Communication has always been an integral part of the scientific endeavor. The work of a scientist will only be finished when it has been communicated. Social networks support both faster and more interactive ways of communicating Science to a wider audience. Twitter is among the most popular social networks at present, integrating a community of over 500 million users around the world. However, based on a 2014 survey, only 13% of 3,500 scientists worldwide actively visit Twitter. Scientists can get a lot of benefits from using Twitter. It can be used for communicating research findings to the scientific community and to the public. Twitter allows users to follow Science influencers, to stay updated with research breakthroughs and opportunities, and to interact with other researchers. Twitter can also be helpful in research dissemination and readership. Previous studies have shown a strong association between science communication and citation rates. It also has a great potential to increase the reach of scientific messages and promote direct engagement with non-scientific audiences such as the public, media, policymakers, etc. In today's world where there has been an alarming increase in anti-scientific trends and fake news, scientific voices are rapidly disappearing. Twitter is an excellent platform for scientists to craft a personal online brand to educate the public with evidence-based Science. To counter the perpetuation of fake news online, we need more scientists online who are willing to develop their own brands and to engage a generally bewildered populace. This presentation will tackle the use of Twitter in Science communication, the benefits of using Twitter for researchers, and the steps on how scientists can maximize Twitter to advance their careers. Evidences showing the impact of Twitter in scientific production and dissemination, as well as networking and collaboration with other researchers will also be discussed.

1. Abandon the Jargon &
Tweet your Science!
Lads Tantengco
MD-PhD (cand) at UP College of Medicine
@drdrlads

2. OBJECTIVE OF THIS PRESENTATION
» To introduce Twitter as a Science
communication tool
» To discuss the benefits of Twitter for
scientists
» To discuss how to optimize Twitter for
research promotion and collaboration
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3. TWITTER AS A SCIENCE
COMMUNICATION TOOL
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4. 4
https://www.hellobio.com/blog/the-importance-of-science-communication.html

5. 5
https://sci10sectionm.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/the-evolution-of-communication-effects-on-the-world-of-science/

6. 6
http://www.antarcticglaciers.org/2014/04/analysis-www-antarcticglaciers-org-tool-online-science-communication/

7. Scientists in Social Media
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In a 2014 survey of
3500 scientists
worldwide, only 13%
reported regularly
using Twitter.
Van noorden, R. Online collaboration: Scientists and the social network. 2014. Nature 512, 126–129

8. BENEFITS OF TWITTER
FOR SCIENTISTS
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9. Personal Branding
» A personal brand is self-awareness,
self-promotion, and self-
preservation.
» The evolution of cover letters,
applications, CV’s, and resumes.
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https://readmorescience.com/2019/03/18/personal-branding-for-scientists-and-science-communicators/

10. My Twitter Account
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Our Research Organization’s
Twitter Account

11. Sharing my Research Presentations in Twitter
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12. Information Sharing
» Twitter can be an important curator of relevant
articles, saving time and crowdsourcing literature
reviews (Priem & Costello, 2010)
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Priem J, Costello KL. 2010. Proc Am Soc Information Sci Technol 41(1):1–4

13. 13
Academic
Journals are
now active in
Twitter!

14. Research Opportunities
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Research Pearls

15. Community Building
» Twitter is a tool for engaging and communicating
with a massive global network of peers and
researchers across the world.
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16. Twitter Networks
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17. Interact with other
researchers attending
conferences in different parts
of the globe
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18. 18
Interact with researchers from
prestigious universities

19. Public Engagement
» Scientists can use social networks to extend their
audience, communicate about science and
technology outside the classroom, and encourage
young people to choose science as a career.
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20. While scientists often start by placing research in a historical
context, the public wants to know the key point at the start.
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21. 21
Research
Production and
Dissemination

22. 22
Time since publication and
number of tweets were the most
important predictors of WOS
citations

23. 23
The variable that most
influences citations
per month is the
number of followers
Ortega JL. Scientometrics. 2016. 109(2), 1353–1364

24. 24
The main online platform
contributing to the AAS was
Twitter (with the mean weighted
number of mentions accounting
for 75% of the total)
Articles receiving higher online
attention tended to be cited
more, but this effect was weaker
for articles in higher impact
factor journals
Finch T O'Hanlon N, Dudly SP. R. Soc. Open Sci. 4: 171371.

25. OPTIMIZING TWITTER FOR
RESEARCH PROMOTION
AND COLLABORATION
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26. Who should you follow?
» Connect with “influencers”. Connecting with these
key actors will help you increase the impact of
your communication efforts.
» Follow scientists you know in person or a scientist
whose work you admire.
» Browse their following list for people to add to
yours.
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27. Steps in Creating Meaningful and Beneficial
Connections
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https://www.labsexplorer.com/c/twitter-and-scientists-a-love-story_185

28. How many followers do you need?
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Scientists with <1000
followers were mostly
tweeting to their own
kind
Above that tipping
point, members of the
public and the media
made up most of the
followers.

29. 29
Côté IM and Darling ES. 2018. Scientists on Twitter: Preaching to the choir or singing from the rooftops? FACETS 3:682–694.

30. What will you tweet?
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https://www.labsexplorer.com/c/twitter-and-scientists-a-love-story_185

31. When will you tweet?
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https://www.labsexplorer.com/c/twitter-and-scientists-a-love-story_185

32. Tweeting in Conferences
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https://www.labsexplorer.com/c/twitter-and-scientists-a-love-story_185

33. RESEARCHERS! We need to abandon our
jargon and tweet our Science, STAT!
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Yes, we not only can be present, we
now NEED to be. More than ever.
- Dr. Dana Corriel

34. Thank you very much!
Ourlad Alzeus Tantengco
MD-PhD in Molecular Medicine (cand)
UP College of Medicine
Email: ogtantengco@up.edu.ph
Website: https://ourladtantengco.wordpress.com/
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