I'm not going to name any names, but there is a particular cranky professor of physiology who was recently signed up for a Twitter account by one of the benevolent ScienceBlogs overlords. His response is:
...Comrade PhysioProf is not twittering, will never twitter, and thinks all this twitter mania is totally fucking ridic.
He presents this as representative of what happens when you Twitter:
Video 1: How most people think of Twitter.
Granted, there probably is a cohort of people who use Twitter solely to mass text inane bullshit to their friends about how they are totally drizzunk. I am onboard with people who don't want to page through a constant stream of drivel.
Then again, if you want to page through my constant stream of drivel, I Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/drisis.
Still, to think that this is the only potential use for social networking tools is short-sighted. Right now academic societies and groups largely stay in touch with members through online and print newsletters and communications. I'll be honest. I belong to four academic societies (although only one has a spot in my cold, cold heart) and I don't read half the stuff I get in the mail from them. I guarantee most other people don't either.
Figure 1: Let's all be honest about the fate of our newsletters
The truth is, I often feel overwhelmed by the volume of text I find in front of me that I may or may not ultimately find interesting. I feel overwhelmed by the list of demands that is my email box that I use it almost exclusively to put out fires and not to keep up on societal shenanigans. I approach my email with a different attitude than I approach my Twitter feed. When I open my email it is with, "What do people need from me now?" in the back of my mind. When I open my Twitter feed, I do so thinking, "What interesting things are people reading about that they might want to share with me?" There's no demands placed on me there. Reading my academic email is kind of like going to the gynecologist -- my only goal is to get in there, get it done, take care of any immediate demands, and get out of there as quickly as possible. I will put both off as long as I can - just shy of the point that things would begin to burn if I didn't pay attention.
Twitter offers the opportunity to parse through large caches of information in small (less than 140 characters small) chunks. I can read a headline, decide if I am interested, and then click through for the full story if I am intrigued. I would much rather read a newsletter this way. An academic society offering new career development opportunities or scholarships/ grants/ awards can send out a tweet about them and I am much more likely to notice, provided they don't abuse their junk and tweet 10000 things a day. Even Dr. Isis has her limit
As my real-life self I can Twitter a journal article I think is interesting to a group of colleagues who might also be interested. That is the second feature of Twitter that makes it a potentially powerful tool. I am much more likely to read something a friend recommends than I am a bunch of stuff I am bombarded with. Endorsement makes a huge difference when it comes to visibility. Feeds on Twitter can become viral as people pick up a piece of information and pass it through an ever expanding network of contacts. At the end of the day we are social animals. Academics are especially social animals, collaborating with people we enjoy and visiting other universities to give seminars both to share our data and to share the friendships we form with other academics.
And now I am going to go Tweet about how drizzzzunnk I am and a paper in the latest Journal of Applied Physiology I think is totally hot.
Technology
Education & Careers
Comments
I think that regardless of the platform, the quality of a social networking tool depends on who you're networking with. Twitter, same as blogs, same as Facebook, same as old-school technology like e-mail and Usenet. An advantage to Twitter (like RSS feeds) is that you can choose to follow whoever you find interesting; you don't have to dig through other conversations like in e-mail mailing lists or Usenet.
(I solve the work/social e-mail problem by having a personal account that I use to keep in touch with my family and friends, and not giving them my work e-mail. So when I open my personal e-mail, either it's Title 9 Sports trying to sell me stuff or it's pictures of my sister's kids. But, as my students tell me, I'm old.)
Posted by: Kim Hannula | April 14, 2009 10:23 PM
Why not kick it really old school back to
Dr. Isis'Dr. Isis' mother'sDr. Isis' grandmother's heydays and tweet in Morse code?Posted by: Toaster | April 14, 2009 11:13 PM
I've tried to post this multiple times on your blog and on CPP's. So finally, I think (I hope) this'll work.
Posted by: Physiogroupie IV | April 14, 2009 11:40 PM
OK, there was a link to an article but no one would have seen that unless you clicked on my name.
http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/04/14/twitter-tweets-texting-may-lack-compassion/5317.html
Posted by: Physiogroupie IV | April 14, 2009 11:43 PM
...
I approach my email with a different attitude ... . When I open my email it is with, "What do people need from me now?" in the back of my mind.
Surely you mean your 'bizness' e-mail.
Your Dr. Isis gmail inbox must be stuffed to overflowing with sycophantic, humble, pleasing offerings to the benevolent Isis... No..??
If not, just let me know and I can 'pick up the pace' of multiple e-mail missives every hour...
...tom...
.
Posted by: ...tom... | April 15, 2009 12:33 AM
Of course I meant my "mru.edu" email account. When I open up my Dr. Isis email account I think to myself, "How are my little muffins adoring me today?"
Physiogroupie, I think that article is probably spot on. But, I don't see it as much different than rapid fire emails and I also think these tools have the ability to be much more than ways to have 140 character or less conversations. I think they are potentially ways for academic societies and organizations to communicate.
Posted by: Isis the Scientist | April 15, 2009 8:43 AM
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology has a Facebook page (don't know about Twitter), and this has developed into exactly the sort of communication tool discussed above. . .society announcements, etc. I don't know if it will completely replace email in the near future, but we'll see. In many cases, Facebook is the primary method by which I communicate with colleagues. I get all sorts of juicy paleo gossip, and occasionally even advance notice of the release of some papers. Maybe Twitter will follow soon?
The main problem with things like Twitter and Facebook is that no matter how esteemed or close the colleague, there are always yahoos who abuse it (just as happened with fax machines, cell phone numbers, internet mailing lists, and blog comment sections). I spend a lot of time deleting stupid notifications (no, I don't want another invitation to the "ZombieBite" application, or a virtual flower). I predict this will eventually resolve itself as the etiquette for new electronic venues becomes more established.
Posted by: Andy | April 15, 2009 9:36 AM
'Academics are especially social animals'
Ummm. Actually I think that academics are NOT particularly social animals as a group... in my humble experience...
'collaborating with people we enjoy and visiting other universities to give seminars both to share our data' - this is just the nature of the business...no?
Posted by: drdrA | April 15, 2009 10:45 AM
I just want to say that I found CPPs rant fucking hilarious. Cursing some new-fangled technology that all the kidz these days are using, and then using the word "ridic"... it was the equivalent of a crazy old grandpa waving his rake and tell the kids to get off his GD lawn.
This is not to say that you are a crazy old grandpa, CPP. Though you do always smell like whiskey...
Posted by: ScienceMama | April 15, 2009 11:27 AM
I've been intrigued by twitter for a while but still haven't got around to trying it out. I feel like I spend most of my lunch hour and all evening catching up on all the blogs and boards I read/post at and Facebook...oh, and personal emails too. I just don't want to add another thing to the list that forces me to spend more time on the computer.
Posted by: MCH | April 15, 2009 12:25 PM
My name is Pascale and I twitter. A lot. I have a program for my BlackBerry so I can update when the mood strikes, and it also updates my FaceBook status. I have double-digit followers now, although I can't quite figure out why people want to know that I'm grocery shopping, etc. There have been some blogs about using microblogging in higher education, but I have been unable to track down specifics from anyone.
One key to happiness among the tweeple (that's really what they call them) is not to have every update SMS'd to your cell phone. You will be suicidal in about 15 minutes. Instead, use a mobile web interface and skim the updates while waiting for the elevator.
Also, don't think of Twitter as a stand-alone platform. Using URL shortening programs, you can publicize a blog (I've done this for the Dr Isis scholarship campaign) or commercial website. There have even been some fundraising events by Twitter.
Twitter. I still don't get it, but I do it.
You can follow me at http://twitter.com/PHLane
Posted by: Pascale | April 15, 2009 2:24 PM