Social Media
In a seminar on self-marketing, we discuss the use of social media. The discussion that immediately ensues could make you sweat with fear. But after just two statements, the field is already staked out. Clara, a spirited postdoc, snorts immediately: “It might be a nice way to pass the time, like feeding ducks or watching Netflix. But it hasn’t helped anyone professionally. Or do you think Novartis’ HR department is just waiting for the most brilliant post of the month to fill positions?”
That's why we all too quickly - and with the kind support of the providers - rely on substitute metrics such as likes and shares, which are supposed to show traffic and visibility.
Sven takes up the gauntlet to all course participants who have already clicked a like button more than three times in their lives in a deliberately relaxed manner. “I don’t want to sound precocious,” he begins in a schoolmasterly tone, “but if you just bury yourself in the lab and then think that HR people who are not experts in the field can tell your brilliance from your twelfth publication, you’re wrong.” He floods the room with anglicisms, all of which are terribly important in his eyes: visibility, traffic, likes, and shares. He concludes – entirely without judgment, of course – that everyone has to decide for themselves which century they want to live in.
“Although your opinions couldn’t be further apart, you’re both right,” I conclude.
All social media are structured the same in one respect: to achieve network effects, as many people as possible have to be active in them, such as writers, readers, likers, or sharers. Whether the exchange is substantial or superficial is irrelevant to the network’s success. It is difficult to determine whether we achieve something with our efforts or whether a few people just press a like button out of boredom. That’s why we all too quickly – and with the kind support of the providers – rely on substitute metrics such as likes and shares, which are supposed to show traffic and visibility. We are happy about this and, in the worst case, become addicted to it, even though there may be no genuine interest in it – just noise and no signal.
Private social media are for entertainment, nothing else. This should not be mixed with your professional life. Professional networks help maintain distant contacts or search for people specifically for a question. If you like collecting, you can do this with stamps, likes, or shares. Professionally, it doesn’t matter which of these you collect.
This article was first published in Nachrichten aus der Chemie (issue 12-2019). See here the German original.
If you´re interested in using social media for your career as a scientist, you can take a look at our workshop Navigating Social Media.