Read on Twitter
My first ever twitter thread! I've long wanted to offer some advice, mainly for grad students, about social media. But I've been reluctant to do so for many reasons. 1/19
First, because I don't intend to police anyone's self-expression or reinforce toxic conventions and norms. YOU DO YOU AND OWN IT, YOU FABULOUS BEINGS!!! 2/19
Second, and this will be germane to some of the advice I give here, because I know I'll get some pushback and don't have the thickest skin when it comes to hate-DMs (gosh, I already get those even without posting advice!). 3/19
But I see graduate students really struggling with social media, wondering if they HAVE to use it, wondering HOW to use it, or using it in ways that I worry might be detrimental to them. 4/19
So here, in a few short tweets, is the best advice I can give, based on my own ups and downs with social media. 5/19
1. Social Media is a megaphone. Whatever you want to post, go ahead, but do so knowing that you're blaring it through a giant amplifier. This is true even if you don't have many followers or have a private account. Word (especially the online word) travels! 6/19
2. How you use social media will, whether you like it or not, have an impact on your public/professional "persona." So it's important to imagine that people who might hire you will check out your profile AND... 7/19
3. Perhaps even more importantly, future colleagues and collaborators will look at your self-presentation there. 8/19
4. Snap judgments suck, but they happen. So you should take a moment to ask yourself about how you want to be "seen" by potential employers and colleagues. 9/19
5. A few things I find helpful to ask myself: do I want strangers to see this photo? Is this opinion one I need to share through the megaphone? Would I want a colleague to know this personal thing about me? Would I want an editor with whom I'd like to publish to see this? 10/19
6. These questions necessarily intersect with gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age, rank, institution, etc. I have gotten violent and loathsome messages on twitter that are clearly motivated by misogyny. It's awful to have to worry about this but the problem is real. 11/19
7. This is to say that often the best advice I've received about social media is: USE SPARINGLY AND CONSERVE YOUR ENERGY. If Twitter feels like another part of the job that you need to master, let me tell you: YOU DON'T. 12/19
8. No one will fault you for working on your amazing dissertation instead of curating your Instagram feed. 13/19
9. That said, I have found Twitter a wonderful platform insofar as it has allowed me to disseminate work, learn about essays and events I might have missed, connect with other incredible scholars in and beyond my field. 14/19
10. It has also been a life-affirming space of feminist solidarity (despite #6 above). 15/19
11. I'm especially fond of twitter users who drop the occasional personal tidbit along with serious knowledge. To name just a few, I appreciate the brilliance AND levity of @profchander @seeshespeak @whitneytrettien @V21collective. 16/19
12. Read THIS by @heatherfro: https://hfroehli.ch/2017/10/20/how-i-use-twitter-as-an-academic/
No, seriously, read it NOW. 17/19
No, seriously, read it NOW. 17/19
13. If you feel anxious about social media, speak up! Say it here, say it in my DMs, say it in your department! We aren't doing nearly enough to help students (or faculty for that matter) to navigate this crazy digital hellscape. 18/19
Voilà! That's all I've got for now, but of course the comments are open, and not just for the trolls .
19/19
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