Communicating science and medical research...

This post has been moved to the new Virology Down Under platform on Wordpress.

You can get to this specific post by clicking on the link below...
 
http://virologydownunder.com/science-and-outreach-the-good-the-bad-and-why-to-get-involved/

Please adjust your bookmarks.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Editor's Note #20: Tweepidemiology...

Updated 05JUL2015

Followers of my @MackayIM Twitter account (and this blog which gets promoted through it) since I started tweeting. It shows the cumulative rise and rise of followers and the relationship of the rate of those rises to very active periods of infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics over the past 18-months or so.
Click on the graph to enlarge

While it's hard to separate whether I pick up followers because of the delivery of specific content or because as you pick up followers, they help spread the word and you pick up more followers, to simple old me this cumulative graph looks like MERS-CoV and the West African Ebola virus disease outbreaks drove people to seek information. Sometimes those people have done me the honour of following me on Twitter, accompanying me on my own journey to understand what's going on. I'm constantly amazed at that, let me assure you.

I thought it worth having a look at the Tweepidemiology of my Twitter account. That is, the epidemiology of my Twitter followers - a bit of a long bow - but you follow me because I talk about infectious disease outbreaks and stuff and because I like my new word...I'm keeping with it!

I paid Twitter Counter to get my Twitter data, plotted it in Excel, tidied it using Illustrator and here it is. 

I started Tweeting a little after I started blogging - this Twitter thing is for the young people and their constant need to take selfies and update the world on their lives...live and learn. 

Despite VDU blog posts on the emergence of influenza A(H7N9) virus in China dating back further in time, I came to Twitter well after H7N9's Wave 1 was engaged. So the slow burn could have been due to that or just because no-one knew me or that I could generally be trusted and generally don't spout drivel. 

Generally.

So there ya go - Tweepidemiology - a way of looking at when and perhaps why one gains followers through social media when it's used to engage the public and try and help people understand what's happening with new or emerging viruses and diseases . Perhaps I should check what happens when I post photos of my cat too.

Updates...

1. Corrected some typos and grammatical errors

Words of wisdom from a Master....

Prof Vincent Racaniello (he of the TWiV netcasts and Virology blog) took another step towards being the Yoda of contemporary virology communication using social media.
Earlier this morning (my time), while live Tweeting from the Australian Society for Microbiology's (#2014ASM) annual meeting in Melbourne, Prof Racaniello imparted these words of wisdom. This came out during a Tweet exchange with @NewProf1 about how to find some balance as a scientist engaging in social media communication in addition to having a life, succeeding at work...and personal hygiene.

@scienceCC @AmerSocVirol Have to figure out how to balance lab/data/reading/family/spouse/writing/grants/eating/sleeping/showering...
— NewProf1 (@newprof1) July 7, 2014

[above Tweet since deleted-IanM, 29JUN2018]

@newprof1 @scienceCC @AmerSocVirol My two cents: If you have to figure out how to balance you’re already in trouble
— Vincent Racaniello (@profvrr) July 7, 2014

@newprof1 @scienceCC @AmerSocVirol My point is not to overthink about balance, tenure, grants, family. Just be passionate and it will work
— Vincent Racaniello (@profvrr) July 7, 2014

Interesting how close those words are to Yoda's...

 No.

Try not.

Do. Or do not.

There is no try.

Oh, and if you are at the ASM this year - Tweet something for crying out loud!! 

Get into it. 

Create a Twitter account right now - just use it for work related stuff and follow a few people. Social media is, among other things, a great way to get another view of science. And if you engage with the public a little, just around your field of interest to start off with, you might be amazed at how positive and personally rewarding it can be. Not to mention how widespread your reach can become compared to a standard journal publication paradigm. Think of it as another way to look at impact. You may even pick up some collaborations.

At the very least remember, teaching is a great way to learn.