Table 1 The do’s and don’ts of social media
From: The value and use of social media as communication tool in the plant sciences
| Content | Suggestions | Potential pitfalls | URLs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short status updates | Post informative, interesting or engaging updates, e.g. “I am presenting a poster at conference X, come and say hi!” | Avoid boring or too personal updates (“I just had a sandwich”), gossip, personal attacks or excessive negative feelings. Be aware of the sensitive nature of posting about unpublished data, proposals, reviews, collaborators, students etc. | http://www.twitter.com |
| “Has anyone got experience with technique Y?” | http://www.facebook.com | ||
| Longer text | Informative: current research, new papers, conference reports. | Shorter texts (500–700) words are more likely to be read in full. Use images, hyperlinks or multimedia to make text more engaging. Avoid jargon. | http://www.wordpress.com |
| Discussion: Opinion pieces, reflections, | http://www.blogger.com | ||
| http://www.tumblr.com | |||
| Creative writing. | https://plus.google.com/ | ||
| Photos | Snapshots from live research, lab/field trips. Data that might not be published otherwise. Use tags or hashtags to contribute to existing image pools and make images accessible. | Avoid using pictures protected under copyright or without appropriate creator attribution, photos of people without having their permission, images you might want to use in a publication. | http://www.flickr.com |
| http://www.pinterest.com | |||
| http://www.instagram.com | |||
| http://www.facebook.com | |||
| Video | Short clips taken with camera or smartphone. | Make use of captions to provide additional information. Think about appropriate length (shorter might reach more people). Avoid using copyrighted music. | http://www.youtube.com |
| Interviews, techniques, lectures and talks. | http://www.vimeo.com | ||
| http://www.vine.co | |||
| Data that might not be published otherwise. | |||
| Creative videos (e.g. songs, cartoons). | |||
| Links | Use link shorteners to save space and track clicks. | Avoid posting links without any or with a vague description. | http://www.twitter.com |
| http://www.reddit.com | |||
| https://plus.google.com/ | |||
| http://www.facebook.com | |||
| Audio | Soundbites of field trips, events. Longer audio pieces, e.g. interviews, recordings of talks or podcasts. | For longer pieces pay attention to microphone quality and acoustics of the surroundings. | http://www.audioboo.com |
| Science songs. | http://www.soundcloud.com | ||
| Publications and CV items | Invest time to create a professional online presence and keep it up to date. | Before uploading full-text versions or pre-prints, carefully check publisher conditions. | http://www.academia.edu |
| http://www.researchgate.net | |||
| http://www.linkedin.com |