BioJobBlogger Revealed
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Ome Ogbru, Pharm. D, CEO and Founder of Rxeconsult, a new networking site for healthcare consulting and jobs, asked me if I would be interested in being interviewed about the companies and websites that I started. Of course I could not refuse. So here goes:
RxEconsult: What is BioInsights and why did you develop BioInsights?
BioJobBlogger: BioInsights founded in 1998 was originally a bioscience training and education company. The goal of the company was to help life scientists get the training that they need to get jobs at life sciences companies. Today, BioInsights, Inc is more of a career development company that provides individualized career development guidance and counseling for life scientists. This is because the life sciences job market has changed considerably since 1998 and jobs are harder to come by. However, we still offer bioscience training in drug development, regulatory affairs and biomanufacturing. Additionally, BioInsights also offer medical communications consulting services.
RxEconsult: How do you distinguish BioInsights from other Medical Communications companies?
BioJobBlogger: Unlike traditional medical communications companies, BioInsights offers writing services that heavily focus on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter and various blogging platforms. We also offer medical writing, copywriter and website content development services.
RxEconsult: What are the main challenges in your business and how are you addressing them?
BioJobBlogger: Training and career development services are not high priorities for job candidates or life sciences companies until a scientist is looking for a job or a company needs to hire new employees. Consequently, it is difficult to convince both companies and jobseekers to be proactive and engage us early in the process. We are beginning to address this problem by turning to various social media platforms to get the word out about our services. Paradoxically, the recent economic downturn has been good for our business activities!
RxEconsult: What attracted you to social media and blogging? How can professionals make a living or develop their career by blogging?
BioJobBlogger: I enjoy writing and always have had a strong desire to share my ideas and opinions with others. Blogging seemed like a natural extension of what I like to do. So, about 6 years ago I launched BioJobBlog (www.biojobblog.com) which is focused on life sciences career development topics as well as opinion pieces and reports on the goings on in the life sciences industry. While blogging is exciting and extremely cathartic, it is difficult to make a living as a blogger. The days of individual bloggers selling their blogs for millions to large media outlets are over. That said, blogging is useful in establishing yourself as a subject matter expert which can sometimes lead to paid opportunities. At its peak last year, I was averaging between 65,000-70,000 unique visitors per month @ BioJobBlog.
I built traffic to the levels I mentioned by blogging 4-5 times per day and staying abreast of late breaking events in the life sciences industry. I was able to maintain that pace for a couple of years but because I blog for free, I could not sustain the pace any longer. The original goal was to reach 100,000 unique visitors per month and then try to sell the blog or form an alliance with a media outlet. Obviously, that did not happen. I am now happy to log between 30,000-45,000 unique visitors per month by blogging three times per week or whenever the urge strikes me.
As far as revenue is concerned, it has not been much. It costs me about $2400 per year in hosting and management fees and I have been blogging for over 5 years. In that timespan, I may have made several thousand dollars but not enough to break even or turn a profit. Blogging is truly a personal medium that is driven more by desire and the need to be heard rather than a profitable enterprise; unless of course you can get a major media outlet and blog for them. That is really my dream job right now!
RxEconsult: What are the top social media practices that professionals should use for developing their career?
BioJobBlogger: I think that LinkedIn, Twitter and a personal blog can really help in terms of career development for life scientists. However, all of these platforms require daily monitoring and care. Sadly, most life sciences professional spend most of their time in the laboratory and fail to realize that career development is vital and cannot be ignored if one wants to find a job!
RxEconsult: What healthcare gaps can social media address?
BioJobBlogger: I believe that social media can be used in real time for adverse event reporting and educational outreach activities. Unfortunately, most drug makers view social media as means to bolster sales or look for specialized employees. That said, these are early days for life sciences companies and social media and it will interesting to see how social media evolves in the life sciences industry.
RxEconsult: Why are biopharmaceutical companies struggling with leveraging social media and how can they best use social media? How can BioInsights help them?
BioJobBlogger: The life sciences industry is very conservative and adverse to change. Social media is clearly a game changing phenomenon and most life sciences companies don’t know what to make of it yet. Over the past three years or so, more and more life sciences companies have experimented with various social media platforms and are beginning to realize their potential for their businesses.
BioInsights can help companies navigate the social media jungle because of our experience using social media platforms and also developing life sciences websites and blog content.
RxEconsult: What feedback have you received and how are your websites performing?
BioJobBlogger: I recently redesigned the BioInsights website and traffic has been down. Most of my focus is on two other BioInsights web assets---BioJobBlog and BioCrowd (www.biocrowd.com) an online networking community for bioprofessionals.
I frequently get comments @BioJobBlog about its content and how helpful it is to jobseekers and other bioprofessionals. BioCrowd was launched about three years ago and we are still growing the community. At present, joining BioCrowd is primarily through invitation only. We are embarking on a mass membership drive early next spring. At present there are 4,200 BioCrowd members.
RxEconsult: If you wrote a book about how to develop and run a business what pearls would you include?
BioJobBlogger: No matter how good the idea is, it is all about marketing! Good ideas with insufficient marketing power can easily fail whereas bad ideas with mega-advertising can succeed. As a scientist myself, I failed to realize how important marketing and advertising are! In hindsight, I would have invested much more money and effort in marketing my business rather developing content and building sleek looking websites!
RxEconsult:BioJobBlogger, thank you for sharing your views and discussing your ventures. Hopefully, you can return to give us an update. I wish you success and I hope you find that dream job!
To comment on this article or ask questions join the RxEconsult community, a free business network for healthcare consulting, jobs, and more.
Vincent Racaniello, PhD podcaster extraordinaire and a 
Last week, financial analysts and social media enthusiast were all a twitter (sorry I couldn’t resist) about 
William Hooper author of the
On episode #7 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology, Vincent, Cliff, Elio, Margaret, and Michael discuss programmed cell death in E. coli, and the daily synthesis and degradation of enzymes needed for photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria.
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I 
According to a 
Despite what you may have been told, managing a career and finding new job opportunities is all about networking. Yes, I know that scientists and many other bioprofessionals loathe networking, but that is the way the game is played and if you want to win you have to play by the rules (written or otherwise)..jpg)
Facebook has over 500 million users and Twitter has close to 175 million who write 95 million tweets daily. Conventionally wisdom suggests that using either of the platforms to advertise or brand a product or service would be a no brainer. However, my experience with paid ads on Facebook (I haven’t tried Twitter yet) suggests that the ROI on using social media to advertise may not be that substantial. There is no question that using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, GroupOn to build brand awareness or create a buzz about a product or service or to share coupons is extremely useful. But for straight up advertising and click through rates—not so much!!!
BioCrowd (
Over the past few years, life sciences companies have shed over 200,000 jobs. Unfortunately, downsizing at some of these companies may not be over yet. Nevertheless, companies are always looking to recruit new talent to keep up with normal job turnover rates or to replace highly specialized employees whose skills sets are essential to successfully running the business. Because many of these former life sciences employees possessed special or arcane talents and skill sets, advertising for their replacements using conventional methods like 
Before the advent of social media, the only way job candidates could communicate to a hiring manager why they—rather than other applicants—were the right fit for a job was through a face-to-face interview. Conventional wisdom suggests that a skilled candidate who can also demonstrate a legitimate enthusiasm for a position is generally the applicant who wins out. However, the online world, specifically the social web, has changed all that.
Medical/science writing is increasingly becoming popular among PhD life scientists are having trouble finding traditional laboratory-based, research jobs. The transition from laboratory research to writing is not an onerous one; especially if you like to write.
Vincent Racaniello, 
The fourth 
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Over 70 percent of hiring managers and HR professionals routinely use Google to find out more about prospective job candidates. While many jobseekers know this and do everything possible to expunge deleterious and compromising information from a Google search on their names, some don’t know that Facebook profiles are a routine target of all Google searches. Consequently, hiring managers may have access to some personal information (including photos) that may jeopardize a job candidate’s prospects. 
For the past few years, CEOs have been taking a lot of heat; and in many cases rightfully so. However, from time to time some of these “captains of industry” say things that may be useful to ambitious young executives, employees and would-be entrepreneurs. .jpg)
An article in today’s New York Times business section loudly proclaimed that the number of people using 
Some of you may have noticed that a new tab entitled “BioCareers” has been added to the BioJobBlog navigation bar.
Like most scientists, the questions that I enjoy the most have simple answers. Black or white is much easier to deal with than shades of gray (although shades of gray can be titillating from a research perspective). With this in mind, the answer to my question about online job searches is a shade of gray rather than black or white. It goes without saying, that applying for jobs online is simple, facile, and extremely gratifying. On a given day, you can apply for thousands of jobs and feel like you have done something positive for your future.
There is no question that video is taking the Internet by storm and is quickly replacing the written word as a means of communication. Despite the obvious business opportunities offered by videos, most big pharma companies have failed to jump on the video bandwagon. As always, there are exceptions to the status quo and a handful of life sciences companies most notably Johnson & Johnson, have been experimenting with video over the past few years.
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While most successful professionals want you to believe that they “fell into” their current jobs, the truth is that they wouldn’t have made it as far as they had without thinking or divining some type of strategic career plan. The trouble is that many early career professionals buy into this assertion—and rather than chart their own career trajectories—tend to gravitate toward jobs or job titles held by these seemingly successful professionals. .jpg)
I will be at the 
I started writing BioJobBlog about three years ago mainly to express my personal views on a variety of topics ranging from science education and career development to happenings in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. At the time, blogging was a relatively new phenomenon (especially in the life sciences space) and I had no idea whether or not anybody would really care about what I thought or had to say. .gif)
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Mary Canady author of the Comprendia Blog recently 
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Let’s face it; scientists aren’t generally regarded as being funny. While I have met several very funny researchers during my almost 35 year career, the vast majority of my colleagues have been mostly serious and, at times, difficult to amuse; especially when things weren't going so well in the lab.
Flu season is upon us and, not surprisingly, there is no dearth of information available to the public about the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines. Mostly there are stories about the lack of availability of the vaccines, underreporting of deaths associated from H1N1 infections and perhaps, most importantly concerns about flu vaccine safety. Despite attempts by the CDC and a few dedicated virologists like 
Yesterday, after giving a talk on social media to a great NYC-based PR firm called Ricochet,I decided to take an uptown trip to visit Professor Vincent Racaniello at Columbia University Medical School to talk about the new applications that we plan to introduce to (1).png)
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Cliff Mintz, 
Have you ever received a call from a “head hunter” who suggests that they might be able to assist you in your job search? Can professional recruiters actually help you find a job? Finally, have you ever wondered what’s in it for the recruiter if they don’t charge jobseekers a fee to help them with their job searches?.jpg)
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Since the beginning of the pandemic last spring, 
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Professor Vincent Racaniello, a BioCrowd co-founder and virologist who studies the pathogenesis of polio and influenza viruses commented that there will likely be two influenza vaccines offered this fall: a trivalent vaccine consisting of seasonal H3N2 and H1N1 strains and an influenza B strain; and a monovalent one consisting of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 strain..jpg)
Losing a job is a BIG deal whether you were layed off, fired or right-sized out of it. Not only do you have to worry about health insurance, bills and paying rent or making a mortgage payment, you must also deal with a myriad of self esteem and emotional issues that frequently arise after losing a job. While there are many articles and books that describe how to functionally conduct a job search after being layed off, there are only a handful that discuss how to cope with the stress and negative emotions that frequently accompany job loss.
BioCrowd co-founder, 
On several occasions while driving in upstate New York, I noticed an exit sign on the NY State Thruway for Coxsackie, NY. And, not surprisingly, I began to wonder whether or not the Coxsackie virus was named after this obscure upstate NY town.
At the recent Social Communication and Healthcare conference I was invited to run a roundtable discussion entitled “How to Build a Social Networking Site for Bioprofessionals.” The discussions were well attended, primarily by employees several pharmaceutical companies and vendors who sell scientific equipment and reagents. Several bloggers and medical communications professionals also attended.
I met 
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I just learned from Diego Pineda who runs the (1).jpg)
The debate, if you can call it that, over whether or not interactive social media platforms like 
The New York Times reported today that for the first time, Internet users are spending more time on social networking and video sites than on e-mail. According to a report by Nielsen, there was a 1,905 percentage change in the time that users spent viewing online video and an 883 percentage increase in social networking use from February 2003 to 2009..gif)
A quick perusal of the media coverage of the swine flu outbreak of 2009 would lead many to conclude that this outbreak has the potential to rival or surpass the 1918 flu pandemic—widely regarded as the worst influenza outbreak in history. While the emergence of a new H1N1 swine flu variant is significant note worthy— and has possible public health implications— the unrelenting, often scientifically-inaccurate media coverage did little to quell the fear and anxiety of many Americans. Once again, the media—rather than physicians, public health officials and influenza experts—“got out in front of the story” and managed to create enough panic, fear and anxiety, the likes of which haven't been seen since the 2003 SARS pandemic. It wasn't until last Friday, when the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Dr. Peter Palese—a leading scientific expert on influenza A infections— did a clearer picture emerge about the severity and public health implications of the current swine flu pandemic.
Vincent Racaniello, an intrepid virologist and 
By now everybody has heard that there is a Swine Flu epidemic that started in Mexico and may morph into a worldwide pandemic. The media's coverage has been mind numbing and overwhelming. For those of you who want the real skinny on the outbreak, I recommend that you read a .jpg)
While I was at the Experimental Biology meeting in New Orleans, LA this past week I presented a seminar entitled “Using Social Media For Career Development in the Life Sciences.” This was the first time that I presented this talk, and was expecting a large turn out given the popularity of Facebook and more recently Twitter, a microblogging platform. Much to my surprise only 15 students showed up for the talk—many of whom hadn’t heard of Twitter and were only vaguely familiar with Facebook. Luckily, a few attendees had Facebook profiles and one or two were on Twitter so the talk wasn't a complete bust. Nevertheless, the lack of interest in this talk was extremely puzzling to me—my other seminars, “Interviewing Tips” and “Alternate Careers for PhDs” were very well attended and I was booked solid for one-on-one resume critiquing sessions during the five days I was in New Orleans.
Using Facebook and Twitter to find jobs is becoming routine in many industries including healthcare. However, the life sciences industry is lagging behind most others when it comes to social media and recruitment. Nevertheless, many companies and academic institutions are beginning to realize that Facebook (FB), Twitter and other science social networks are good source of qualified candidates for those difficult-to fill job openings. 
As many of you know, the life sciences industry, one of the most highly regulated industries of the economy has been hesitant and reluctant to embrace social media to reach out to patients, physicians and the lay public. This is because the US Food and Drug Administration, specifically Division for Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications (.jpg)
Facebook contends that it has over 175 million members, making it the largest social network in the world! Interestingly, according to an .jpg)
Social media is the rage these days and, by all accounts, the things that are driving it popularity are making business connections, job hunting and the opportunity to meet/connect with others on a personal/romantic level. While scientists are generally perceived as being less social than others, I believe that we, like most people, primarily join social networks for two reasons—job hunting and career development or dating and sex..jpg)
We recently added a feature to BioCrowd called BioCrunch. Our goal for BioCrunch is to provide Bcrowd members with relevant, interesting and “fresh” content. Vincent and I are big fans of podcasts and PowerPoint presentations! That said, please .jpg)
As many of you know, we launched (2).jpg)
We were able to entice Berci Mesko —a Hungarian medical student who writes at (1).jpg)
For those of you who want to learn about why Vincent and I created 
Earlier this month, Vincent Racaniello and I launched a new social network called 
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Like it or not, the best way to land a new job whether or not there is a recession is to network. While career counselors and recruiters trumpet the virtues of networking to job seekers, many people really don't understand what it is or how to do it correctly. I found an.jpg)
I first thought about starting a social network for life sciences professionals about a year ago after joined I Facebook and LinkedIn and then learned about SciLink, one of the first social networks for scientists. Apparently, others had the same idea and today, there are currently, by my reckoning, no fewer than 20 social networks for scientists—each promoting a unique approach to networking for scientists..jpg)
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I want to let my readers know that a beta-version of 
I finally started using Twitter a couple of months ago and I think it is pretty cool. That said, I am still a neophyte and I have yet to master the intricacies and nuances of Twitter speak (why are tweets not called twits?—it was a rhetorical question).
The social development of the web 2.0 has largely bypassed science. Hugely popular websites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Digg, Delicious and the like have millions of members and generate huge amounts of traffic. But those who use these sites come from all walks of life. None are devoted solely to science. 