Skill Pathway: Communications & Engagement
Career Readiness Competencies: Career Management; Innovation & Collaboration; Community Engagement; Communication; Digital Literacy
Duration: 60 minutes
Workshop Description
Social media is playing an increasingly important role in our culture and our professional lives, whether we like it or not. While it has its potential pitfalls, social media also provides space for the formation of academic and professional communities that can provide you with opportunities to share your research, sharpen your writing skills, network, and job hunt. In this workshop we will look at some basic principles you can follow in order to locate a social media “ecosystem” that works for you, so that you can find opportunities for productive public engagement as a graduate student or postdoc.
Learning Outcomes
(1) Consider the diversity of ways we can communicate through social media
(2) Become aware of academic and grad student communities on Twitter and elsewhere
(3) Recognize the potential for sharing academic ideas and engaging in debate on social media, but also be aware of possible drawbacks to sharing
(4) Consider the possibility of engaging with the public through social media, blogs, videos, or publications like The Conversation
(5) Understand niche media ecosystems and the importance of “news pegs,” the news cycle, and the “take cycle”
(6) Learn how to engage in risk management when it comes to public engagement, given the ugly side of social media