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Tweeting for science
We say 'sometime', because the process is, to a certain degree, automated; but that doesn't mean it's not hands-on. In fact it's a highly disciplined process that requires a balance of mystery, provocation, insight, humour and the rigorous application of the protocols of responsible social media usage. The science of tweeting SAASTA's Media Coordinator, Daryl Ilbury, is responsible for maintaining the unit's Twitter account, and is somewhat protective towards his formula for growing the unit's Twitter profile: "There's a science to tweeting," he says, rather teasingly. Pushed to share more he explains that a lot of it has to do with balancing the expectations of SAASTA's rapidly growing follower base. "They look to us to provide insight into what is happening in research, especially research that affects them; but they also want to be able to share - by retweeting - what they learn. That often means identifying science and technology stories that are fascinating and entertaining - so that their own followers will think, 'wow, I didn't know that'." Each morning Ilbury dedicates up to an hour and a half scanning local and international news sites for science and technology-related stories. Choosing the stories is important - there has to be a balance across the myriad fields of science and technology, as well as in terms of the technical intensity of the stories. He also scans a number of research news feeds such as AlphaGalileo and EurekAlert!, again looking for stories that have that 'wow' factor. Using his experience as a science journalist he then traces the stories back to the original research papers and scrutinises them. Content is king The next part of the science of tweeting comes in the composing of the tweets. Daryl says the secret is to use language that teases to a story and then provide a click-through link to the story. There's a limit to what you can say in 140 characters or less, so the story provides context. That's important. In journalism they say 'content is king, context is King Kong'. Whenever possible, he always includes the Twitter handle of the source, "That's just good manners". The final part of the process is the scheduling. Ilbury uses Hootsuite, a social media management system that allows him to schedule the tweets to be posted at key times in South Africa - around teatimes, lunch breaks and just before home time during weekdays - when there's a general spike in social media usage. If a story profiles South African research that he feels would interest an international audience, he will schedule it to be posted later in the day or early in the morning South African time. "The added advantage," says Ilbury with an impish smile, "is that it looks as if I'm working after hours. So don't tell my boss!" |
