Researcher Profiles: Social Media for Researchers

Unlike the formal Academic Social Networks discussed previously,  Social Media Networks are used across all categories of society, and not specifically designed to fit the needs of researchers.  However, popular and cost-free social media applications (such as Twitter, LinkedIN, Facebook and others)  are finding a niche within academic circles, and employed by researchers in useful ways that may not have been imagined at the time when these applications were first launched.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay   
Pixabay License:  Free for commercial use; No attribution required

For researchers, social media has the capacity to deliver useful and relevant opportunities, including: 

• providing access to global communication channels for publicising research output  
• enabling links to be embedded in various online places that  lead back to their research  
• providing researchers with up-to-the-minute tools for creating sophisticated personal profiles  
• empowering researchers to establish academic and professional networks across the globe  
• presenting the opportunity to engage with other researchers in discussions, conversations, and debates  

This section will highlight one well-known social media platform, often used by researchers:  Twitter

An account-based, microblogging and social networking service

About Twitter  
An online social networking site characterised by a succinct, short-form of communication, known as tweets/tweeting
About the organisation
Twitter is a public company, based in San Francisco, with offices across the globe 
Twitter's approach to researcher profiling
A Twitter user's account contains an editable feature which allows a profile photo, and a brief bio (up to 180 characters) 
Across all disciplines and sectors; multi-national in scope   
How Twitter works
An account-based, microblogging and social networking service 
Communication is done by posting short messages, known as “tweets” 
Real names or pseudonyms can be used  
Structure of a Tweet
Twitter insists on brevity – tweets are limited to 280 characters per message 
Reasons for using Twitter 
Sharing ideas and content with a growing audience

Twitter logo source
Pixabay licence:  Free for commercial use; No attribution required