In Citizen Science, non-scientists work with scientists on research. Citizen Science networks are indispensable for research that needs a lot of people, such as monitoring invasive species. Also, citizens who participate learn about the research subject and the scientific method. Citizen Science connects research with outreach.
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Photo credit: Cory Giacobbe
Running a blog and site is definitely a fairly social matter, and you do a good job with interacting and at the same time keeping people up to date with fantastic and frequent submissions. Getting people involved in the research makes a lot of sense the way you describe it.