[THREAD] Is Twitter only about self-promotion? Academics, if you want to give it a try and don't know where to begin / don't feel comfortable with the idea of promoting your work, here a few (unorganized, but we'll be fine) tips.
#AcademicTwitter #PhDChat @AcademicChatter
1/ You don't have to be super visible & active immediately. It's totally fine to test the waters by
- asking questions to the community ("I'm stuck w my writing, what can I do?", "References on X, anyone?")
- interacting & reacting to other posts (likes, retweets, then comments)
2/ In fact, I don't think you have to become active *at all* if it's not for you. It's totally fine to read only. The tips are thus for those who feel like they have things to say, want to be active members of the community, but are afraid that their message doesn't come across.
3/ If you don't feel comfortable talking about your own work, engage with the work of others! In fact, I think this is a great way to foster a culture of #OpenPeerReview by telling the authors publicly how you read their work while summarizing it for other audiences. #SciComm
Here is an example if a paper I really enjoyed reading: https://twitter.com/BerLinguistin/status/1316416482264469507?s=20
4/ Talk about things you're an expert about, but not necessarily your research topic (it can be daunting at first!). For instance, if you had to give a class on a certain topic, and get inspired by a tweet on this particular phenomenon, go for it, make a thread about it!
Here a thread on German grammar 😱 https://twitter.com/BerLinguistin/status/1314864722290802689?s=20
And here one on deictics in French. The idea is just to wrap up a few thoughts on a topic, as if you were explaining it to someone who has no prior knowledge of what makes you really happy and excited (all things related to language in my case): https://twitter.com/BerLinguistin/status/1273910620249829377?s=20
5/ Share (random/still unprocessed) thoughts on a topic that means something to you. So, for me, language. Almost every time I see someone writing *anything* about language, it raises questions. Sometimes, I share them on Twitter, as a simple comment/interrogation.
For instance, I got confused about the discourse about Lockdown in Germany, so I tweeted about it. THIS is also/already #SciComm! This is giving access to how some debates are framed within your (academic) community (mine is linguistics). https://twitter.com/BerLinguistin/status/1316361758148304896?s=20
6/ Tweeting as an academic does NOT mean tweeting about (your) research only! Tweeting about #AcademicWriting or #Teaching can be other points of entry into your work: https://twitter.com/AAIASydney/status/1320928942585307138?s=20
7/ Always feel free to mute/block accounts that are making you feel uncomfortable. Make Twitter YOUR Twitter! #SelfCare Curate your feed & never feel guilty if you want/need to leave the platform (for a few days, or for ever) #MentalHealth
8/ Don't become active just because you think you need to be visible. There are other ways: Twitter should not become a stress factor. You don't need to tweet abt each paper that got published (or rejected, for that matter) & show all the time what an expert in your field you are
9/ Rather think about contributing to a larger debate — about your discipline, but also about your values and research ethics, the role of science in society... We're coming back to 1/ Engage with people you know, imagine that you're just chatting.
10/ Finally, resist the temptation to see Twitter as a mini research paper. This is another format. You'll say things differently, sometimes people won't get it, you'll make typos—it's all fine, leave them! (I used to delete and/or correct every single tweet, so I feel you.)
I may write another time about how you can tweet about your research specifically (just did that two hours ago — see my super meta tweet below) but the idea is that there are many other ways 😉 Have fun! https://twitter.com/BerLinguistin/status/1329058378610569216?s=20
@dsquintana: “I hardly ever sit down and think, “what will I tweet?”. Most of my tweets are simply offcuts of work I’m already doing, or things I’m already discussing IN REAL LIFE with colleagues.”

me: YES! But also: Isn't Twitter *already* “real life”? 😉🧐 #DigitalLinguistics
You can follow @BerLinguistin.
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