And in April and May? How about at your blog! Please leave a comment below to sign up.

All past and future hosts qualify to receive one of the nifty Carnival of the Blue buttons pictured above and on this dapper fellow. It's not just something for your Web site. It's an actual button that you can wear on your lapel, handbag or cubicle. Email me for details.

UPDATE: The Oyster's Garter has performed an emergency stop and transferred its crew over to Deep-Sea News. Use the Blog Carnival submission form or email your submissions to dotoftheblue at gmail dot com.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Carnival of the Blue No. 32

Happy Blue Year! Carnival of the Blue No. 32 has set sail at SeaNotes.