The talk that I will be giving at the Genetics Society of Australasia 2013 conference (or at least, the longer version that I'll be cutting down for the final version). It's an introduction to social media and a discussion of the merits and drawbacks of using social media as a scientist.

1. ContactAn AcademicMessages
9:41 AM 100%
My student is on Twitter.
Really?
Should I be worried?

2. Steven Hamblin
BABS, UNSW

3. FacebookI like donuts
TwitterI’m eating a donut
YouTubeHere I am eating a donut
InstagramHere’s a vintage photo of my donut
LinkedinMy skills include donut eating
Google+I’m a google employee who eats donuts
Academia.eduHere’s my paper about donuts
ResearchGateDr. X just published about donuts
Social media in
30secondsorless

4. What is social media?

5. Settings Cancel
... the means of interaction among
people in which they create, share
and exchange information and ideas
in virtual communities and networks.

6. V I D E O P H O T O S Q U A R E

7. Publishing
Sharing
Discussing

8. Publishing
Sharing
Discussing
Networking

9. Publishing
Sharing
Discussing
Networking
Publishing
Sharing
Discussing
Networking

10. Publishing
Sharing
Discussing
Networking
Publishing
Sharing
Discussing
Networking
Sharing
Discussing
Networking

11. New Message Cancel
To: An Academic
iMessage Send
Q W E R T Y U I O P
A S D F G H J K L
Z X C V B N M
Read 10:23 a.m.
Today 10:18 a.m.
So here’s my question: how
does social media help
scientists?

12. scientists?
New Message Cancel
To: An Academic
iMessage Send
Q W E R T Y U I O P
A S D F G H J K L
Z X C V B N M
Read 10:23 a.m.
Today 10:18 a.m.
And does it help with
communicating our science
to the public?
And?

13. Yes (Probably)
Jose Puente
Jim Puhrman
P

14. Location None
Account @BehavEcology
86
Social media can increase the reach of
your papers (e.g. Eysenbach, 2011).
#altmetrics
Cancel Twitter Post

15. Dr. Dez
@docdez
Twitter, in particular, is like an ongoing scientific conference. It allows
connections that I may not normally have. It provides me with novel
information. And it allows me to contribute to the discussion.
Aly B
@maizesunshine
When I was first applying to graduate schools, I was able to contact
current students for advice. More recently, I have been able to discuss
difficulties and concerns with fellow scientists across the country.
Chris Buddle
@cmbuddle
Writing a blog regularly forces me to continue to hone writing skills
and forces me to think about putting my work ‘out there’ to a broader
audience [...].

16. “The average number of twitter followers was 730 times larger than
the average number of full-time faculty members in each scientist’s
department.” (Darling et al., 2013)
V I D E O P H O T O S Q U A R E

17. Jacquelyn Gill
@jacquelyngill
Especially as a woman in science, I’ve found a supportive group of
folks that has extended my network well beyond what it would have
been otherwise. I can get a wide range of advice on a topic nearly
instantly (e.g., #firstgrant). I’ve started collaborations. I’ve benefitted
from a support group and have felt much less isolated.

18. New Message Cancel
To: An Academic
iMessage Send
Q W E R T Y U I O P
A S D F G H J K L
Z X C V B N M
Read 10:23 a.m.
Today 10:18 a.m.
Well...opportunity cost?
Institutional attitudes? Are
we just fooling ourselves?
What about
downsides?

19. Does it help science communication?
Maybe (Who knows?)
Brandy Williams
Jim Wolf
W

20. 701 million active users.
297 million active users.
359 (?) million active users.
http://www.businessinsider.com/google-plus-is-outpacing-twitter-2013-5?IR=T

21. Figure 1: Civic Scientific Literacy in the United States, 1988–2008
Percent
Year
Source: Data for 1988 through 1999 from NSF Science and Engineering Indicators surveys.
(See Miller, 2004, 2010.) Data for 2004, 2005, and 2008 from Science News Studies. (See
Miller, Augenbraun, et al., 2006; Miller, 2010.)
test this proposition and to isolate the indirect effect of college science courses
on the use of informal learning resources without diminishing our ability to
assess the direct or residual impact of those courses.
Third, we will be able to examine the impact of fundamentalist religious
beliefs on adult use of informal science learning resources and on retained in-
formation in the form of CSL, while holding constant other factors in the
general model.
Miller (2011) PasteSelect

22. Simply ‘showing up’ isn’t enough.
An audience takes time and energy to build.

23. top 1000 Twitter accounts.
Panic Cancel
No scientists found in the

24. So, should I be worried?
No (Trust me)
Adrian Truxler
DonTyndall
N

25. Messages
An Academic 21m ago
But there is a valid conversation to
be had about the role of social
media for scientists and #scicomm.
1:41 PM 87%
alltoday missed

26. Thanks!
n
Message T