Life Beyond LOLcats: Science
and Social Media
Bethany R. Brookshire, PhD
“Scicurious”
@scicurious
scicurious@gmail.com
The internet: friend or foe?
Jeff Atwood, codinghorror.com
One model of the online science
ecosystem
Rob Helpy-Chalk
Why use the internet?
Bik & Goldstein 2013, PLOS Biology
A look on a linear scale: new media
dominates
Bik & Goldstein 2013, PLOS Biology
The Internet: A Whole New World
So You Want to
Be on the
Internet…
Define your Goals
• Examples of goals:
• Disseminate information
about a discrete event, such
as a field expedition
• Build a community of your
scientific peers
• Further specific policy or
education goals (e.g.,
climate change legislation)
• Communicate your science
directly to a general
audience
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Different goals lead to different outreach
strategies
Bik & Goldstein 2013, PLOS Biology
Goals & time committment determine tools
Bik & Goldstein 2013, PLOS Biology
Finding Your Niche: New Content
Finding Your Niche: New Perspective
Finding Your Niche: Curation
Finding Your Niche: BE YOU
• http://i.imgur.com/vsmGS.gif
Case Studies
• Social Media has
“social” in it for a
reason
The Good
The World Listened!
The Bad
The World Listened…
Oops.
The Ineffective
• Blogs
– Be prepared to put in the time
• Twitter
– Who you follow
– Who you tweet at/for
• Facebook
– When to engage
Involvement makes or
breaks social media
Maintaining professionalism
Using Social Media
• Content =/= Audience!!
• Advertise
– Tweet
– Google +
• Network
• No really, Network
Tips and Tricks
• Make Yourself Easy
• Get in Touch
– Tweet, email, leave a comment! We don’t bite.
• Tags and Topics
• Make a Series
Questions
Putting it in to Practice