Scientists and Social Networking: A Primer (Part 2)
by Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD, HUGO Matters Editor
In the second part of the Scientists and Social Networking Primer series, we look at social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. (Also see Part 1.)
Science on Social Networks
Social networks, such as Facebook.com, Twitter.com, and LinkedIn.com can be considered an adjunct to blogging or a separate endeavor. Although not as customizable as a personal science blog, social networks also allow scientists to create profiles that demonstrate their personal and research interests as well as a way to network with other scientists. Exchanges on social networks typically occur more quickly and the discourse tends to be more succinct than blogs. In this sense, social networks mimic real face-to-face conversations with colleagues while blogs are more like online journals or magazines.
Facebook is the most popular and fastest growing social network among both general users and scientists. Users can choose to have a completely public profile or allow only accepted “friends” to view their profile and the information they share. Users can group these friends based on predetermined criteria, such as family, work, online acquaintances, and give each group different levels of access to the information that’s been posted on their profile. For example, scientists may use Facebook as a virtual bulletin board of links to the latest science news and events along with notes, status updates, photos, and videos, but allow only close personal friends and family members to view posts involving their children. Facebook friends have a News Feed on which each other’s Facebook activity is continuously updated.
In addition to interacting with one another via personal profiles and updates, Facebook users can also find others with similar interests at fan pages and groups created by individuals, corporations, or organizations, such as the HUGO fan page. Facebook fan pages and groups are virtual gathering places where the creators can connect directly with Facebook users who’ve joined. Joining a fan page or group is a good way to keep abreast of an organisation’s latest developments, offerings, and events. Facebook fan page/group notifications are more straightforward than email, are consolidated with other updates of interest from Facebook friends, and are conveniently automated.
John Fossella, assistant professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, who writes Genes to Brains to Mind to Me has found social networking to be useful in many ways, “Instead of getting feedback from the same handful f folks I regularly see in the lab, I’m getting comments and new ideas from folks who I used to work with 5, 10 and even 20 years ago, not to mention new folks who I’ve struck up online-interactions with. I’ve also enjoyed social support and encouraging comments from former colleagues during times when funding and institutional-politics have been difficult to manage emotionally.”
Software applications are another feature of Facebook that add functionality to the social network. Although most involve online gaming, some are specifically about science including genetics and genomics. Sigma Life Science created the Your Favorite Gene application that can be used to find information about specific genes, create a personal list of favorite genes as well as view friends’ lists, and add publications and research interests to one’s Facebook profile. GenOmics is a community news application with featured news, top news as voted upon by members, and popular Q&A’s. The GenOmics app also has a fun feature where users can send a gene to a friend, such as “the hair today, gone tomorrow” gene (AR on the X chromosome), the “first” gene (HGO on chromosome 3), and the “alcohol flush” gene (ALDH2 on chromosome 12). After all, scientists have a sense of humor too.
Second only to Facebook, Twitter is a microblogging site at which users are limited to 140 characters per message. Within these 140 characters, users often include links to other online content. Anyone can read and subscribe (follow) a user’s “tweets” which are then be automatically displayed on the user’s own private Twitter screen that includes tweets from the users themselves plus the people they follow. Popular Twitter updates may also be “retweeted” which means that an interesting and meaningful message is replicated by other Twitter users to share with their own group of followers so that the retweeted message spreads virally through the Twitter community. It’s also possible for Twitter users to categorize the people they follow into groups (lists). Some users have created Twitter lists made-up of scientists or people who tweet about science, such as science writer David Bradley’s list of 499 Scientwists.
One of the more interesting uses of Twitter has been during conferences when attendees tweet live updates during events. There has been some controversy, however, about live conference coverage on social networks like Twitter and blogs. In 2009, Daniel MacArthur of the Sanger Institute live blogged the Cold Spring Harbor Biology of Genomes meeting and ran afoul of a policy that asked participants to ask conference speakers for permission before making previously unpublished results public online.
MacArthur writes, “It’s worth mentioning that scientists can benefit from having their work discussed online. A fairly hefty proportion of the readership of most science blogs consists of other scientists, so having your work disseminated in these forums both increases your profile within the scientific community, promotes thoughtful discussion of your work and can lead to opportunities for collaboration – precisely the same benefits that scientists seek in presenting at a conference in the first place.”
In an interview with Dr. Val of Better Health, American Medical News Copy Editor Pam Wood shares her secrets to great tweeting:
The first thing you have to do is read what others are writing. Some people use Twitter simply to broadcast themselves, but I think Twitter works best if you also read what others are writing and engage with them in some manner – whether it’s retweeting them or having side conversations via direct messages. Otherwise you seem like a robot.
LinkedIn is currently the most popular professional network online although other social networks have been developed that specifically target scientists. Scientists may think they do not need to use a social network to further their careers but as more information moves online, ignoring this essential aspect of career development would be a mistake. When it comes to finding a new job, recruiters and human resource managers routinely use LinkedIn to find and perform background research on potential job candidates.
The most important feature of LinkedIn is the personal profile consisting of work and education experience presented in much the same format as a curriculum vitae or resume. Like other social networks, LinkedIn users “connect” with other users who they’ve had a relationship with in the past. Any of these connections can then write online recommendations for the user that are publicly displayed in his/her profile. Being able to see the network of people to whom one is connected either directly or via one’s connections is a helpful resource as well.
Not only can scientists benefit from LinkedIn in terms of career development, they can also network further by joining LinkedIn groups. Discussions, links to news, and job postings are commonly found at LinkedIn groups where members can also consult each other on career-related concerns, such as reasonable salary requirements, interview questions, the state of the job market, and office environment.
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn serve different needs. For scientists who are more interested in the personal side of social networking, Facebook is the place to be. Scientists who want to get involved and stay up-to-date quickly should try Twitter. And LinkedIn is the social network to use for personal career management and planning. Even when these sites cease to exist (as ephemeral as the Internet can be), there will be others to take their place that will enhance the way we interact with one another. For better or worse, no one can live without having an online presence and it’s important to manage what people see and hear of us on the Web.
Medical student and medical blogger Bertalan Mesko of Scienceroll.com has made extensive use of social networking. He says, “Blogging and Twitter don’t just help me in my research but totally changed the way I interact with other researchers and collaborators. Now I receive the majority of my conference invitation through my blog where I can also share and find valuable and relevant content for my research. Through Twitter, it became easier and more efficient to make new contacts with people with the same interest. We can share interesting publications, discuss recent scientific issues or get help whenever we need it. The tools of web 2.0 are seriously changing the way I experience science.”
In part 3 of the Scientists and Social Networking series, HUGO’s social media plans will be unveiled.
Images: 10ch, laikolosse
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