Virginia Schutte

@vgwschutte

Independent (freelance) #SciComm practitioner: storyteller, consultant, trainer. Specialties: social media, communications strategy, building community. Background: (marine) ecology PhD. Open to work. VirginiaSchutte.com

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Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· 12d

3. Select your "web" shortcut as your default search engine, and you too can have the before/after experience in these screenshots when you type "Google.com" into your browser

A screenshot of the search "I like ice cream" with an AI Overview at the top

A screenshot of the search "I like ice cream" with no AI Overview at the top- just links below the search bar. The "Web" tab is bolded (next to Images, Shopping, etc.) instead of "AI Mode" or "All"

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· 12d

2. To default to "web" in Chrome, add it as a "Site search" shortcut first Name the shortcut whatever you want, I chose "Google web only" Make the shortcut whatever you want, I chose "@web" And here's the crucial part- tell Chrome to go to this URL: www.google.com/search?q=%s&...

A screenshot of my shortcut settings in Chrome

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· 12d

1. Get into your search settings. In Chrome, that's the 3 vertical dots in the upper right -> settings -> search engine You want to make it so every time you go to Google via the URL, it defaults to the "web" view (as in: you are only searching the web) My search settings look like this

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· 19d

🦀 see a crab, post a crab 🦀 I love sally lightfoot crabs so much- they feel like calm in a storm, glorified

A sally lightfoot crab in the Galapagos. It's a brilliant red and yellow crab with a sky-blue belly sitting on a dark rock that's slick with water. A wave is captured as blurry white foamy chaos behind the crab, which is still on its rock and gazing into the middle distance like it's on a movie poster.

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· 20d

This was my PhD! 🦑🧪 1. Roots that grow into the Caribbean seafloor are bare, because sea stars eat the stuff that grows on them 2. Roots that dangle into the water get covered in stuff and are great habitat 3. Fertilizer -> more leaves, so we need to protect roots specifically, not just trees

A juvenile grunt hides amongst a sponge growing on an underwater red mangrove root

A stingray moseys along underneath red mangrove roots dangling into the water

A juvenile butterflyfish hides behind underwater red mangrove roots made more complex by sponges and clams growing on the roots

A juvenile snapper looks at the camera from between underwater red mangrove roots made into better hiding spots by sponges with complex structure

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Jun 17

Here's the full script of my Capitol Hill speech in support of science (with alt text) Context: I was on the @wclivestream.bsky.social walk team supporting Syl Foisy as he walked from Central Park to Capitol Hill to deliver letters to lawmakers (I'm still working on that last line in the script)

A screenshot of my speech, showing the following text:

"I got into science to save the Earth. That sounds like a 4th graders’ naïve dream, and I was hoping around that time that I’d eventually be adopted by a pod of dolphins.

But then I grew up. And I stayed in science to help Earth’s people.

When a scientist sounds alarmed about the future of the Earth, it’s because our work shows us that the Earth is becoming a deadlier place for humans to live.

The good news is that our work also shows what we can do to protect each other. Weather and climate scientists have spent decades figuring out what’s coming and how to tell people about it so they can stay safe. Past government investments in science have made our country a world leader in weather and climate prediction. We developed the first computerized weather forecasts, the first computer models of large-scale climate impacts, and an unparalleled network of real-world measurements.

But now, the safety and security of American people are being put at risk. Past actions and current proposals from our own government are designed to radically change the way science works in the United States. Proposed actions include drastically cutting funding for science, limiting the types of science that can receive support, and preventing scientists from sharing our results with each other, with policymakers, and with the American public.

Last year, we lost 20% of the federal science workforce- 25,000 people, with years of expertise that we can never recover. On top of that, we are training far fewer students to join the scientific workforce. As a result, we know less about threats to our lives and our livelihoods and we will for years to come.

The White House’s current proposals make it clear that all of that is only the beginning of their plans."

Screenshot 2 of my speech, showing the following text:

"We scientists are desperate for those plans to be stopped. So we walked 250 miles from New York City to Washington, D.C. to remind our members of Congress that further breaking how science works in the United States is—for now—just a proposal.

Congress has the power to preserve the scientific systems that keep millions of people safe. Congress has the power to insist that their funds get distributed as they were intended to be. Congress has the power to change our course.

And we have the power to hold our members of Congress accountable and make sure they act.

Though our walk was motivated by desperation, it was carried out with joy. Because we know how to ensure that science serves Americans into the future: fund science and protect the integrity of the scientific process, as lawmakers from many backgrounds have been doing for decades.

That seems much easier than walking 250 miles."

Screenshot 3 of my speech, showing the following text:

"We refused to stay still and watch the scientific superpowers of our country be stripped away when they are better than they’ve ever been and needed now more than ever. With more than 250 miles behind us, we and constituents from across the country ask our members of Congress: will you join us in taking extraordinary steps in support of American science and the American people?

[pause]

Now, after walking 250 miles from Central Park to Capitol Hill, I would like to invite Syl Foisy to walk just a few more yards. Syl, please come to the podium to officially conclude your walk for science.

[the enormous crowd goes wild]
[exit to live a life of riches and fame]"

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Jun 3

Walking the last 2 miles of 270 with Syl Foisy and @zentouro.info for @wclivestream.bsky.social! 300 letters in support of science! 7 members of Congress (and more turned away) to greet us! I get to give a speech at the Capitol today!!! Let's gooooooo

Me and Miriam and Syl, smiling to camera as we walk down a city street. We're wearing matching Weather & Climate Livestream shirts

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Jun 1

BTS

Me, smiling to camera, with my laptop and a camera and a light reflector set up behind me. I look like I'm about to do something very official for a media thing

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· May 31

That's me on the left! I have run several Reddit AMAs for science. The biggest one is summarized in the slide below (from when I was working w @lumcon.bsky.social and @drcraigmc.bsky.social) Reddit has changed so much since I did my last AMA. I'm very interested to see how this goes today!

A slide from a presentation I gave at a conference while working for the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. It compares reach for different digital places where I was doing outreach while on a ship in the Gulf of Mexico. The Reddit ask me anything far outperformed outreach on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, reaching 8.6 million people and earning 12,200 engagements

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· May 23

The 250-mile @wclivestream.bsky.social walk to deliver letters in support of science directly to Congress doesn't begin until 10am, but I am officially claiming the first miles traveled on behalf of the walking team 🏆 (the others live in NYC but I have to get there!)

Me, smiling to camera, in my car. I'm buckled up and ready to go : )

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Apr 23

"The IT person for this establishment needs to do a better job" I think to myself from my home, where I run my own business (that isn't in IT but requires functioning internet)

Me, smiling to camera, with a bunch of wires and tech equipment visible in the cabinet behind me

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Apr 15

Students were most interested in 2 pieces of advice at a #SciComm career panel I did yesterday. I think this advice applies to folks in any 🧪 field Almost every single job I’ve gotten has been bc someone knows me. But what does it really mean to network in a way that leads to opportunities? 🧵

Me, smiling to camera in front of my desk, wearing the outfit for the career panel I did yesterday- yellow shirt under a black jean jacket. I felt cool but also professional in that combo, which is why this selfie even exists in the first place

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Apr 10

There is no camper that is not covered in grey or tan swooshes Camper = gray or tan swooshes Once you know this, you will see the swooshes everywhere when you drive

Screenshot of an image search for "travel trailer" and all the images of the outside snow white with gray and black geometric swooshes as decoration

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Feb 2

Optional upgrade: “Polish chicken with googly eyes”

A screenshot of results from the suggested search, with chickens that have googly eyes attached to a big poof of feathers on their heads that covers up their real eyes. Different posters have placed the googly eyes in different places on the chickens, so one has the eyes right on their beak and another has big, alarmed looking eyes in the middle of its feather poof

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Jan 20

Am I bad at my job or am I just tired Am I tired or is this ADHD Is this ADHD or do I not have community Do I not have community or am I drowning in corporate greed Am I drowning in corporate greed or am I stressed out by fascism Am I stressed out by fascism or am I bad at my job

"WHO THE HECK EVEN KNOWS ANYMORE??" I seem to say in this selfie, as I smile and shrug to camera in the snow

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Jan 7

Work date : )

A picture of a greenhouse garden with a Christmas tree behind waterfall fountain. My husband is sitting in a chair looking over the water, next to my empty chair.

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Jan 6

To remove the recording from WebinarTV, I clicked on a link in Sarah's spam email. I hate doing that, but it took me to a "Remove this webinar? Action cannot be undone" screen. And now a search for the recording returns a "This webinar does not exist" message Stay safe out there, friends

A screenshot of Sarah Blair's email, where you can see text that says "Note: WebinarTV is designed to promote and market public webinars. If you don't want to participate, go here [link] and click the Remove button. Your webinar will be automatically removed, and future webinars avoided."

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Jan 6

The website is called WebinarTV (webinartv dot us). I did the Zoom call on Dec 18 and got an email from "Sarah Blair" in my spam inbox 19 minutes after the session finished. Searching on their website indeed pulled up a screen recording of the session

A screenshot of search results for "SciComm Office Hours" on WebinarTV, with my session listed in the top left. The title of the video is the same as the title of my Zoom webinar, and the thumbnail is a screen grab as if someone were watching the webinar as an attendee

A screenshot of the view after I clicked on the "SciComm Office Hours" recording of my meeting on WebinarTV. The main vid has a summary beneath it (a la YouTube) and 12 clickable chapters with titles to break the session into smaller, viewable chunks. This screenshot also shows a thumbnail for the feature of my webinar on the "Phil & Amy Highlights Show". Is this 2 AI-generated "people" regurgitating the main points of my webinar? IDK, I didn't watch.

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Dec 27

My 2025 wrapped

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Dec 19

I talked in yesterday's #SciComm career Q&A about stepping sideways, into impactful positions that develop skills that will let you step back once the job market allows. Example position below Make lists of your "must have"s and "never again"s to know which steps might be most fulfilling for you

Screenshot of a LinkedIn post by the U.S. House of Representatives. The post says: "The House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) is seeking a motivated, digital-savvy fellow to join an aggressive communications team for the Spring fellowship term. This digital fellowship includes the production of high-quality web graphics and videos, as well as assisting with events and various projects to further House Democrats’ work and messaging. Candidates must possess strong technical skills, advanced creativity and artistic ability, and a high level of attention to detail. Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (Premiere, Photoshop, InDesign) and Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets is required. Candidate must be a good team player, willing to work on multiple projects at once, and able to work under tight deadlines.

This is a 4-month fellowship with a $3,200 a month stipend. The fellowship is full-time and in-person in Washington, DC. Please submit all application materials to this form by 5PM on Friday, January 2, 2026."

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Dec 15

I just started a "Running list of press" doc for my startup, because @rejectedbanana.bsky.social and I just had our first appearance in someone else's blog and I'm dreaming big. Look out, world, someday we will have TWO FEATURES 🏆 Read the blog post here: altasea.org/ocean-startu...

A screenshot of my "Running list of press" doc, which currently contains the one entry linked to in this post: "Ocean Startup Spotlight: Tini Scientific’s Vision for Local, Accurate Ocean Forecasts"

: D

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Dec 3

1a. AI videos exploit parenting/emotions about kids to go mega-viral Slop accounts repeatedly settle on racist, politically charged tropes as what gets the most engagement (and, thus, the most rewards from social media algorithms). But usually with a parenting angle: (fake) moms yelling about...

A screenshot of the vid I made about this topic. I am looking at the camera mid-sentence and the words "How AI slop exploits parenting to go viral" are on-screen

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Dec 1

Top 4 takeaways from a "Careers in #SciComm" panel I just did 🧵 1. Scicomm is a disorganized career path! (evergreen reminder) You can come into it with a variety of degrees and experience. If you're coming from science, know what motivates you and what skills from academia translate to comms

Me, smiling to camera, with my desk in the background and a laptop opening a Zoom window

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Nov 28

Turkey on Thanksgiving is a mistake Most people and bakeries make bad coffee cake Pumpkin pie should have double the spices Happy Thanksgiving : )

Sausage rolls and company sweet potatoes

Pumpkin pie, whipped cream, and sprinkles

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Oct 28

One of my favorite companies of all time is Hashatit - like “have at it”, but hashtags. Ha. I like to imagine the energy when they formed the company- not a brain cell in sight as leaders failed to think through alt ways to read their name Somehow, they seem to have gone under in 2023

Top search results for Hashatit show that they don’t even style their name camel case, capitalizing Hash, At, and It; nor do they separate the words to be “hash at it”.

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Oct 22

‘Wild Cheese Puffs’ swim with @rejectedbanana.bsky.social! We’re researching whether the app we’re building might be of interest to open-water swim groups (and the answer so far is a very strong yes- phew!)

Me and Kim smiling to camera, wearing wetsuits and orange “Wild Cheese Puffs” swim caps. A big lake is behind us- that’s where we went swimming

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Oct 22

Starting today welcoming an ambassador for the UN Decade of Ocean Science: the tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl It’s traveling around the world for a year doing education, outreach, and research

The tall ship in a foggy, gray harbor. I haven’t seen many tall ships, but it’s bigger than I expected!

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Oct 22

“We have to create solutions now for the world as it will be in 10 years, when those solutions are ready to put into play. That’s really hard to do!” Now I’m just fangirling over Jane Lubchenco 😍

Jane Lubchenco behind a podium, with a slide on screen behind her that shows a picture of her and lists her name

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Oct 20

“The federal government’s actions can and will be shaped by the demands of local government and organizations. They are lagging indicators.” Really appreciated this hopeful message from Port of Seattle Commissioner Ryan Calkins at the opening breakfast. Community organizing FTW, in & outside work

Virginia Schutte@vgwschutte· Oct 20

What’s it like to be a startup CEO at a week-long innovation conference? I don’t know, but I’ll find out this week at One Ocean Week Seattle! Networking is SO DIFFERENT when the purpose is building a whole company and the way to do that is “aggressively choose your own adventure”