How can scientists use social media to enhance their online profile? Becoming pro-active and increasing your visibility is essential for your career development. Social media is a very useful tool to help you to get your name out there and to extend your professional network.
This is a talk which I gave on 2nd July in the "Advanced Communications" session at the SEB (Society for Experimental Biology) Annual Meeting, Salzburg 2012.
More information: http://www.sebiology.org/meetings/Salzburg2012/education.html
1. Enhancing your online
presence with social media
Dr Anne Osterrieder
Society of Experimental Biology, Annual Meeting Salzburg, 2nd July 2012
@AnneOsterrieder
9. Social media sites maintained by myself Content I created for other social media sites
10. Your “online identity”
• Your “online identity” is important – be proactive!
• Register your name in major social media networks, even if
you don’t use them at the moment.
• People will search the internet for information – use it to
establish yourself as expert in your field and disseminate your
research.
• Use social media for professional networking!
11. The four C’s of social media –
find your own style
CONSUME
CONNECT
CURATE
CREATE
16. Principles of Twitter
• People write “tweets”: messages with <140 characters.
• All tweets appear in a
• linear timeline.
17. Principles of Twitter
• If you want to read a person’s tweets, you “follow” him/her
by clicking on a button (= subscribe).
• If someone subscribes to your tweets, they “follow” you.
• If someone follows you, they do not automatically appear in
your timeline – you have to follow them back!
18. Principles of Twitter
• You will be known as “@your_username”
• You can directly address people with “@their_username”
• You can “re-tweet” tweets from other people, which means
that they are posted on your timeline with attribution to them.
19. What to tweet?
• Links: use link-shortening websites such as www.bit.ly,
www.owly.com, www.tinyurl.com
• Photos:
• Browser extensions: share websites/articles/papers with one
click.
20. Hashtags collect information
• If you add a “hashtag” (#) before a word, Twitter collects all
tweets about this topic in one stream.
21. How to find interesting people?
• Check out who your friends are following
• “Who to follow” suggestions (Twitter)
• Browse interesting hashtags
– #realwomenofscience
– #phdchat
– #seemyscience
– #iamscience
• Curated lists:
https://twitter.com/#!/sciencebase/scientwitters/members
https://twitter.com/#!/EU_Commission/realwomeninscience
22.
23. How to use Twitter efficiently
• Smartphones: Use apps to check it while waiting for
bus, centrifuge…(TweetBot, Hootsuite…)
• Software like “Hootsuite” allows scheduling of tweets –
spend time to create content and automatically post it
over the next days
• Create lists to group people/organisations etc.
24. Be aware
• If you set your account to public, everyone can read it,
even if they do not follow you – they can just visit your
Twitter profile page.
• Your tweets will appear in Google search.
• Don’t tweet about unpublished data (unless absolutely sure
it’s ok), confidential information, workplace gossip…
• Don’t tweet about your home location, avoid too personal
details
• Be polite, credit people and sources.
33. Rule number one
Whatever you post, always imagine that it WILL
be read by:
• your boss
• Your family
• Your competitor
34. Potential pitfalls
• “Don’t feed the trolls” – do not get involved in “flame
wars”.
• Don’t write when you are drunk or tired. If in doubt,
save as draft.
• Do be aware of the nature of the medium – missing
body language, non-English speakers,
misunderstandings will happen. If in doubt, ask how
something is meant.
39. General thoughts
• “Social media” is a tool
• Platforms might change, but social media is
likely to stay.
• Learn how to use social media effectively and
efficiently.
41. Resources
Twitter guide for academics:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2011/09/29/twitte
r-guide/
Social media for scientists:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-
sushi/2011/09/27/social-media-for-scientists-part-1-its-our-
job/
Hinweis der Redaktion
Who already has an account on one or several? How many are using it actively? Private or professional?
Potential: Hosting of pre-prints and manuscripts – check journal guidelinesPublication list, probably good to register and make sure it’s up to date – your account already exists, claim it