How Scientists Can Reach out with Social Media

"Scientists ignore 'the outside world' at their peril. The general public has the power to deny your funding or restrict your experiments. It's important to reach outside your laboratories, offices and field stations to engage with the wider world, to show people that science is essential and that researchers are working hard to help address important issues..."

This resource offers tips on how researchers - even geographically isolated ones - can use social media to reach new audiences worldwide, hopefully keeping them informed, supportive, and engaged in climate change, emergent pandemics, dwindling natural resources, the struggle to maintain food security, and other scientific issues. Jennifer Rohn explains that "[j]ournalists and bloggers who can explain scientific breakthroughs are increasingly prolific. But less available, and just as important, are practising scientists who are willing to share the hows and whys of their world, making the way science works accessible, and showing why it is relevant." For example, they can "showcase the scientific method in action and open up the sometimes hidden world of science by sharing the aspects that don't make it into published papers, such as negative results or easily made mistakes." They can provide a real-time take on controversial research that is making the news and show that "science is not black and white, that ideas evolve, and that disagreement between scientists does not undermine the legitimacy of a particular field."

In the section of the resource "Tools of the trade", Rohn provides specific social media strategies, with several examples and links. Tools discussed include, amongst others, blogs, web-based audio/video, and "public-facing and creative web pages with simpler explanations and lots of photos". She stresses that, whatever the medium, scientists should "[w]rite or speak clearly using plain language in a conversational tone, not technical terms. Real-life metaphors and analogies will help make your point." Another suggestion is to broaden the communication approach with multiple languages. This could range from having a webpage translated into widely used languages, giving a video subtitles, or making a video universally understood through imagery that makes verbal explanations unnecessary.

As noted here, the next step for the scientist is to promote his or her thoughts, ideas, and stories. Tools (with links) are outlined, such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Hi5, MXit, and Orkut. "Some tools may be easier to access in low Internet bandwidth situations than others, so trial runs can be useful." When engaging in the interactions that can follow from such communication - through, for example, comments or ratings - scientists need to keep certain strategies in mind, according to Rohn. It is important to engage and be responsive, while also enforcing the rules of polite engagement (e.g., block abusive users). She stresses the need to be legal (e.g., do not libel or slander), be discreet (e.g., do not reveal colleagues' research without their permission), be aware (e.g., think before criticising your government's scientific or environmental policy), be sensitive (e.g., when discussing sacrificing animals for research), and be moderate (i.e. use social media only a little each day).

"The most important thing is to be active. Science needs as many advocates as it can get, reaching out to the public across many kinds of media."