Social Media for Science Communication, an educational presentation for #VIScoast 2015, https://showmethecoast2015.wordpress.com/

1. Social Media for
Science Communication
PAIGE BROWN JARREAU
SHOW ME THE COAST 2015
#VISCoast

2. What is social media?
• MailChimp
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Blogs
• SnapChat
• YouTube
“Social media platforms aren’t just digital water coolers. They are the way the
world is networking and communicating. They are how and where we share
information – with friends, colleagues, acquaintances and any and everyone else.”
– Christie Wilcox
#VISCoast

3. Why Use Social Media?
• Boost your professional profile
• Networking, recruiting students
• Reach new audiences
• Act as a public voice for science
• Make science accessible
• Online outreach can help you get (NSF) funding!
• Open science & collaboration
"Those that have the privilege to
know, have the duty to act."
- Albert Einstein.
#VISCoast

4. Soyouwanttocommunicatescienceonline…
HollyM.Bik,MiriamC.Goldstein:
doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001535.g002

5. PresentationbyChristieWilcox
#VISCoast

6. Know How to Use it
“Online social media tools can be some of the most
rewarding and informative resources for scientists –
IF you know how to use them.”
– Bik & Goldstein 2013, An Introduction to Social
Media for Scientists
#VISCoast

7. So you want to use social media for
science communication?
• Remember:
• Social media is SOCIAL. Two-way
communication and engagement is key.
• Respond.
• Social media isn’t a replacement for interesting,
original, useful and compelling content.
#VISCoast

8. What gets shared?
• Social Currency – give people something
to talk about; make them feel like insiders
• Triggers – What gets more word of mouth
on social media, Cheerios or Disney
World? Hint – think “daily.”
• Emotion – science news articles are often
on the top emailed lists
#VISCoast
“Simply put, it
was amazing.”
- Contagious
Share-inducing
emotions are high
arousal (awe,
excitement, humor,
anger, anxiety) not
sadness or
contentment

9. What gets shared?
• Public – can people SEE it? Make it visual (think
bright yellow LIVESTRONG wristbands; Tidy Streets)
• Practical Value – Is this useful information?
• Stories – Stories are fundamentally about social
interaction – and social interaction is central for
human beings.
#VISCoast
“Fiction is great – it can help us really feel
the horror of what we’re headed for,
change our lives in a deeper way than
scientific projections alone could do, and
give us ideas to help us adapt to the
change.” – Jane Rawson

10. Narrative structures that have been proposed
to enhance popular interest in science:
• History – the history of a field, of
a scientific discovery
• The scientist’s story
• Drama – a problem that science
can or has solved
• The “hard-fought” discovery
• The (solved or unsolved)
mystery
• The untold story

11. Think about your Goals
• What do you want out of your social media
experience?
• Increased citations for your papers?
• Increased visibility of your research?
• Outlet for opinions?
• Collaboration?
• Open data and sharing?
• Translation of science for broad audience?
• Engagement with key audiences?
• Feedback?
#VISCoast

12. Think about your Audience
• Don’t assume all social media platforms are
created equal in terms of audience
• Younger audiences? Snapchat, Tumblr,
Instagram…
• Female audiences? Pinterest…
• Journalists? Twitter (largely a news source)…
• Other scientists? Twitter, Facebook…
• Wide audiences? Facebook (home-base)…
71% of US Internet users are on Facebook. – Heidi Cohen
BuzzFeed’s #2 source of
social media traffic
Unlock hidden beauty
in your science
#VISCoast

13. A good start:
• Choose 2 key social media outlets to focus on
• Follow social media accounts of scientists, science
communicators, others w/ similar interests
• (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn)
• Bring your science to the blogosphere
• Scilogs.com has a guest blog
• Medium.com
• Start your own blog, OR join a group blog (Wordpress,
SquareSpace, Blogger)
News written by academic experts:
Become an author @
https://theconversation.com/become-an-author
#VISCoast

14. A new database of scientists online, searchable by
research interests and field of study.
#VISCoast

15. • Among the commonly used social media, the
140-character microblogging service Twitter has
been popular.
Followers of scientists on Twitter
Emily Darling. figshare.
http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.704858
A virtual department to spark
and share new ideas
#VISCoast

16. Tweeting Tips
• You have 140 characters
• use them wisely but accurately
• Use URL shorteners:
• bit.ly
• ow.ly
• goo.gl
• Add a Hashtag (#)
• This marks it as a keyword within the Tweet and turns it into a link. Once
clicked, it will bring up a list of other Tweets that include the same keyword.
#fridaynightscience
#SciComm
#SciArt
#CitizenScience
#Conservation
#VISCoast
#WomenInSci
#STEM
#ECRchat
#ScienceMatters
#openscience
Early career researchers

17. “A majority of established bloggers (72% of 126
blogs surveyed) use Twitter as a complementary
outlet for disseminating new blog posts to
followers.”
Shema H, Bar-Ilan J, Thelwall M (2012) Research blogs and
the discussion of scholarly information. PLoS ONE 7: e35869
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035869.
#VISCoast

18. Other Online Tools
• Blogs – continuous, long-form science narratives
• Facebook – networking
• Digg, Reddit – content aggregation
• Twitter – in the moment conversation, customized
news streams, building and maintaining
communities
• Instagram – visual, simple content
• Snap chat – short video clip storytelling
#VISCoast

19. • Professionalization
• Openness and
Spreadability
• Spreadable and
Creative Commons
models
• Blogging styles that
are conversational
and open to
feedback
Trends in science blogging
#VISCoast

20. • Rise of a science
blog ecosystem
• Increasing role of
science blogs and
social networks
(Twitter) in science
communication
and science news
#VISCoast

21. 500 recent tweets
mentioning “SciLogs”Conversations
based on blog
content have
moved to social
media
“Today, quick
updates, links etc.
are done mainly on
social media and
many bloggers use
the traditional
blogging software
only for longer,
more thorough,
one could even say
more ‘professional’
writing.”
– BoraZ, 2012
We can see different
“communities” here
#VISCoast

22. • Traditional blog functions
• Debunking
• Expert opinions
• Media Criticism
• Community building among scientists
• Translation of scientific research
• New blog functions
• Science journalism
• Sources of science news
• Curation
• Critical analysis
• Discussion of science missing from mainstream media
• Opening up the science research process
• Citizen science, etc.
• Adding value and advancing the conversation around scientific issues
xkcd.com/3
86/
#VISCoast

23. Experimenting with Science Blogs
Multimedia /
Lives of Scientists
Experimenting with content –
Science Book A Day
#VISCoast

24. “To me, science isn’t about being told
by scientists that ‘this is science’ but
for people to build an understanding
and engagement with science in their
own way.”
- Science blogger George Aranda,
AKA @PopSciGuyOz
#VISCoast

25. Blogging driven by visuals
#VISCoast

26. Why do visuals matter online?
#VISCoast
This is why. Do
you want to read
this blog site?

27. #1 – iPhone pics
#2 – Illustration Apps
Manga Camera - free
Sketch Club - $2.99
Halftone - Price: $0.99
- Import photos, choose
filter, crop, edit, move
your versatile little
thought-, word- and
labeling-balloons
around and label the
images as you feel is
necessary.

28. Taking good mobile
pictures…
• Shoot during golden hour (sunrise, sunset hours): Harsh
midday shadows can make difficult exposures with
typical smartphone sensors.
• Tap the phone to focus on objects that are close-up or
backlit
• Get closer & create depth: take detailed shots, and
getting close to your subject allows background to blur
out of focus (shallow depth of field)
• Try unique perspectives (shoot from down low or
straight above…)
• Bold shapes, strong highlights and shadows often make
great black and white photos.
• Upload your pictures straight to Twitter; Make FB albums
Fun & Unusual
Bright photos
Simple is better.

29. Student Lab Visits -
https://scicommlsu.wordpress.com
Looking for a home for your photos? Try Flickr.com, or
a SquareSpace or Photoshelter gallery

30. Need a science illustrator?
• Science Artists on Twitter -
https://twitter.com/Symbiartic/lists/science-artists/members
http://science-art.com/
http://bioillustration.deviantart.com/
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/symbiartic/2013/10/27/hire-a-science-illustrator/

31. Think Outside the Box
“To me, science isn’t about being told by scientists that
‘this is science’ but for people to build an understanding
and engagement with science in their own way.”
- Science blogger George Aranda,
AKA @PopSciGuyOz
Visual Maps
and Storytelling

32. Mobile Messaging turned
Science Communication

33. Other social media tools
• SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/)
• Create podcasts – easily embed them into blog posts
• Canva – create graphics and info-graphics
https://www.canva.com/

34. Being Accurate
• You CAN maintain scientific accuracy and rigor in
your blog posts and social media posts.
• Link to original research studies
• Remember proper attribution to pictures, statistics,
quotes, etc.
• Learn to be concise but avoid buzzwords that can be
misleading (“cure” “breakthrough”)
#VISCoast

35. But what if…
• I don’t have enough time?
• It’s OK to not always keep up to date; take “vacations”
from social media
• Only post when you are motivated to do so
• Most science bloggers only post 1/week – 1/month
• Post what you are passionate about
• Make it a routine
• Post as a GROUP
#VISCoast

36. Thank you!
Please take our workshop feedback survey!
http://bit.ly/VIScoast2015

37. References
• It’s Time for Scientists to Tweet: http://theconversation.com/its-time-for-
scientists-to-tweet-14658
• Social Networking for Scientists: The Wiki
http://socialnetworkingforscientists.wikispaces.com/General
• How to Build an Enduring Online Research Presence Using Social
Networking and Open Science, SlideShare, Titus Brown
http://www.slideshare.net/c.titus.brown/2013-
beaconcongresssocialmedia
• Darling et al. (2013).The role of Twitter in the life cycle of a scientific
publication. https://peerj.com/preprints/16v1/
• Bik, H. M., & Goldstein, M. C. (2013). An Introduction to Social Media for
Scientists. PLoS biology, 11(4), e1001535.
• Images: Flickr by Jason A. Howie; Wikipedia; Screenshots