Social media for Academics: An overview of the benefits (and problems) of social media in Higher Education.

1. Tweets, blogs and Academic success:
the role of socialmediain higher education
Chris Buddle
McGill University
@CMBuddle

2. Special thanks to Crystal Ernst

3. What is “Social Media”?
…digital content and interaction that is
created by and between people
S. Decker, massrelevance.com
…the online technologies and practices that people
use to share content, opinions, insights, experiences,
perspectives, and media themselves.
H. Greenstein, Social Media Club-NYC
Forms of electronic communication through which
users create online communities to share information,
ideas, personal messages, and other content
Merriam-Webster

4. Communication,collaboration, community
…toolsfor ‘outreach’ activities

5. Social media tools for Academics
• YouTube/i-Tunes
• Video or audio delivery of content
• Blogs
• Longer format writing, typically with embedded
links/video/photos
• Content-rich
• Individual or collective
• Microblogging
• Tumblr, Pinterest
• Often humourous, pop-culture oriented
• Facebook
• More ‘social’
• Groups can be effectively used for Academic
purposes
• Twitter
• 140-character limits
• Short updates, photos, links
Time
Investment
Low
High

6. Social Media Glossary
• “Posts”
• Any new update to a blog, twitter, etc
• A “Tweet”
• A post to twitter (140 Characters)
• RT, MT
• “Hashtag” – aggregator on Twitter (e.g., #PhDChat, #HigherEd)
• “Meme”
• Images, video, concept that goes viral on the Internet

7. Key features of social media:
• Dynamic
• Engaging
• Conversational
• Network
• User-friendly
• User-driven
• Open, accessible
• Knowledge filter
• Free

8. Benefits: Skills
• Social media facilitates skill development in areas
that are not traditionally part of an Academic’s
training
• Networking  more than conferences!
• Regular writing, for a global audience of
thousands, is good practice!
• Honing communication skills for a more general
readership/viewership
• Transferable to journalists, media offices, lecturing

9. Benefits: Teaching
• Engagement with students and among students
and instructors
• Expanding the institution’s walls – making the
course content relevant to others
• Innovation: dynamic teaching rather than static

10. Podcast assignment:

11. Undergraduate Field Biology Course

12. Natural History Projects
• Students (in groups) prepared blog posts and fact sheets about local
species, and were asked to tweet about their species
• Rationale:
• Breaking down the classroom barriers
• Communicating science to a broad audience
• Writing for more than the Prof/TA
• Using social media for more than the ‘social’
• Interaction with the broader scientific community

15. Student Quotes:
• “I really like that what
I am learning has a
relevance beyond
the classroom”
• “I can’t believe
people out there are
interested in our
work, it’s cool”
• “Wow, a Professor in
the UK asked us
questions about
Beech Bark Disease
over twitter”

16. Benefits: Networking &
Collaboration
• Larger group of colleagues
• academic, industry, amateurs
• no geographic limitations
• Escape from solitary pursuits
• International “hallway talk”
• Feedback on ideas
• Research Collaborations

17. Gradstudents,undergraduatestudents,research
scientists,post-docs,otherProfessors,andmore…
Connecting(withtwitter):

18. WhatHashtags do I use?
….Discussionsabout research& Academia:

19. Savvy scientists must increasingly engage with blogs
and social media… Even if you choose not to blog, you
can certainly expect your papers and ideas will
increasingly be blogged about. So there it is – blog or
be blogged.
Paul Knoepfler, Associate Professor, UC Davis

20. Expand your audience
75 citations

22. Social media -> Research success?

23. Research collaborations

24. Bioscience Education

25. Leveraging social
media for research:

26. Benefits: Giving back (&
Institutional value…)
• We have a duty to share & report in an accessible way
• Social media is an easy and effective way to reach a larger
audience
• Helps to answer “what is the value of Higher Education?”
• Get noticed by students, faculty, journalists, general public
• Cost-effective
• Not having a social media strategy will get noticed

27. Most Universities have
‘mission statements’ that
include ‘service to society’
….socialmediaisaneffectivewaytofacilitatethiskindofservice

29. A social media profile for
Academics & Universities
• Institutional benefits:
• Showcase that Professors are “real people”
• Get a glimpse into everyday lives of Academics
• Rethink stereotypes of Universities (and their
employees)
• Better understanding and appreciation for teaching
and research endeavours

31. Have you been Googled?
Take control of your
on-line profile.

32. SEARCH COMMITTEES WILL GOOGLE YOU.
… There are basically two outcomes ... 1. they will
find something that is neutral or positive and it
will not really affect their decision or 2. they will
find something ridiculous that will negatively
affect their decision.
Gerty-Z, scientopia.org/blogs (“Balanced Instability”)

33. Be proactive (instead of reactive)
• Social media is pervasive; Academics and their institutions must
take part
• Control your internet profile
• Student and Faculty recruitment remains critically important to
most schools
• An effective social media strategy can help
• Not having one can hurt.
• Effective content could include:
• Positive and student-driven initiatives
• Dynamic highlights of research and teaching activities

34. It’s not all rosy:
Be careful what you write.
Don’t be an idiot.

35. There are few incentives for
outreach activities because…
• Institutional cultures are not changing with the times, nor
have they been built with ‘outreach’ in mind
• Tenure & Promotion based on research and teaching
• There is a lack of understanding about social media, and a fear
of the unknown
• The media, and pop culture, paints social media as only ‘social’
• There is sometimes a sentiment that Academics are too
important to engage with outreach activities
• Some of my colleagues have been reprimanded for
engagement in outreach activities
• Focus on research papers and grant-writing!

36. Should Academics & their
institutions value outreach
activities?
Is so, how?

38. Incentives for Outreach
• The STICK: Require
Academics to
perform ‘community
service’ on a regular
basis

39. Incentives for Outreach
• The CARROT: Give a
pay raise to
Academics who do
outreach activities

40. The carrot cake
• Outreach activities
become fully
integrated into the
institutional culture.
• A core value
• This will require a
paradigm shift at all
levels

41. Engagement in Social
Media takes time. And
you CANNOT forget
about:
Teaching.
Research.
Committees.
Your family.

42. Finding time.
• Make social media part of
your daily routine
• Write when you can
• Write to relax?
• Eventually, it saves time:
• Blog posts relevant for a
research group
• Use social media to
facilitate meetings (e.g.,
Google +)
• Find ways increase
productivity

43. Using social media takes
training:
• Outreach must become a core activity for
Academics
• Tools for outreach, including social media,
should be part of this training
• Bottom-up and top-down support is required

44. 1. Start a Blog
• Blogs are valuable for individuals and institutions, and allow
varying levels of commitment
• Determine type of blog
• Multi-authored, with administrator? Individual blog?
• Determine target audience
• Prospective students? Colleagues? General public?
• Read many, model the good ones
• Good blogs have themes so that readers know what to expect
• Regular content is the key to success
• 1-2 per week is essential
• Must have weeks of content ready before launching

45. 2. Network and market your blog with
Twitter/ Facebook
• Twitter / Facebook can be effective for both individuals and
institutions
• University Twitter feeds
• Scholarly Societies, Journals
• Departments, Universities
• Twitter / Facebook are effective at promoting high quality
content
• “lurk” for a long time before venturing into the Twitterverse

46. 3. Let it grow (but pay attention)
• Comment, view comments, engage, share
• Effective use of social media means content and networking
must be given the freedom and flexibility to grow
• A shifting paradigm for Academics and their institutions
• Add content!

47. Social Media in Academia: Caveats
• Initial time investment is significant
• Social media is risky and requires ‘letting go’
• Broad shoulders are required
• Social media is not a podium – it is about conversation
• Every Academic should do outreach activities
• But not everyone should engage in social media
• For group / institutional efforts, there must be sustained
support for social media
• Training is required
• Social media should complement and not distract from core
duties of an Academic

48. Social media has changed my life.
Professional
• Filter for information
• Community engagement
• New collaborations
• New opportunities
• Communication skills
Personal
• Broadened perspectives
• Got me out of my bubble
• Giving back
• Validation
• Fun!