European Intersectoral Summit on Research and Innovation / Trinity College Dublin, Ireland / 26th February 2013

1. Engaging citizens in research and
innovation
Opportunities and challenges afforded
by social media
John Breslin, NUI Galway

2. Me
• Lecturer in electronics
• Researcher at DERI
• Founder of boards.ie
• Mad scientist engineer

3. research
innovation media
society European role science
between new RRI responsible summit public
societal communication key actors developed challenges all keys
information Europe issues about policy process large area interaction six actions other order debates conference
engaging concrete environment presidency dialogue better stakeholders Irish changing researchers outlined civil importance support both
industry important makers inclusive horizon citizens grand future union needs foster content institutions participatory being social engagement EISRI
during strategy through develop outcomes jobs processes via years intersectoral shaping sectors play clear clearly access innovative approach traditional
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relate exchange reflect make equally look level leading engaged central education question disciplines different knowledge development authoritative well
designed providers spongebob squarepants can you really read this small writing?
Word cloud generated from http://eisri-
summit.eu/background-paper/

4. From word of mouth…

5. …to word of tweet

6. Citizens:
Can we please
have your
attention for this
important
scientific No, I’m too busy reading my
announcement? Facebook
Haha, I get it, he’s a banana, and he’s saying it’s “apeeling”

7. The paradox of the Web*
You now have a megaphone
(Just like everyone else)
* Bernardo Huberman, HP Social Labs

8. No longer a race to be first, but a
battle to get the most attention

9. Be. Interesting.
Easier said than done, eh?

10. “A new solid-state propulsion system
has been devised using the sigma…”
“Get me out of here”

11. Rockets! Space! Action!

12. Don’t want to dumb down the
message, just make it relevant

13. Getting attention for the scientific
message
• Have you tried asking questions of the public,
rather than regurgitating article titles?
– Without using a question that may bias the
response
– Provoking but not being rhetorical
• Pique the interest of @influencers
– Get them to tell their fans / followers / friends
• Target #topics

14. “How well was science taught in your high school?”
#scienceweek @wiredscience @nytimesscience

15. Who can best spread your message to the public?
IDENTIFY HUBS AND INFLUENCERS

16. “Is it me or is he looking a little washed out?”
“Doctor Jim is so cool”

17. Anecdote: tweeting out slides from
a talk I gave earlier this year
• Put slides on SlideShare*
• I had referenced various funding institutions,
non-profit organisations, etc. in my slides:
– And made sure to tell them about it on Twitter!
• 500 views in a few hours
• 3000 views after a week
* http://slidesha.re/europreneurs

18. For events or topical stories
TARGET KEYWORDS, #HASHTAGS

19. #hashtags for big scientific events

20. And explain what the #hashtag is
periodically…
…for those not in the know…
#sciencemedia is for EISRI BTW!

21. Sometimes, it’s good to be personal
BE A FACE, NOT A LOGO

22. But don’t go too far!
“I actually came for
the climate change
discussion, but all I
got was someone on
about their lousy
barbeque”

23. Automate your message for
sending out at peak times

24. But make sure the right message
goes out…
• From: Quora Weekly Digest <digest-
noreply@quora.com>
• To: john.breslin@nuigalway.ie
• Subject: What is it like to have your mother
die? - Quora
• Message-ID:
<1361359522.0682987696506104@mf101>
• Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:25:22 -0600 (CST)

25. USE EXAMPLES TO SHOW WHY
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IS
MONEY WELL SPENT

26. @johnbreslin or john@bresl.in