Education
Academic Use of Twitter #acadtwitter
These are the edited highlights of an online discussion about use of Twitter by academics. Why would you ever want to use it (isn't it just about what footballer is sleeping with which TV star?), how can it benefit you, and most importantly, what do people want to follow in an academic account?
- It all started one Thursday morning when, handed the honour (??) of delivering a training course on social media in education/academia at The University of York, I decided to ask an innocuous question...
Due to give a session on academics using social media. How should academics use twitter to make an impact? Do's and don'ts? #acadtwitter- I am especially interested in what makes academic twitter accounts stand out. #acadtwitter
- Very quickly a number of people gave responses, and a consensus began to emerge - Twitter should not only be professional - it should also be human...
@professor_dave Academics who treat twitter like an 18thC Enlightenment tavern not a press office issuing latest paper releases #acadtwitter
@professor_dave I’m new on tw.,and here for: science/life tweets, the funny side of science and @paulcoxon of course #acadtwitter- And the point of Twitter is to engage with people - not to speak at them. It is not a simple publicity machine...
If you think Twitter is an RRS feed that only works in one direction and you only need to use once a week, delete your account. #acadtwitter- By tweeting about Coronation Street, I've gained followers who now see my science - ppl who would not normally read science. #acadtwitter
- Of course I am not the first person to think about this issue and there are a lot of great ideas out there a number of which got highlighted during the discussions...
if you're following #acadtwitter you may be interested in #scitwittips (and vice versa). Here are my collected tweets: storify.com/tom_hartley/so…- And some of the very best boiled-down 140-character tips came from Tom...
- DO: allow your personality to come through, but step away from the keyboard if you start to feel disinhibited! #acadtwitter
- As was noted by a number of others
- However, my undergraduate students have their own ideas about what makes an academic Twitter account engaging...
@professor_dave Just post more pictures of your food. Everyone loves food. Food. #acadtwitter- And speaking of food - it was time to poke the debate a little over lunch
- Any people on lunch fancy telling me what makes a good academic twitter account - leave your thoughts at #acadtwitter. Thanks!
- Of course most academics don't even leave their computer screens - preferring to grab a quick sandwich in the office - so the responses flooded in...
#acadtwitter frequent tweets about subject and life, posts links, willing to engage with other users, does not get too political/dramatic.
I follow #acadtwitter accounts for informed opinion, news, links to new content (blogs, papers, resources), as well as for 'collegiality'.
