Social media can be an effective tool for scientists to communicate their work to the public. While only 18% of Americans can name a living scientist, scientists are highly trusted as a group. By using social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, scientists can make their work more transparent and accessible to non-experts. Posts should include a variety of content from sharing research to having discussions in order to educate audiences like family and friends as well as evaluate ideas with colleagues. Social media allows scientists to become a trusted source of information and normalize discussions about science.

1. Social Media Can Be For Science!
Melanie B. Tannenbaum!
APS Annual Convention!
May 23, 2014!

2. Why Share?

3. …papers with media exposure !
receive 28% more citations.
Kiernan, 2003, Science Communication

4. The links that we post can help us “construct and
refine [our] online personas.”
People share articles on Twitter that they haven’t read.
We use links and shared articles as “markers of the
people we aspire to be.”
Kitroeff, 2014, New York Times

6. Scientists, as a group, are “highly trusted” by Americans…
!
!

7. http://www.science20.com/truth_universally_acknowledged/survey_says_science_we_trust

8. Scientists, as a group, are “highly trusted” by Americans…
!
!
…but only 18% of Americans can name a living scientist.

9. Everyone that you are
friends with
knows a living scientist.

10. “Right now, this is an anti-intellectual country in which the
media and politics constantly bombard us with the message
that science is uncool, the domain of geeks and nerds.”!
!
— PZ Myers

11. “If scientists could communicate more in their own voices —
in a familiar tone, with a less specialized vocabulary —
would a wide range of people understand them better? !
Would their work be better understood by the general
public, policymakers, funders, and even in some cases,
other scientists?”!
!
— Alan Alda

16. This. Study. Never. Happened.

17. “Trust is not about information.!
It’s about dialogue and transparency.” !
!
— Rick E. Borchelt, Lynne T. Friedmann, & Earle Holland

18. We can use our social media presences to make
every step of the scientific process more
transparent, clear, and accessible.

19. Step-Sister-In-Law

21. Why Social Media?

22. 48% of 18-34 year olds check Facebook
first thing in the morning…
!
!
…and 28% do so before getting out of bed.

23. 57% of Americans say they
talk to people online more
than they do in real life.

24. 48%
of Internet Users use Facebook as their
primary news source.

25. The Internet is the main
source of information for
learning about specific
scientific issues
Other/Don’t Know 2%
Family/Friends/Colleagues 2%
Radio 1%
TV 15%
Newspapers & Magazines 6%
Books 12%
Internet 59%
Where do you get information on
specific scientific issues?
Government Agency 3%

27. Also, things like…
• Agenda Control: Things covered frequently in the news
are seen as more important.
• Availability Heuristic: The more often we see stories
about science, the more we’ll be able to bring those
topics to mind, and the more it will seem like “everyone”
is talking about scientific issues, setting a norm.
• Descriptive Norms: By frequently and publicly talking
about science, it makes it more “normative” to be
involved in discussions about scientific issues.

29. These are probably the two most common social
media platforms being used. However, they come
with slightly different norms and populations.

31. This sums up the “norm” of how
to use Twitter for professional
purposes very well.

33. Facebook tends to be more “personal.”
However, you may be surprised by what
people want to see…and who wants to see it…
This is a status I wrote, unconnected to this
session. I was surprised by some responses.

35. How Can I Use
Social Media Effectively?

36. Follow The
Right People.
!
Examples:
• ScienceSeeker Members
• https://twitter.com/SciSeeker/scienceseeker-members
• SciAm Bloggers & Contributors
• https://twitter.com/PsychScience, #aps14sf
• Popular Psychologists & Neuroscientists
• http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-100-most-followed-psychologists-and.html

37. Friends
On Facebook, you tend to be “friends” with more people
that are not necessarily connected to your professional
sphere or career/scientific interests…

38. Friends
• Family
• Non-Academic-Sphere Friends
• Elementary School, Hometown, Summer Camp…
• Non-Psych Academics
• College friends in other fields, science writers…
• Psych Colleagues
• Grad School friends
• Conference Buddies
• Professors

39. Friends
However, this doesn’t stop you from (a) seeking out (and
friending) people you do want to have further conversations
with, and (b) bringing scientific conversations, debates,
and articles to others’ feeds.

40. Friends
You can always try friending colleagues or friends-of-
friends that you know professionally.
!
Some might not accept your friend request if you aren’t very
close, but some will. Especially in communities where
social media use is more normative (e.g., SciComm). But
don’t be hurt if people choose to keep their Facebooks
more private — you can always connect on Twitter!

41. Friends
However, I do not want to hear anyone complaining that
Facebook and Twitter are too full of people posting
selfies and pictures of their outfits or lunches.

42. If you don’t like what
you’re seeing on
Facebook or Twitter,
you’re following the
wrong people.

43. What Should I Post?

44. Tweeting Well
• It’s OK to “butt into” other people’s conversations…
• …as long as you’re polite, friendly, useful, and constructive.
!
• Retweeting Others
!
• Personal, Humanizing Information
!
• Your Own Writing/Posts
!
• Unique Contributions

45. Facebooking Well
• Not as normative to “friend” people you don’t know…
• …although in some contexts, this is changing.
!
• Fewer posts per day
!
• More personal
!
• You can write longer statuses

46. Unique
Content
• If everyone is posting links to a breaking news story,
article, etc. — you don’t have to.
• Set up Google Alerts for terms from your “beat.”
• Link posts from good-but-less-known blogs in your area.
• This is how you become the “go-to” for your niche!

47. Examples

49. As psychologists, we take for granted many things that we know, and
we forget that others don’t know these things. Like…the fact that the
MBTI is terrible. This status generated a lot of conversation about why
the MBTI is invalid, and what alternatives (like…the Big Five) exist.

51. Generating conversations about how to teach students…

52. Generating conversations about how to teach students…

54. Sharing information
about behavioral
genetics research
(which I only learned
about in graduate
school) with my entire
network of friends
and family

55. Sharing information
about behavioral
genetics research
(which I only learned
about in graduate
school) with my entire
network of friends
and family

56. Sharing (funny) articles that convey
information about scientific methods and
some of their potential pitfalls

58. …taking it upon myself to present to everyone that I can
what I feel is a far more accurate view of anything
Gladwell has to say (see the next several slides…)

64. Sharing funny (I
hope!) stories that
convey both (a) the
punchline and (b) a
psych research
finding that people
now know after
reading my status

65. Sharing funny (I
hope!) stories that
convey both (a) the
punchline and (b) a
psych research
finding that people
now know after
reading my status

66. College Friend
Establishing myself as a trusted resource for providing
articles, answering questions, and (possibly) knowing
where to find desired information.

67. Educate Evaluate Explore
Audience
!
I think it’s very important to go into social media with a goal in
mind for your posting, sharing, linking, and conversing.
!
Therefore, in my opinion, this table sums up the three main
goals you might have, and what types of audiences/posts you
might be targeting with each of those goals.
!
This is purely conjecture based on my experience.
Posts
Goal

68. Educate Evaluate Explore
Audience
Family
!
Non-Field Friends
Academic-Interest
Friends & Family
!
Colleagues
Colleagues
Posts
Informative
Factual
Critical/Praising
Discussion
Links or Statuses
Questions
Common Concerns
Goal Share Knowledge Share Opinions Share Experience

69. Educate Evaluate Explore
Audience
Family
!
Non-Field Friends
Academic-Interest
Friends & Family
!
Colleagues
Colleagues
Posts
Informative
Factual
Critical/Praising
Discussion
Links or Statuses
Questions
Common Concerns
Goal Share Knowledge Share Opinions Share Experience

71. You are a scientist.!
Your friends and family should know this.
You have a lot of power here!

72. You can be…
A trusted voice
A norm-setter
A conversation starter

73. People want to know!
what other people know.
Don’t assume you know what your friends want
(or don’t want) to see.

74. If you don’t like what you see on social media,!
follow different people.
Post unique content,
and follow people who post unique content.

75. Don’t be afraid to post things
you think might be controversial.
You may be (pleasantly) surprised by the discussion…
…and by who participates in them.

76. Thank You!!
!
Melanie B. Tannenbaum!
@melanietbaum!
blogs.scientificamerican.com/psysociety/!

77. Facebook Statistics
• http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-stats-facts-2011/
• http://www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/

78. Info Sources
• Scientists Highly Trusted: http://www.science20.com/
truth_universally_acknowledged/survey_says_science_we_trust
• Name A Living Scientist: Your Congress - Your Health Survey, June 2009, http://
www.researchamerica.org/uploads/YourCongress2009.pdf. (More Details: 65% said
they could not name a living scientist. 7% said they could, but when asked to
provide a name, said “Don’t Know.” 10% named either Einstein, Pasteur, Curie, or
Salk, none of whom were alive in 2009.)
• Info for Specific Scientific Issues: National Science Board’s Science and
Engineering Indicators 2012 (http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/c7/c7s1.htm)

79. Special Acknowledgments
• Thank you to Christie Wilcox, whose slides on this very topic (post here: http://
blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2011/09/27/social-media-for-scientists-
part-1-its-our-job/, slides here: http://www.slideshare.net/NerdyChristie/science-and-
the-public-why-every-lab-should-tweet) provided a ton of the material for this talk.
• Thank you to Cedar Riener, for putting all of the hard legwork into proposing this
APS symposium and for allowing me to co-chair it with him! He is awesome and it
was a lot of work on his end. Thanks, Cedar.
• Thank you to Jorden Cummings and Stuart Ritchie, the two other speakers whose
talks were awesome and very enjoyable.
• And finally, thank you to everyone who came to our talk on May 23rd, despite the
impossible-to-find room, the 9 AM start time, and Zimbardo’s talk going on at the
same time! We appreciate it — and we hope your Facebook friends lists do too! :)