How social media platforms can enhance your work as a researcher, and some of the potential issues around using these tools. Adapted from 'The Researcher Online: Building an Online Identity" by Dr Helen Webster, University of Cambridge

1. Digital Identity & Social
Networking for Researchers
Flea Palmer, Learning Technologist
Plymouth University
Adapted from presentation by Dr Helen Webster,
Research Associate, University of Cambridge

2. Aims
• How social media platforms can enhance your
work as a researcher
• Potential issues around using social and digital
media tools

3. Reasons not to engage with social media?

4. Reasons to engage with social media

5. What can you offer?

6. How should I use social media?
• technoFEAR! or technoJOY!
• private or public?
• original content or mash-up and curate?
• single identity or many identities?
• low activity or high activity?
• one platform or many platforms?
• content created specifically or ‘collateral
damage’?
• academia or beyond?

7. Principles of successful online engagement
• Don’t just broadcast- interact
• Offer something of value
• Address a defined audience (but be aware that
anyone may be seeing you if on the open web)
• Update ‘regularly’ but don’t overload
• Offer something of yourself e.g. a photo,
identifiable name, an appropriate personal tone
• Link it to yourself in Real Life
• Avoid the echo chamber
• Be professional, not perfectionist - be timely

8. Writing a Profile
• What aspect(s) of your work or self do you
want to promote?
• Who is/are your audience(s)?
• What purpose do you want to achieve, using
this profile? What value is there for your
audience?
• What kind of information do you want to
exchange?

9. Social media platforms

10. Next steps…
• Join the ResearcherID community
• Become a member of Academia.edu
• See LSE’s guide to using Twitter in university
research, teaching and impact activities