Social media: how to make it an academic friend not foe

Advice on how universities can make the most of Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and other social channels to support their teaching and research

Social media spotlight for THE Campus

Social media: a useful, informative tool or an addictive, damaging distraction? This is a question that has inspired much hand-wringing in academia, and society at large, in recent years. So how can universities harness the positive opportunities afforded by social media platforms while managing potential pitfalls such as misinformation and online abuse? This collection brings together resources that will guide academics on the best use of digital channels, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, detail success stories and offer strategies for ensuring the online safety of the academic community.

The 10 commandments of academic Twitter

Lucas Lixinski offers tips on how to engage positively with the social media platform, from ‘honour thy hashtags’ to ‘thou shalt live-tweet at events’

Lucas Lixinski

UNSW Sydney

Social media and careers

University academics can take risks to get to the top

I took an alternative route to academic success – and I’m happier than ever

I ignored senior management and marketing departments and experimented with making my work more accessible and interesting – it paid off, says Jonathan Wilson

Jonathan Wilson

Regent's University London

Using social media data and analytics is key for academics hoping to expand their network

How to use social media analytics to effectively expand your network

Digging deeper into social media, through stats and data, is the key to understanding audience and carving out your niche, says Michael Skiba

Michael Skiba

Colorado State University Global

Building your research profile via social media, with a focus on LinkedIn

A guide to creating effective researcher profiles on social media, with practical tips for using LinkedIn

Tjitske Dijkstra

Academic Career Coach

Protection on social media should be a prerequisite for universities

Why I choose not to teach with social media

If social media is eventually revealed as a grave threat to public health, the academy’s unquestioning adoption of it could make scholars complicit

Zachary Michael Jack

North Central College

If universities push staff towards social media, they must protect them, too

At the very least, there should be training on managing online discourse, blocking tools and recognising when ‘robust debate’ becomes abuse or libel, says Andy Phippen

Andy Phippen

Bournemouth University

Focus on: LinkedIn

Engaging with LinkedIn is essential for the modern university academic when looking for a new job

Academic snobs can’t afford to ignore LinkedIn any longer

Considering a career move? When asking for a favour, such as info or an introduction, it helps to build a chain of trust. Which is where LinkedIn comes in, says Emma Williams

Emma Williams

EJW Solutions

Social media can make you sad, so here's how to battle the LinkedIn

Does seeing others’ success on LinkedIn make you unhappy?

LinkedIn can help you find a job and promote yourself, but it may also leave you questioning your own career trajectory – here’s how to combat the social media blues

Laura Lavertu, Sebastian Oliver

The University of Edinburgh

LinkedIn is quickly becoming academia’s key tool for career progression

For students and academics alike, it’s becoming hard to ignore LinkedIn’s combination of networking and self-promotional opportunities

Gillian McCurdy

Arden University

A group Zoom call

How to engage students when some are in the room and some are on Zoom

Flower Darby offers practical tips for keeping all students engaged when teaching a class in which some students are with you in person and others are learning remotely via a teleconferencing platform

Flower Darby

Northern Arizona University

Fake news, educated views and how-tos: social media for teaching and research

Terese Bird shares her ideas on how to use some of the most popular social media platforms to support your teaching and research

Terese Bird

University of Leicester

Social media troubleshooting

Fake news and bias can infect social media feeds, so university teachers need to educate students on how to read their platforms critically

Students aren’t giving up social media, so teach them how to question it

Whatever our own opinions on social media, we must educate our students about locating bias and reading their preferred platforms critically, says Stone Meredith

Stone Meredith

Colorado State University Global

University emoji friends: encouraging students to make friends on social media before starting university is a great idea, as long as there are protections in place

Social media can help new students make friends – but we must regulate it

There’s much to like about employing social media to help nervous students make connections before being dumped on campus, but universities must not overlook their duty of care

Andy Phippen

Bournemouth University

Zoom meetings do not have to be quite so painful for academics and university staff.

Zoom meetings don’t have to be quite so painful

Simple actions can help avoid common pitfalls in the design and execution of online team meetings, say Rob Angell and Ben Marder

Rob Angell, Ben Marder

University of Southampton, The University of Edinburgh

Camera lens closeup

How to use social media more effectively in teaching and research, part one: your recording set-up

Andy Miah shows how academics could set up their workspace to record good-quality video content for use on social media

Andy Miah

University of Salford

The metaverse will change everything – including academic research

We must push XR research boundaries if we’re to understand and shape our future reality – here’s how, says Neil McDonnell

Neil McDonnell

University of Glasgow