Email Templates for a Data Help Desk
Volunteer Reminders & Encouragement (pre-event)
Volunteer Reminders One week out
Volunteer Reminders Within Days of the Event
Advertise Event to Researchers (pre-event)
Encourage Volunteers (during event)
Post Event Thank you for Data Experts
Post Event Thank you for Volunteers
Solicit Volunteers
Still a few days left to volunteer! No mandatory time commitment - answer data or software questions and/or share a recorded demo or one-pager related to making data or software more open and FAIR and we will promote it during the event.
Volunteer to be a data or software expert for the upcoming Virtual Data Help Desk to be hosted during the first week of the 2021 European Geosciences Union General Assembly (#vEGU21: Gather Online; 19-23 April 2021). The Data Help Desk, which is a program of ESIP, the European Geosciences Union (EGU), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and their partners, connects researchers with informatics experts familiar with their scientific domain to learn about skills and techniques that will help further their research and make their data and software more open and FAIR. You can volunteer to take part in the following ways:
Answer earth science data (and software) questions (monitor platform and answer where you can); Share a recorded demo (share a brief recorded demo of a tool or resource, ideally <5 min); Share a one-pager about your tool or resource.
To volunteer, please complete this brief form as soon as possible by 5 April 2021. More details on how you can contribute are provided in the Volunteer Guidelines. NOTE: You do not have to be attending vEGU21 to take part in this event.
The Data Help Desk is happening virtually again after several successful virtual and in-person events at society meetings over the last few years at the AGU Fall Meeting, EGU General Assembly, ESA Annual Meeting, Ocean Sciences Meeting, and more. Don’t miss this chance to help others with data-related questions and to demo your tool or platform!
Questions? Contact megancarter@esipfed.org.
Invite Planning Team
Hi Everyone,
I am reaching out to you today because of your past involvement in a Data Help Desk/Data FAIR and/or your enthusiasm for participating in future Data Help Desks. I would like to invite you to join in a few planning meetings for the events at AGU20, as these will be opportunities to get your valuable input on this first virtual iteration at AGU and for you to learn more about how you could potentially contribute.
We are targeting Dec 7-11 and 14-16 for the Data FAIR/Data Help Desk, and of course that is quickly approaching! If you can please fill out this Doodle Poll ASAP by Friday 11/6 at noon ET to indicate your availability for an initial meeting next week, that would be wonderful.
By the way, if you are not able to take part in planning meetings, but would like to volunteer as a data expert, please click the “Volunteer as a Data Expert” button at http://bit.ly/DataHelpAGU20 by 11/13.
Thanks and have a wonderful rest of your week, Megan
Volunteer Reminders & Encouragement (pre-event)
2-3 weeks out
Hi All,
On behalf of the organizers, ESIP, EGU, and AGU, thank you very much for volunteering as a data or software expert for the Virtual Data Help Desk during the #vEGU21 Meeting (4/19-4/23).
To prepare for your participation, please do the following: Read the guidance document, which includes important deadlines for sharing recordings and one-pagers. Please note especially that all contributions of one-pagers and recordings should be made by April 13th. Note also that an important way to contribute is to tell others about the event. Attached is a postcard you are welcome to share. Join the #datahelpdesk-experts Slack Channel, which will allow those who are less inclined to use Twitter to monitor questions and all of us (Twitter-users or not) to have back channel conversation during the event. Join the ESIP Slack, then find and join the #datahelpdesk-experts channel. If you would like to share a logo for your organization or tool, please place a high-resolution logo into this Google Folder by the end of the day on Tuesday 4/13. If you have questions about how the Virtual Data Help Desk will work or would like to discuss your ideas for new contributed demos or one-pagers, you are always welcome to email me and I’ve also scheduled 2 info sessions where you can drop by to chat with me:
Wednesday April 7th 11 am ET/8 am PT/3 pm UTC 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT/ 8 pm UTC Connection info: Join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81987752027?pwd=aUkrUzZRK2pWMDdKR2hXTW5hTkZYQT09 Meeting ID: 819 8775 2027 Passcode: 931897 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbKDGq35WG We are excited to be working together with you on this event!
Best, Megan Carter on behalf of all organizers
Megan Carter Orlando ESIP Community Director & Data Help Desk Coordinator
Volunteer Reminders One week out
(Just prior to contribution deadline)
Hello Virtual Data Help Desk Volunteers,
We are just 6 days out from the event! We want to make sure you get the most out of the experience, so please let me know if you have any questions about the guidance document by replying to this note.
An important reminder for those of you who plan to share recorded demos and one-pagers, I look forward to receiving them ASAP by tomorrow April 14th. New resources are great, but if there is an existing resource that researchers might find helpful, feel free to share those as well!
I strongly recommend that you all join our Slack Channel for Data Experts if you have not already by first joining the ESIP Slackspace and then adding yourself to the #datahelpdesk-experts channel. This will be a great place for backchannel conversation during the event and an alternate place for you to provide input on questions.
We are grateful for any effort you make to tell others about the event (see “Tell others” section of guidance document). Later this week, we hope you’ll consider sharing a ~30 sec or less video on Twitter using the hashtags #DataHelpDesk and #vEGU21 sharing your involvement and excitement for the event. I’ll be working on mine shortly.
Thanks again for your volunteer spirit and have a wonderful rest of your week!
Best, Megan
Volunteer Reminders Within Days of the Event
(just to those who said they would contribute and have not yet)
Hi All,
I’m checking in with you because you indicated that you might be interested in creating a one-pager or brief recording for next week’s Data Help Desk @AGU21 on a tool or resource that might help researchers with some aspect of finding, managing, visualizing, analyzing, publishing, or citing data or software. I wanted to see if there is anything I can do to help you move forward with this by the deadline of tomorrow Friday (12/10). On page 2 and 3 of the volunteer guidelines, there are some suggestions for what you might include in a resource like this - short and simple is great. Existing resources are great also! If contributing a one-pager, please submit at https://esip.figshare.com/submit. If sharing a recording, please provide me with a URL (YouTube or Vimeo or other is fine).
If you no longer wish to contribute a recording at this time, that is not a problem, but do let me know if there is any way I can help.
Best, Megan
Advertise Event to Researchers
(pre-event)
Do you have data-related questions? Are you looking to make your data and/or software open and FAIR? Are you interested in tools and resources for working with your data or for finding data to reuse? The Virtual Data Help Desk is here for you!
The Virtual Data Help Desk, which is a program of the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP), EGU, and AGU, provides researchers with opportunities to engage with informatics experts familiar with their scientific domain to learn about skills and techniques that will help further their research and make their data and software more open and FAIR. The Virtual Data Help Desk will be staffed with experts from the Earth science informatics community to answer data-related questions and to demo useful resources.
When: April 19th-23rd, 2021 during #vEGU21: Gather Online Where: Online. Follow the #DataHelpDesk on twitter here. Learn more: bit.ly/DataHelpEGU21.
During the Virtual Data Help Desk, YOU can: Ask Data Questions: Share your questions any time during the event via Twitter using the hashtag #DataHelpDesk or submit your question via a form HERE. Our team of Earth science data professionals has decades of experience in informatics and in many scientific domains and specializes in topics like finding, sharing, analyzing, publishing, and citing data. Watch Tool Demos & Tutorials: We will direct you to helpful tutorials and demos throughout the week that will highlight tools and resources you can use to manage your data and enhance your research. Follow #DataHelpDesk to hear about these!
The Data Help Desk has been held in the past at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, the Ocean Sciences Meeting, and the European Geosciences Union General Assembly. The virtual event at #vEGU21 represents another exciting opportunity for anyone to jump in and ask questions, regardless of geographic location. Join us to improve your data skills and practices!
Questions? Contact megancarter@esipfed.org.
Encourage Volunteers (during event)
Hello Data & Software Experts,
I wanted to share a BIG thank you for volunteering to participate in the Data Help Desk at AGU21! Today is the first day of this 5 day event and here are a few things to note: There are many ways to help out on Twitter by following the action HERE throughout the week: 1) Address questions or prompts you see by replying to them, 2) Retweet questions and answers, 3) Tag other experts who might add their perspectives both when you are replying and retweeting, and 4) Feel free to promote any sessions you are participating in using #DataHelpDesk and #AGU21. A powerful way to contribute is to like and retweet Twitter prompts from others (e.g., “Ask the Virtual #DataHelpDesk how you can cite your #EarthScience #Data like a pro…”). You can also reply and tag other experts that you think may have advice. We also encourage you to share your own prompts - this helps others to formulate their questions and raise awareness about what the Data Help Desk is. If you are participating mostly from Slack in the #datahelpdesk-experts channel, watch out for questions to be shared there. I’ll share questions from Twitter in that channel if they aren’t being addressed on Twitter. If you have ideas of prompts or questions we might put out on Twitter, feel free to ping me there. If you will be at AGU in-person, here is the schedule for the physical Data Help Desk at AGU Central Hall B1. Whether you’ve signed up for a timeslot or not, feel free to stop by! Our gallery of recorded demos and one-pagers at bit.ly/DataHelpAGU21 is continuing to grow - thank you for your contributions. This is an important legacy of this event and we will look to feature these resources again at future Data Help Desks. Thanks again for all that you are doing and will do to make this event successful! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best, Megan
Post Event Thank you for Data Experts
Hello Data Experts,
I wanted to share BIG thank you for your participation in the Data Help Desk at AGU20 thus far and encourage you to keep it up! We have seen a lot of activity on Twitter, and questions coming in both through Twitter and through the survey form linked to the Slack channel, on topics like dealing with large volumes of data, Schema.org, and data models among other things. Here are a few things to note: I have been blown away by the awesome contributions many of you have made to our gallery of recorded demos and one-pagers at bit.ly/DataHelpAGU20. This is an important legacy of this event and we will look to feature these resources again at future Data Help Desks. There are many ways to help out on Twitter: 1) Address questions or prompts you see by replying to them, 2) Retweet questions and answers, and 3) Tag other experts who might add their perspectives both when you are replying and retweeting. 4) Feel free to promote any sessions you are participating in using #DataHelpDesk and #AGU20. A powerful way to contribute is to like and retweet Twitter prompts from others (e.g., “Ask the Virtual #DataHelpDesk how you can cite your #EarthScience #Data like a pro…”). You can also reply and tag other experts that you think may. have advice. We also encourage you to share your own prompts. If you are participating mostly from Slack, watch out for questions to be shared there. Thanks to those of you who have already jumped on the questions that have come in there! I’ll share questions from Twitter in that channel if they aren’t being addressed on Twitter. If you have ideas of prompts or questions we might put out on Twitter, feel free to ping me there. Thanks again for all that you are doing to make this event successful! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best, Megan
Post Event Thank you for Volunteers
Dear AGU21 Data Help Desk Volunteers,
On behalf of the Data Help Desk (DHD) at AGU21 organizers (ESIP, EarthCube, and AGU), I would like to say a big THANK YOU to all of you for your time and efforts last week! At 5 days, the DHD was 3 full days shorter than last AGU, but the twitter metrics (e.g., the number of posts shared with #DataHelpDesk (639) and the number of intentional engagements with the posts (1564)) surpassed last year’s event, as well as other 5-day events held thus far.
This was the first time we had both virtual and in-person DHD components. Thank you to our 15+ volunteers who staff the in-person space and to AGU (Shelley Stall & Chris Erdmann) for taking the lead in this space. I certainly enjoyed seeing all of the pics of smiling eyes and beautiful demos on Twitter (e.g., here and here).
I hope that you felt that the time you spent contributing to the DHD was time well-spent and that you will consider participating in future activities. Led by the AMS Board on Data Stewardship, there will even be a DHD next month in conjunction with the AMS Annual Meeting.
Finally, as we strive to improve the DHD, please consider sending me a note on what worked well and what could be improved. This feedback means a lot as we envision the future of future DHDs (virtual or in-person).
Sincerely, Megan
Megan Carter Orlando ESIP Community Director & Data Help Desk Coordinator