WTF Workshop: Social Media for the Academic Professional (2/2)

It’s not as confusing as it seems.

I’m most grateful to be invited by Sacramento City College for a guest presentation this Thursday, March 24. This post and the previous will be my presentation notes and handout.

Tools We’ll Demo Today

• WordPress.com (alternatively, WordPress.org)
• Twitter
• Facebook

Examples of how people have used blogs for work and fun:

• Ben Young Landis
• A Blog Around the Clock
• Per Square Mile
• Sociological Images
• Boundary Vision
• The Flying Trilobite
• Musings from Quark Land
• Eating My Words
• Paranormal Romance

WTF Workshop: Social Media for the Academic Professional (1/2)

It’s not as confusing as it seems.

I’m most grateful to be invited by Sacramento City College for a guest presentation this Thursday, March 24. This post and the next will be my presentation notes and handout.

THE SESSION HANDOUT (Download PDF)

Disclaimer: This handout expresses personal opinions and do not represent the position or endorsements of the United States government.

What is Social Media?

Over the course of human history, stories and news have been conveyed through many different instruments, from cave paintings to papyrus, from newspapers to email. Social media are simply the latest tools that humans are using to communicate, whether it’s sharing breaking news or family gossip. The only difference is that today’s technology has given the old grapevine a nimble, digital body and a connection to the world. And the tools for publishing your thoughts are easier to use than ever.

How Can Social Media Help Me as a Professional?

Whether you’re an instructor, writer, researcher or student, our lives are all about information and relationships — obtaining them and sharing them. Social media tools can enhance this process. Scan news headlines. Get introduced to new colleagues. Network at conferences. Share your portfolio. Showcase your expertise. Promote your research and organization.

Writing a Press Release: Death by Six-Shooter

I was helping one of my researchers today to edit a press release draft that he had written. When I was writing out the standard formula for a press release in an email explanation, I kept wanting to gesticulate and say that a good press release should deliver the facts quickly and succinctly — essentially six quick bullet points that form a story. Then, a particular idea suddenly struck me:

(Please let me know if this already has been used/suggested by someone else… I plead innocence through shared creativity! I also plead guilty to muddled and morbid analogies/examples, if so judged…)

Death by Six-Shooter:  A press release should knock your reader over like six quick shots that deliver the facts and importance of your story. Humor the following example:

1. The lede:  What’s the news?  I got shot! 
2. The nutgraph:  Where/when/tell me more!  I got shot in the gut when I was in line to buy a caramel decaf mocha at the 15th and J Starbucks!
3. The pithy quote:  The news and its importance, in your own words:  “It really hurts, and this has significant implications for my lifespan.”
4. The detailed description:  Paint me a picture of the story:  There’s now blood everywhere and that might be the duodenum peeking out. No one got a look at the shooter, who was last seen with a venti Americano before fleeing the scene.
5. The background and signficance:  Here’s what else you need to know: I’ve always hypothesized that I’d bite it from a coronary from eating too much KFC. Most people have a 0.01 percent chance of dying from a gunshot at Starbucks versus a 0.09 percent chance from KFC cardiac episodes. But surprisingly, I got shot instead – making this a most unusual finding.
6. The last word:  A pithy statement/quote to sum it up, once more, with feeling:  “Getting shot was unexpected and a hell of a way to go. But this gives us more clues as to whether getting shot while ordering coffee is a new trend for kicking the bucket.”

Feel free to improve upon this… post your versions in the comments!

Not Just Rocks…

CLICK TO JUMP TO WEBSITE

It’s a poorly kept secret (not that I’ve tried…), but in recent months I have taken a new position in our exciting field of science writing.

I have been hired as the Outreach and Communications Coordinator for the Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) at the U.S. Geological Survey. My responsibility is to help convey the diverse ecosystems research findings of our center to the public, media, government leaders and other stakeholders. 

My new virtual home will be our outreach page, “WERC From the Field” (
http://www.werc.usgs.gov/outreach.aspx
), which I invite you all to visit for regular updates on ecological research in California, Nevada and the greater Pacific Southwest.

Some of you might be surprised that USGS does more than just rocks and earthquakes. So was I! But I’m discovering a wonderful network of ecologists and biologists who study the wildlife and ecosystems of the United States. They work in the wilderness, dive in coastal waters, traverse the Arctic and patiently run genetic and chemical lab analyses — all to provide good science to inform this nation’s resource managers and decision makers. Think of USGS as internal, unbiased scientific consultants to the nation, surveying all things natural and wondrous in its territories.

In my few short months, I’ve already seen bighorn sheep clamber atop rocky peaks, spied on sea otters at rest in kelp beds, come face to face with neon green iguanas and had hilarious coloring sessions with bright-eyed little kids. I am grateful to my predecessor, Gloria Maender, who left big shoes to fill, and to my last home, North Carolina Sea Grant, which gave me great freedom to learn, write and create. Of course, I must thank many of you colleagues and mentors out there in the science communications world, whose fellowship and advice continue to help me everyday!

Excited to be part of the game again.

– Ben