Zeb LarsonAug 13, 2023
@Svetlana2 @thesiswhisperer The people who got tenure-track jobs continued to network at conferences; the adjuncts (most of the profession), nobody really heard from because they didn't have enough money to attend conferences or the research support to publish; and people like me who left enter another career simply disappeared from any kind of discourse. Twitter supercharged the first kind of discourse and also kept adjuncts and those who left in the conversation.
Show threadJ Mark SproulAug 13, 2023

@Zeb_Larson You now have found a Mastodon server where you can communicate with other professionals on topics centered around your research and have options to collaborate / share knowledge, or publish online that way?

Might be a good idea to search for such a Mastodon server, or maybe begin one with colleagues.

@Svetlana2 @thesiswhisperer

Show threadZeb LarsonAug 13, 2023
@Braveheart @Svetlana2 @thesiswhisperer I left academia in 2020, though I know that historians.social and hcommons both exist. I was always kind of jaundiced about Twitterstorians, truth be told; there was a lot of good networking, but also a lot of toxicity (and speaking candidly, time wasting as people argued with trolls or each other in nasty and irrelevant ways).
Show threadThesiswhispererAug 13, 2023
@Zeb_Larson @Braveheart @Svetlana2 it's interesting that the people who seem most wedded to Twitter are historians - there's 5 people I'll miss talking to there, who have not popped up on other platforms. When I've asked them why they stay, they shrug me off. It makes sense if it's a bit cliquey as you say ...
Show threadMCDuncanLabAug 14, 2023

@thesiswhisperer @Zeb_Larson @Braveheart @Svetlana2

Cell biologists are pretty wedded to Twitter too.

I get it, careers were made by the reputation madeon twitter, or the networks that twitter facilitated, or the opportunities to explore less immediately financially rewarding aspects of the career.

I made a minor name for myself with a long tweet about self-reflective learning, which is totally outside of my wheelhouse-Led to a relatively high profile paper, and helped me land ass. chair.

Show threadIvan 🌞🔋🦙Aug 14, 2023

@MCDuncanLab @thesiswhisperer @Zeb_Larson @Braveheart @Svetlana2
similar situation in energy and sustainability research. People stay in 🐦 because finding folks here is hard, and because most publishers and news orgs are absent.

A positive of Mastodon is that conversing feels more productive. I only made a Twitter account to push a paper and I've hardly used it since because it's hard for new accounts to be noticed. Here I do get into actual conversations, but with people in other fields.

Show threadJ Mark Sproul

@IvanRManuel @MCDuncanLab @thesiswhisperer @Zeb_Larson @Svetlana2

Ivan, did you consider Linkedin? I have put "posts" and have posted "articles" there which provoked many responses - and importantly those "hits" - by people who are interested in the topic, and who are doing research in it.

I also have joined groups focusing on my subjects, (Linguistics, Literature and 2nd Language Teaching).

Recommended.
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Aug 15, 2023 at 2:19amWeb
Show threadIvan 🌞🔋🦙Aug 15, 2023

@Braveheart @MCDuncanLab @thesiswhisperer @Zeb_Larson @Svetlana2 oh I do have a LinkedIn, and it works great for career/publication stuff. But not for "human" interactions.

It's very corporate and stiff, in general.

A friend called it "a website made exclusively for humble bragging", and they're spot on.

Show threadJ Mark SproulAug 15, 2023

@IvanRManuel

Agreed, but not corporate for me because my followers are teachers, pedagogy researchers and writers. I mostly post on topics about what I have observed in classes and how it relates to learning. For example, I have posted embedding learning content in games to motivate student learning. I've shared lesson plans, with comments.

Others share similar things, or comment on things they've read.

Yes, a lot of bragging happens, and people are seeding their job hunts too.