Scientists were doing social media long before the internet.
Join a summer online seminar where we think together about how social media is different for scientists
I have often thought that what makes social media so challenging when you are writing for scientists is that social media is old hat for them. The first publications were literally the pen and paper equivalent of social media. They were letters back and forth between scientists. This evolved, but it was basically the same thing. So, the iterative dialogue that is social media is something scientists were already doing when the internet became common place.
For a while Twitter was the serving the purpose of social media for scientists nicely, but we all know what happened. There have been other attempts at creating a scientific social media but they feel somewhat empty. Lately there has been some revived interest in Linked In as a professional forum for scientists.
Why bother?
If all that you aim to do is published papers, then you might as well not bother with social media. However, the minute you decide that you want to make a difference, change your field or see your research findings benefit society, you need to think about communicating your science. Social media is potentially the best means to do this, while also being a great way to learn.
This is the premise of an online seminar I am planning for July 30th. I will share some of what I have learned about social media. I have recently had a post reach more than 60.000 impressions. But there is more to social media than impressions.
I am fascinated by the creativity that emerges when a group has a great dialogue around a topic. So, in this seminar I will also facilitate a dialogue, which I am certain will be interesting in ways I cannot predict.
So, if you want to figure out how to communicate your science or make social media work for you sign up to join the online seminar on July 30th at 4 PM Central European Time. Even if you cannot attend at that time, sign up and I will make the recording available.
Sign up to join the online seminar Meaningful Social Media for Scientists:
I have also written about how you can shape yourself into an innovation leader through big projects in this newsletter. So, if you are not already a subscriber: