8. Book Review: "Twitter For Scientists" by Daniel Quintana

Welcome to the first TARE Book Review.

I created my Twitter account in 2013, but have only started using it consistently in the last 2 months. Because the scientist in me wants to understand how to use Twitter to maximise my voice, I read ‘Twitter for Scientists’. This week I break down its key messages and other strategies to help you and your Twitter game!

Quick facts for 'Twitter for Scientists':

How do I access it?: Freely available via https://t4scientists.com/

Readability: Very easy to read

Duration to read: 1-2 hours

Audience: scientists, Twitter newbies, people wanting to know more about Twitter's features.

Why should I read it? To get the most out of your Twitter account to promote your research

My Experience:

March 2020. I am on Twitter for the first time in a number of years and I am excited and freaked out. Excited because I have just finished my first TARE blog post. Freaked out as I am a Twitter novice and don’t really know to describe my blog post in 280 characters so people will actually read it. I get to the point where I need some self real-talk and I say:

“B, you barely have any followers! No one will read this post, so go with your gut and just post it.”

So that is what I did.

Whilst I was basking in this 'certainty mindset', a tweet appeared that seemed sent by the Twitter Gods - Daniel S. Quintana has written an ebook called ‘Twitter for Scientists’. I had no idea who Daniel S. Quintana was, but knew his book could be a way for me to better understand how to use Twitter. So I clicked through and bookmarked his ebook in Google Chrome (as I didn’t know the Twitter Bookmark feature even existed). Six weeks later, I opened the Google Chrome bookmark and read it.

It turns out Daniel S. Quintana got his PhD at Sydney Uni, lives in Oslo and his research focuses on the role of oxytocin. I did think oxytocin was primarily a maternal bonding gene, that was why a mother’s brain overflows with oxytocin the first time she holds her newborn. But his informative 20-second TikTok video told me that oxytocin is not a pro-social gene, it is actually involved in our cardiovascular system, muscle contraction, bone regeneration and also controls salt levels. This is just one example Quintana provides of how scientists can use multiple social media platforms to teach people about science outside of the traditional academic pathways. (See Chapter 4 of 'Twitter for Scientists' to see Quintana's TikTok video).

My Verdict on 'Twitter for Scientists':

This book is brilliant!

Quintana has really maximised the reach of his research from academics with access to journal articles, to anyone with a Twitter account. I would highly recommend you read this book. I guarantee you will pick up a few tricks (unless you are already a Twitter master).

Structure of 'Twitter for Scientists'

One of the reasons I loved this book is due to its simple structure and easy to read language. The book is split into three sections based on your Twitter ability: beginner, intermediate and advanced. If you are creating a Twitter account, you could literally have Twitter open in one tab and this book open in another tab to let you know all potentially useful Twitter features.

For example, for beginner users, the book suggests information to include in your Twitter profile including using hashtags and other strategies to get your account noticed. Throughout the book there are also useful warnings so you can make an informed choice on what information you want to share on Twitter.

For intermediate skills Quintana includes why you should pin posts to the top of your Twitter feed, and gives you suggestions for which types of posts this would work for. Quintana also highlights the value of other Twitter features such as bookmarking tweets, adding images or using Twitter polls.

The advanced features is where I did start to get a little lost in the ebook due to my Twitter inexperience. I didn't know the purpose of a Twitter thread, and I doubt I will create my own GIFs. But if I do, I know where to turn for some advice on how to do it. As a scientist, I had already discovered the beauty of Twitter Analytics.

The notable hole in this book is how to grow your Twitter followers. There is advice on who to follow, but the main purpose of this book is how to write about your research in an interesting and appropriate way for the Twitter audience.

If you want to maximise your followers, I found a couple of additional YouTube resources created by @careerconversa1, teaching us how to maximise our online presence.

• Maximising your followers and having engaged followers (8 mins)

• Twitter algorithm to attract followers (about 10 mins)

Why is a Twitter account and/or 'Twitter for Scientists' important for researchers?

This ebook is important as it provides researchers with the tools to get their research out to the public. In academia, it is becoming increasingly important in grant applications for researchers to demonstrate the translatability of their research, and its impact or reach. Given Twitter is a freely accessible platform with millions of users, this is much less expensive way to increase the impact of your research compared to paying open access publishing fees.

Twitter allows you to explain the key aspects of your research paper to all of its users. As Twitter may not be an academic audience, feel free to play around with the story and present it in a way that the people who will be affected by your research will understand. If your voice is kind and inviting, these people may message you directly to ask about your work to see how relevant it is to them.

Due to its broad reach, Twitter is also used for study recruitment, especially for hard to reach populations.

When I spoke with Quintana (over Twitter), he said Twitter helps his academic career in four key ways:

1. Discovering new learning tools and papers

2. Finding collaborators and being invited to give talks

3. Getting feedback on ideas and papers

4. Finding a community of like-minded people

Win, win, win, win!

Finally, there is some discussion that a Twitter 'impact factor' may be developed in the future. If you have mastered Twitter by the time this happens, it will give you an edge over your colleagues who haven't learnt or adopted this technology. (See next week's post to learn more about impact factors, i.e. measuring the impact of your research).

But don't just believe me. Nature and Forbes have also written about the importance of Twitter for scientists!!

'How to use Twitter to further your research career' Published by Nature.

'Why a new study says scientists should use Twitter' Published by Forbes.

Practical Advice From 'Twitter for Scientists' and my own Twitter lessons

Now I have outlined how Twitter can work for you, I will impart the lessons I have learnt over the past 2 months.

• Be yourself

Allow your personality to shine through your tweets, and don't try to schedule tweets or put on a 'Twitter persona'. Maintaining a 'Twitter persona' will get exhausting!

But, make a decision how personal you want your account to be. Is it a personal or professional account? Then tweet accordingly.

• Your profile picture should reflect your account

I use my Twitter profile mainly for professional reasons, so I used a professional picture of myself. If your account is more personal, choose any photo you wish. But be mindful, future employers may Google you, so make sure you don't choose a super embarrassing Twitter photo. 😀

• Check with your employer if they have any social media rules around what you can and can't tweet.

Twitter is fun, but you don't want to lose your job over it!

• Maximise tweet views

Twitter is all about engagement. The more people engage with your tweets (liking, commenting, retweeting) the more the Twitter algorithm will show it to other Twitter users.

You want your tweets to be seen and noticed. Using pictures or GIFs is more eye catching than text alone. Pick a good picture/GIF and the interaction with your tweet could be amplified.

Using spaces between lines in tweets will also make the tweet longer on the screen, and therefore more eye-catching.

Promote engagement with your tweets by asking questions, or creating polls. People cannot resist answering a question!

If you think someone you follow on Twitter will like your tweet, then use their handle in your tweet e.g. @BiancaBlanch1. They will then see your tweet and can choose whether to retweet it to their audience. But use this technique sparingly.

• Use threads to describe your research

Each tweet is only 280 characters, and although scientists are taught to write succinctly, we aren't that succinct! A thread is multiple tweets joined together so a person can read a more in depth description of your research. The first thread generally starts or ends with the notation '1/n,' so your audience knows it is part of a thread.

Each thread should be treated like a figure or table in a journal article - it should stand alone without having to read anything else. This is especially true in threads, as one tweet (e.g. #3) may be shared among your colleagues. If the reader doesn't understand tweet #3 without reading tweets #1 and #2 you will lose some of your audience.

Also, in threads you can add information about the study to make it more personal, like the idea behind your experiment, or pictures of your co-authors.

• Tag the publishing journal

Most the of researchers in your field will subscribe to relevant content area and/or methods journals. If you tag the journal in your tweet they may retweet your post, and suddenly everyone in your field will read your paper summary. This is a great way to maximise your research and people who may read the journal article. This may also increase the chance of your paper being cited in future publications, or collaboration requests.

• Notifications?

Twitter allows you to be notified for almost any interaction anyone has with your account.

You can decide what interactions you want to be notified for. The more notifications you receive, the more interruptions you will have when you should be working! You can change your notifications in 'preferences' on the desktop app. I have turned all of my notifications off and choose to log into Twitter when I am having a break between tasks.

• Be a consistent tweeter

To engage with your audience be active on Twitter.

Also, don't just tweet about your own work. Tweet about things that interest you. People will respond to your work or hobbies and will therefore engage in your account and be interested in what you are tweeting about next.

• Don't be afraid to fail

Twitter is a skill like everything else, and it takes patience and an openness to failure to get good at it. Don't let the fear and insecurity reflected in my own experience win, try and see how you go.

If you make a really big mistake you can always delete your account, come up with a new username and photo and start again.

I have used Twitter nearly everyday for the past couple of months and I feel like I am still learning. Like any new skill, you just need to practice your Twitter game and soon you will succeed!

What are your top Twitter tricks? Have you read 'Twitter for Scientists'? What did you think? Please leave a comment below or email me at AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com

BB

Image via bitsfrombytes.com

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'Start Up Book Reviews'

'The Authentic Research Experience: All Book Reviews'

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