The document discusses the significance of social media, particularly Twitter, for scientists in public communication and engagement. It highlights the evolution of the relationship between scientists and media professionals, emphasizing the empowerment of scientists through new media technologies. The presentation also covers best practices for tweeting, the dynamics of follower engagement, and the virality of content on social platforms.

1. A scientist’s
view toward
Social Media
& Twitter
Craig R. McClain @DrCraigMc

2. You$are$free$to:$
Copy,$share,$adapt,$or$re2mix;$
Photograph,$film,$or$broadcast;$
Blog,$live2blog,$or$post$video$of;$
Provided$that:$
You$a?ribute$the$work$to$its$author$and$respect$the$rights$and$licenses$associated$with$its$components.$
First Lesson: Have A Slide Like This
Craig R. McClain @DrCraigMc #dukescicomm
slide thanks to @ethanwhite

3. Deep Sea News
Deep Sea
News
D
SN
Chief Editor DSN
#deepsndeepseanews.com @deepseanews
scienceofthesouth.com
storyofsize.com

4. Why Should
I Even Give
A Flying Flip?

5. More than half of the human race is under the age of 30,
they've never known life without the internet.
Guess how they feel about social media?

6. 3 out of 4 Americans use social technology
-Forrester, The Growth of Social Technology Adoption, 2008

7. All media is now
social media
Technology is shifting the power away from
editors, the publishers, the establishment, the
media elite.
Now it's the people who are in control.
-Rupert Murdoch

8. If Facebook were a country it would be the
most populated in the world
In Billions
Facebook 1.49
China 1.36
India 1.25
U.S. 0.32
http://news.yahoo.com/number-active-users-facebook-
over-230449748.html

9. http://www.insidefacebook.com/2010/02/15/new-facebook-statistics-show-big-increase-in-content-sharing-local-business-pages/
Every minute:
Facebook users share nearly 2.5 million pieces of content.
Twitter users tweet nearly 300,000 times.
Instagram users post nearly 220,000 new photos.
YouTube users upload 72 hours of new video content

10. http://www.dailyillini.com/features/health_and_living/article_323b7fd8-966a-11e2-b435-001a4bcf6878.html
1/3 of women aged 18-34 check
Facebook when they first wake up
...even before going to the bathroom

12. Of all the social media venues,
why should scientists focus on Twitter?
1.Easy to start and use
2.Massive usage
3.Scientific community is already engaging
4.Clear benefits for scientists

13. 316 million active users on Twitter

18. anatomy of a tweet

20. #hashtags

21. #rstats

22. #conferences

23. #hashtags
#molluscmonday
#wormwednesday
#fossilfriday
#scicomm
#icanhazpdf
#academia
#highered
#phdchat
#figureclub
#sciart
http://librarianbyday.tumblr.com/post/93243914600/10-must-have-academic-twitter-hashtags-for
http://www.academiaobscura.com/essential-hashtags-for-academics/
http://sylvaindeville.net/2014/10/24/top-10-twitter-hashtags-for-scientists/

24. Assignment
Check out a #hashtag.
Tweet something to it.
Tweet something to
#dukescicomm

25. economy of space

26. 140
characters

27. Twitter Extenders

28. Shortening URLs

29. MT (modified tweets) and the quote tweet
Use MT and rewrite a RT
to save words
Also HT for heard through
or hat tip

30. MT (modified tweets) and the quote tweet
1.Don't Multi-ReTweet
2.Contractions
3.No More "And", &
4.Drop Pronouns: One of the easiest to lose is "that." So "the website that I love
becomes "the website I love".
5.Omit Needless Words
6.Kill "I": You can make your tweets more declarative and shorter if you
occasionally drop the "I"
7.Turn Words into Numbers
8.Remove Extra Spaces: Twitter counts double spaces between words.
9.Drop the period
10.Use Word Shortcuts: "With" becomes "w/." "Love" becomes "Luv."
11.Drop Vowels: e.g. "classroom" into "classrm".

31. Assignment: Compose A Tweet
#dukescicomm
The relationship between scientists and journalists has evolved in
recent years with the advent of numerous sociocultural changes and
drastic shifts within the media ecosystem. Media professionals have
traditionally been the gatekeepers of scientific information, but new
media technologies grant scientists more power than ever before to be
proactive about their public communication. In this article, I provide an
overview of the science–media relationship and scientists as public
communicators. Specifically, I recount the relationship that has
traditionally existed between scientists and media professionals,
explain how this relationship has evolved over recent years, and
highlight what I believe are some of the most salient and exciting areas
for future research examining scientists' efforts to engage with the
public.
Scientists, the Media, and the Public Communication of Science
Anthony Dudo Sociology Compass http://goo.gl/9yNZKj

32. what do I tweet

33. Social media is a tool like a microscope.
It can be used well and badly.
It can be used to do a lot of different things
-Jon Eisen

34. •Eavesdropping:
follow
informa4ve
people
to
get
informa4on
and
learn
•Dialogue:
exchange,
discuss,
and
debate
informa4on
(Asking
specific
ques4ons?)
•Broadcast:
used
by
news
organiza4ons
and
businesses
to
inform
audience
about
news
or
products/services,
outreach
•Data
collec4on:
e.g
fishermen
using
TwiJer
to
monitor
fish
popula4ons.
•Impromptu
journalism:
e.g.
landing
on
Hudson
river,
Mumbai
aJacks,
Iran
post-­‐elec4on
protests
•Mindcas4ng:
following
a
single
story
or
topic,
with
links,
for
a
period
of
4me,
e.g.
like
my
ongoing
coverage
of
the
#oilspill
“To
do
science,
you
have
to
know
what’s
going
on
in
science.
I
found
Twi9er…most
useful
for
becoming
informed
of
what
other
people
are
doing
in
science.
By
sharing
comments,
links,
informaAon,
and
notes
about
new
scienAfic
developments
with
trusted
sources
I
am
be9er
able
to
keep
up
with
the
vast
amount
of
informaAon
in
my
fields
of
interest.
Social
networks
enable
real-­‐Ame
highlighAng
and
ranking
and
tracking
of
what’s
going
on
in
the
world
of
science.”
-­‐Jon
Eisen

35. Inreach
versus
Outreach
*
*Mr. T has nothing to do with this. I simply have always wanted to put a photo of Mr. T in a presentation.

36. followers and lists

37. How do I get followers
This is largely out or your control but….
1. Be patient
2. Follow people yourself
3. Engage people on Twitter
4. Tweet to popular hashtags
5. Tweet interesting content
6. Be famous (online or offline)

38. How do I find followers
1. Search for specific people and topics
2. Follow people under a relevant hashtag
3. Follow people who are following you

39. Lists
A list is a curated group of Twitter users. You can create your
own lists or subscribe to lists created by others. Viewing a list
timeline will show you a stream of Tweets from only the users
on that list.
Note: Lists are used for reading Tweets only. You cannot send
or direct a Tweet to members of a list, for only those list
members to see.

40. https://support.twitter.com/articles/76460
Assignment
Create A List

41. profiles

45. Profiles

46. Assignment
Create/Update Your Profile

47. popularity and virality

48. Berger and Milkman (2012)
•The
results
indicate
that
posi4ve
content
is
more
viral
than
nega4ve
content
•Virality
is
par4ally
driven
by
physiological
arousal.
•Content
that
evokes
high-­‐arousal
posi4ve
(awe)
or
nega4ve
(anger
or
anxiety)
emo4ons
is
more
viral.
•Content
that
evokes
low-­‐arousal,
or
deac4va4ng,
emo4ons
(e.g.,
sadness)
is
less
viral.
Whether things go viral is related to physiological arousal

49. Do not be too popular if you want to be seen as credible

50. Networks

51. managing the stream

52. Twitter is the equivalent of drinking out of firehose

53. Tweetdeck

54. Storify
https://storify.com/DrCraigMc/wood-fall

55. Assignment
Download Tweetdeck
& Explore

56. tweets gone wrong and trolls

57. Subtweets & Trolls
subtweet: (on Twitter) a post that refers to a particular
user without directly mentioning them, typically as a form
of furtive mockery or criticism.
internet troll: a person who sows discord on the Internet
by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting
inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an
online community with the deliberate intent of provoking
readers into an emotional response or of otherwise
disrupting normal on-topic discussion, often for their
own amusement