WASHINGTON, D.C. — Who do you think of when you hear the word “knowledge creator”?

A fashion influencer talking about the best makeup? A local things-to-do creator? An activist protesting on the streets? A journalist?

I think of Bill Nye. Yes, the science guy.

The OG creator was Bill Nye. I remember watching him in class as a kid, usually on the days my teacher gave up on explaining photosynthesis to us middle schoolers. He was so relatable and so digestible when he explained issues. And, more importantly, so human. I know he was just the science guy and not a scientist, but isn't every scientist just a human being? Doesn't every researcher have a reason why they got into their field? Aren’t they just everyday people?

Over the last few months, I've spoken to scientists, experts, and journalists about their struggles creating content, and found that to be true. When the camera isn't on, they're normal people who can communicate their story effectively. I also know this because one of my first journalistic projects was The Expert Opinions Podcast, which ran for two seasons at Boston College. I interviewed professors about how their subject matter related to the issues of our time, including American historian Heather Cox Richardson, who writes the number one Substack right now. (A subtle flex, I know.)

That's why I believe in the future value of the knowledge creator economy, especially with scientists and researchers.

But our information ecosystem will be in more danger if these professionals don't start practicing vertical video and meeting audiences where they are. There's no reason why random people on TikTok should be talking about health and misinformation while the experts who have studied it for years aren't.

But I know vertical video is a struggle. Not everyone can be Bill Nye. Lots of people do suck at vertical video, and they shouldn't be forced to do it. They should be doing their research.

That's why working with content creators is valuable. They are the distributors of information to the public. They already have the formats, the trust, and sometimes even the expertise to share what scientists know. I think of my friend Abbie (@tofology), a misinformation researcher and content creator with two climate science degrees. She attends briefings with scientists. She's gone on trips with scientists. And she breaks down some of the most important climate information out there like she's your bestie.

But relying on Abbie and other creators is a step a lot of the organizations I spoke with aren't ready for, and more importantly, it's not the long-term approach they want. So instead, I'm asking you to rethink your mentality for creating content, with one of the oldest sayings in human history: "Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime." (Yes, I went there.)

Is it that scientists suck at creating content, OR that while becoming experts in their fields, communication was never part of the training?

Based on my conversations with experts and scientists for this newsletter, it was always the latter. The consensus was that they wished they had learned and practiced these skills, but never did. One told me there was "no guidebook." Where do they even start? How do they make science sexy? How do they beat an algorithm dominated by watch time?

And they're right. There is no guidebook, at least not until today.

Below is a working draft of my science communicator one-pager to help scientists get started with vertical video. It includes key tips for experts based on research and the bottom-up marketing approach, which I'm hoping to expand into a real guidebook with the help of anyone out there interested in partnering with me on this. I truly believe experts are the most underused voices on the internet, and I want to change that. They will be the future of the knowledge creator economy.

(For full disclosure, this prototype guidebook was written by me and designed by Claude. I don’t anticipate any final version using AI.)

I am excited to share a personal project I have been working on for my reporting: a text newsletter. I am working on getting this software FREE for journalists, so please message me if you are interested in exploring texting as an option.

Please sign up for my text newsletter here: https://markitai.com/u/bottomup (It's best if you live in Boston, or if you just love me haha.)

Was the jobs, grants, and gigs section of the newsletter helpful at all? It hasn't been doing well on LinkedIn, so please respond to this email so I know if it was good and I can fully commit and restart. I don't know how to react until I hear from my audience. Please respond to this email if you enjoyed it and tell me why :)

Thank you for reading the 6th EVER edition of The Creator Translator. Your feedback is needed — what topic should I cover next? What resources or tools should I include? If you received this newsletter and didn’t like it, that's a bummer, but you can unsubscribe at any time using the link below. If you enjoyed this newsletter, follow me on social media using the link below or share this newsletter with a friend. See you next month!