This is another follow-up to the article I wrote about on-line social networking:
http://theintegratedlab.com/2009/07/should-your-lab-care-about-on-line-social-networking/
In that post, I started the discussion by posting 5 common questions people ask about on-line social networking’s use for the lab. I already wrote about the first three:
Here, I will write about the next one.
Question # 4: Do I really have to start Twittering? If so, why, because I just don’t understand what it’s all about?
Answer:
You don’t “have to” use any of these tools. But if you don’t, you’ll just be so un-cool, un-hip, and un-with-it! ;-) Seriously, though, I don’t even suggest you try to use all of them. Start trying a few out, and see which ones are comfortable for you and useful for you. Only use those.
What Twitter is “about” is that you send out information in short bursts. Think of it this way – what would you like people to know about yourself and what you’re doing? Maybe you’d like them to know you were just promoted. Possibly you want them to let them all know you’re looking for a new technician (maybe someone who’s looking for such a spot will see it). You might want to tell them your company’s product just went to market.
From a professional viewpoint, there’s really quite a bit of information that you might want people to know. So, of course, you wouldn’t pass along information your company sees as competitive and private. But if it’s something you do want the world to know about, it’s a candidate for a “tweet” (this is what a Twitter communication is called, if you didn’t know). Of course, this doesn’t mean others will follow this and find it interesting, either. If you want to try to get people interested in yourself, you must also think carefully about what others want to read, but if you’re merely interested in giving information, just put it out there.
Companies are doing this at a corporate level – giving information about their products and their company in these bursts, and it’s something you could do, too.
As a side note, I do something similar with my LinkedIn profile. When I have an article or other news to impart to people, I’ll put it in my “what I’m doing now” section so that people can follow it and comment on it. Like Twitter, it’s restricted to a minimal number of characters. It’s a way I promote the conferences I attend, the articles I write, my business, and it can be a way you can make yourself more noticed by recruiters, get people to see positions you have open in your lab, and other such useful attention.
