Communicating Science in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss science communication in the twenty-first century. We explore the opportunities the internet offers us to expand our research network and share our knowledge with a wider audience. A first topic is blogging as a researcher. The different ways of contributing with blog posts, as well as the different platforms for blogging are discussed, i.e. a blog as a single author, a blog as a research group, or other collaborative efforts. We highlight the benefits of blogging. A second topic is the use of Twitter as a microblogging platform and source of information for researchers. We discuss how to engage with an audience on Twitter and start a scientific conversation, and how to join the Twitter conversation about higher education. A final topic is online branding for scientists. We first explore how searchable you are, and how you can manage the information that shows up when you google your name. We then look at additional profiles, such as LinkedIn, Academia.edu, ResearchGate, Instagram, Facebook, and Storify to share information and to manage the information that is available about you on the internet.