This document summarizes a workshop on digital identity and networking for researchers. It provides tips on using social media to promote research, including developing a communication strategy, producing regular content, reusing content while adapting it for different platforms, and having fun. The document emphasizes building networks, interacting authentically, and maintaining visibility online through a consistent social media presence and digital identity.
6. #ShareMyThesis
#TweetYourThesis
Typing numbers wrongly in hospitals
can kill people. Understanding why it
happens can help design better
systems and stop it!
Does UK learn from history in Middle
East? Could it improve? Crucial
research to avoid past mistakes &
save blood & treasure.
Can we forecast average weather
conditions months in advance? Sure.
What about malaria? Yep. How?
The key to coexistence between big
cats and livestock farmers? One word:
compassion.
7.
8.
9. • Return on investment
• Criticism from colleagues
• Self-promotion
• Time pressures/procrastination
• Obligation
• Exposure of person/ideas
• Plagiarism/commercialisation
• Institutional rules
10. What do you want to achieve by engaging
with social media? What is your
communication/outreach strategy?
Consider producing social media content as a
normal part of your (working) life
Develop a sense of the advantages and
limitations of each different platform
Be realistic about the time available to you.
Know who can help you.
Be aware of your digital footprint. Invest in
visibility.
Re-use content but adapt. Get your timing and
story right.
Have fun!
Adaptation of Top Tips for academics on blogging and social media by Mark
21. Determine a strategy and
try to stick to it
Management of expectations: bio
& content/activity to match
Tweet ‘thickly’ and according
to the rules
Build a network and include
influencers
Social medium = interact
Authenticity, niceness, integrity,
and common sense
Remember your bubble
22.
23. Esther De Smet
Research Department
Ghent University
@sterretje8
Thank you for participating!
Editor's Notes
Policy advisor on societal impact of research
Explain the processes of knowledge exchange & public engagement > impact planning + network building
Stress the importance of research communication strategy
Digital identity: googling oneself – assessing what’s there – deciding what should be there
Working on the availability of one’s output (beyond academia)
Fostering an OS attitude (more than technology but state of mind)
Getting to grips with the impact of one’s research
Understanding the rules of storytelling and the importance of authenticity
Looking for meaningful encounters, identifying their beneficiaries, and using the power of a network
Storytelling - authenticity
*Exercise* - groups of 2/3 – talk about how you or your researchers use storytelling, which technique
Which one made you pay attention/did you find particularly clever?
Applied to Science on Twitter
Similar to 1 minute videos – tweetable abstracts of articles and projects
Knowing who to turn to
Knowing which tools to use
Besides social academic networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Mendeley
QUIZ – do you know some of the socmed tools your researchers can use?
* Exercise * What do you think holds them back? Discuss – where these among them?
Status anxiety: should academics be using social media? D. Lupton
Reaching out. Nature blog by Soapbox Science (7 June 2012)
Although it is a big investment and there are some definite challenges, there are great benefits to integrating social media into your research – not just as a way to communicate but also as a means to become a better scholar. Social media offers you the means to interact directly with a broader audience – often without ‘corporate interference’.
* TWEET * – what has made an impression on you so far?
Although it can be great fun and many of the social media look flighty (eg. half-life of a tweet is 18 minutes) it should not be taken lightly but approached in a strategic and professional manner.
It’s all about finding the right balance:
Not overthinking it but using it to your advantage
Getting into the spirit of sharing and interacting while keeping focus in your own research and not losing yourself in procrastination
Giving it a natural place in your time management and approaching it so you feel comfortable with it
Twitter is an easy but worthwhile tool to start engaging about your research.
These are some of the benefits:
Connect with peers and building a scholarly network. Quote: “It’s allowed me to open up new communities for discussions and increase the interdisciplinarity of my research.” (A network boost by M. Baker. Nature, 12 Feb 2015)
Sharing and finding resources (think ‘open science’)
Generating and refining ideas
Honing writing skills: try building up a lucid argument in 140 characters!
Reputation management (part of larger strategy in managing your digital footprint/shadow)
Dissemination of your research. Don’t just tweet your new scientific articles but try to capture the attention of more people by making the content accessible.
Public engagement and creating involvement: why not look for participants this way?
And remember, there’s a lot of journalists and media outlets on there too…
Jobs & prof. development:
“Following institutions, companies and individuals on Twitter can offer clues about workplace culture and ongoing projects in a way that static website do not.”
“Junior researchers are creating identities that don’t have to be routed through the principal investigator.” (A network boost by M. Baker. Nature, 12 Feb 2015)
It is a great tool for conferences:
Back-channel: capture content & provide feedback, share questions and resources
Connecting and networking
Virtual participation
There is of course a big social element to it (especially for ECRs):
Break isolation
Look over the fence
Find fellow victims
Real-life scholar
Sheer fun of it
Not just added value to scientists – also for reaching interested publics
Always helps to find a platform that is already part of the academic/scientific environment
Settings: more is good at the start
Follow: Twitter etiquette does not require that you follow someone just because they follow you, but following someone is a way of indicating your presence to them.
(Re)Tweet: don’t start with @ - reply as thread – retweet with quote
Engage: follow up!
Timing: get to know your audience
Visibility: advertise your presence
Mixture of about 30% chatter and 70% content is seen as a golden standard. Doesn’t have to be all original – again 30/70
David Silver - thin tweets are posts that convey one layer of information. thick tweets convey two or more, often with help from a hyperlink, visual and/or mention.
PE tweets: people want to win, share, laugh, be amazed
Hashtags: not too much, not too long, check double meaning, create one and advertise
Lists: tip! Create lists as you meet people/attend events
Real life science – more than success and PR
Match-maker – building a community
Informing & educating