We all love Facebook (or MySpace), but it's not exactly the most professional forum. Isn't there a better way for scientists to communicate their research and network?
The short answer is "Yes."
The long answer is "Yes, it's called 
."
The brainchild of self-taught web guru and PhD student Brian Krueger, LabSpaces.Net is a social networking site dedicated to scientists. It's designed to "spread science news, maintain and create friendships, and harbor collaboration through the internet." The site is specially geared to serve researchers and labs as a community for communication in the sciences.
With a news feed, blogs, and messaging system it has everything you could want in social networking - and then some, just for us science nerds. LabSpaces makes it easy to set up a profile for your lab, linking to your labs' members and publications. You can also upload and search a Protocol Database to share and find methods. Krueger intends to add Classifieds, Personals, an Event Calendar, Video Conferencing, and an easy way to share powerpoints or poster presentations in the near future. And, of course, he's open to suggestions, if there is anything you feel is missing.
Of course there is one thing missing from the site - scientists! It's pretty new, so it needs the word spread amongst the scientific community. After all, what good is a networking site without anyone to network with? Go check it out and see what you think - and, join, if you so desire. I think it's a great idea, but it needs more people to make it really work. So if you like it, pass the news along!
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