developing you public research profile
TRANSCRIPT
Developing your public research profile
Anna JenkinFaculty of Music Outreach Co-Ordinator
@acjenkin
Structure of the session
O What is a public research profile and why does it matter?
O What is your current public research profile?
O Improving your online public research profile
O Improving your broader public research profile.
O Suggesting options rather than selling a format: its up to YOU to decide.
What is a public research profile?
Personal websites
Institutional websites
Social media profiles
Citations/ articles in public-facing media
Blogs
Pictures, videos, audio
Public-facing events
Reviews
Interviews
Social media interactions
Other people
Total control No control
Personal websites
Citations/ articles in public-facing media
Blogs
Pictures, videos, audio
Institutional websites
Interviews
Social media profiles
Social media interactions
Public-facing events
Search engine results:
Other people
Who is the ‘public’?
Totally non-academic
Totally academic
Personal websites
Citations/ articles in public-facing media
Public-facing events Blogs
Social media profilesSocial media interactions
Pictures, videos, audio
Interviews
Institutional websites
Other people
Why does it matter?
77% 77% of recruiters used search engines to find
background data on candidates
35%35% admitted eliminating candidates because
of the information that they found onlinehttp://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/google-online-searches
Slide via Lynn Bailey
What about in academia?
O AHRC Pathway to Impact now includes Social Media interactions.
O Job applications increasingly involve impact or ‘contribution’ sections
O 7 million users of Research Gate worldwide.
O 974 million twitter users, with a substantial number of researchers.
O 26 million academics have signed up to Academia.edu
What curating a public research profile did for me
Major thesis discovery
Invitations to conferences in France and USA
IssuesTime-consuming
Doesn’t count on job applications/Ref
Moves too quickly
Security issuesUndermines research- precocious publishing
Not taken seriously by people that matter
Anonymity
Ethics and copyright
What is your current research profile?
ACTIVITY: Write your name on a piece of paper Swap that piece of paper with
someone sat in front or behind you. Google that person and write down
what kind of person they are (don’t forget to include images).
Search in youtube- does that give a different image?
Results Some pretty accurate readings-
ac.uk sites are prioritised. Any surprise social media accounts? Any awkward photos?
What is your current research profile?
ACTIVITY: Now google yourself: note down: Are there things on there you’d
rather weren’t? More importantly, what isn’t there
that you would like to be? How do you want to appear on the
web? How can you go about making that a reality?
How to enhance your visibility
O Google prioritises ‘sites with authority’ eg/ ac.uk accounts and social media accounts
O Find out how people are searching for you: academia.edu and google complete
O Update your resources at peak times: 9am, 3pm, 6pm.
O Its much easier to create new than get rid of old- make sure your peak hits are ones that you have control over. Photo by Giles Moss via Flickr
Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode
Institutional websiteO Make sure you keep it as up to date
as possible. O Create a profile on Academia.edu or
researchgate that can be transferred over.
O Make the most of institutional broadcast platforms: University research homepage, Research Horizons magazine, and connections on most social media platforms.
Using Social Media
StrategiseO What do you want to say about
yourself?O What is the audience that you are
trying to target?O What are you going to offer them?O What do you want to get in return?O Where are the possibilities for
mistakes/tensions?
Broadcasting NetworkingResource Sharing
BroadcastingO Sometimes more
personalO Active updates on your
activities and thoughtsO An insight into your
persona as a researcher.O Can also guest broadcast
on other platforms.O Regular, short bursts of
content.
Photo by Todd Heft via Flickr Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode
Resource-sharing 1: curationO Demonstrating your
place in the field through the sharing of relevant and interesting news pieces, publications and resources.
O Short, regular bursts of content.
O Be vigilant: make sure the information you are sharing is high quality and correct. Photo by Bruno Cordioli via Flickr Creative
Commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode
Other curation resources
O http://www.scoop.it/ - Scoop- online newsletter collation resources
O https://storify.com/ - Storify – collates social media onto a page that tells a story
Resource-sharing 2: Content Creation
O Written: blogs (and micro blogs), articles, reviews, papers
O AudioO VideoO Longer time investment, less
regularly. Or in response to current affairs.
O Think carefully about what you do and don’t want to share.
O A way of sustaining interest in your work, and sharing research not suitable for publication
O Maximise coverage by connecting to university accounts and choose your key words carefully
O Guest blog on other public-facing sites, eg/ The Conversation
Photo by Stephen Campbell via Flickr Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode
NetworkingO Some platforms can be useful for
connecting with researchers from around the world and sharing expertise.
O Remember: unless you’re using a private messaging function, these are public.
O Some academics more approachable on social media than via email.
O Comments functions on publishing platforms vary enormously. Some also allow you to make groups.
O Complimenting real life networking: livetweeting at conferences.
O Requires regular time commitment: if you want people to respond to your enquiries, you must respond to theirs.
Photo by Chris Potter via Flickr creative commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
How do I bring it all together?
O Keep it consistent: use the same name, username, image, biographical details and links on every platform.
O Use namechk to devise a suitable username.
O Use gravatar to generate an image that can be used across all platforms and as a central directory of all your platforms.
O Set up a Google + profile to heighten the visibility of your publications.
O Create a personal website directory through about.me or flavours.me
O Create your own personal website, either via wordpress or through a professional company.
Photo by Cory Doctorow via Flickr creative commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
How do I bring it all together?
O Create a Google Scholar citations platform to make sure all your publication lists are up to date.
O Create an OCRID to bring all your online activity together and connect it to your publications and other forms of research output.
Photo by Bipin Gupta via Flickr creative commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
How do I keep it separate?O Be clear on what platforms you are
using for what purposes. Have a clear policy on friending/following in both domains.
O Use platforms with strong privacy settings for personal use and make sure they are in place and regularly updated.
O Use separate email addresses for different platforms.
O Avoid synching log ins and do not let your computer ‘remember’ you.
O Use shortened names or pseudonyms for personal use. Photo by Frankieleon via Flickr creative
commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
Keeping an eye on what’s going on
O Create a ‘Google alert’ . You can also use http://www.socialmention.com/ and http://technorati.com/ to keep track of discussions on social media.
O Use analytical tools such as google analytics and twitter analytics (most platforms have them). Record any particularly high impact publications.
O Be vigilant: delete accounts that are not in use or contain old material. Make sure you have at least one presence outside of your institution. Back up material: no platform will last forever!
Photo by Johan J-Ingles-Le Nobel Flickr creative commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
Your public profile outside of the internet
O What forms of public engagement would work best with your research?
O What kinds of people would you like to work with?
O What do you want them to get out of it?
O What do you want to get out of it?
Photo by Sholeh Flickr creative commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
OrganisationsO National Centre for Co-
Ordinating Public Engagement: publicengagement.ac.uk
O Next Generation Thinkers 2016 via AHRC
O Non-academic conferences
O Musical charity work and campaigns eg. Live Music Now
Photo by JLS Photography Flickr creative commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
Top tips for developing public engagement
O Start small- if in doubt, focus on your sources
O Think carefully about your audience
O Know what you wantO Don’t just talkO Have a clear evaluation
system in placeO Back it up with an online
campaign Photo by Tessss Flickr creative commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
To conclude…O What do you want
your public profile to say?
O Who do you want your ‘public(s)’ to be?
O What are the best platforms for you to do this?
O How are you going to keep control?
Photo by Tambako Flickr creative commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode