Hello. I’ve been using the platform for a few years now, but I always find something that could improve my use of inaturalist. I’d like to know how you usually use the “journal” tab.
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there are many existing threads related to this subject. for example:
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I typically use it to collate trip report info, split into a journal post per day (maps + photos + random footnotes) followed by a journal post that indexes the posts from each day.
For example: https://inaturalist.ca/journal/joebrogers/101357-2024-09-15-2024-09-25-trip-report-index-cote-nord-quebec
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Welcome to the forum.
I think it gets used in various ways.
For myself, I decided to use it to provide information on some of the less popular or well known places to observe nature in my area. Often those places are what is called Scientific and Natural Areas or SNAs. (In the adjoining state, that same abbreviation is used for State Natural Areas… essentially the same thing). But there are a variety of places I might pick up from eBird hotspots or from reading an article online but for which scant official info was readily available. I had to kind of dig for information on where a certain place might be, where to park, etc. And then, for myself, I was making notes about trail conditions (we’re both in our elder years), bathroom opportunities, or what else was nearby that could be visited while on a road trip.
After joining iNat, I decided that info might prove useful for others so moved my notes into individual journal entries. These notes are ones I find useful and write primarily for myself. But I’m always keen to share if I think other people might find it useful. I haven’t been as good as I could be about adding or updating info the last few years.
I also had a very excellent experience viewing fall Sandhill Crane migration that I related to a friend by email. It was such a great experience I put that in a journal post.
The third thing I used it for was for ID info. If I personally conducted some research on ID of a particular species that might be useful to others, I put it in a journal post. In one instance, numerous observations had been misidentified as a species not found in my state. I corrected them all, leaving a link to my journal post on info on that genus.
I also found a highly invasive plant in a nearby city park and after discussing it with various city officials, I got tired of writing out the details every time so I collated it all in a journal post.
If you want to see what I’ve done, to get an idea… you can see an index here: https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/mmmiller/61411
But I know that other people use it for completely different purposes so really… it’s yours to do with what you want.
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Kinda how you want to, but it’s essentially a sort of mini blog option, with the idea that it’s focused on things related to iNat and your use of it.
The target audience can be pretty much anyone, including just using it as notes for yourself or to keep links to relevant resources.
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It is a good way to write about what you care about, what interests you - and then can be linked back to in comments on IDs.
August for Africa
Since we are not allowed to promote a project in the forum - the journal is a way to do that.
Lots of taxon specialists use it to teach us how to ID A versus B - again - easy to to link back in comments as you ID.
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Things that I think would be useful to other people: organizing bioblitzes and posting identification guides mostly.
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Thank you all very much. I was unsure about the best way to use it, but it seems to be quite flexible and personal. Thank you all for the tips.
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Probably the best way to find journal posts that interest you, is to start from iNat profiles. He IDs spiders in my here and now - does he explain how I can make better IDs for his chosen taxon?
If you scroll down the journal tab, there are a LOT of journal posts. Every day.
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So far, I only have two posts on mine, but I have more or less used the journal to document stories within observations, adding vital history to them that you can’t really get with a simple observation through photos. Documenting new records of species that shouldn’t be here, and rediscovering old ones.
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