How scientists can reach out with social media

• Bringing Science to live
• Tool of trade
• The "Social" in social media
• Keeping things sociable

Bringing science to life

Journalists and bloggers who can explain scientific breakthroughs are increasingly prolific. But less available, and just as important, are practising scientists who are willing to share the hows and whys of their world, making the way science works accessible, and showing why it is relevant.
Using social media, scientists like you can show how science is really done: a day in the life, the highs and lows, the set-backs, the uncertainties. You can showcase the scientific method in action and open up the sometimes hidden world of science by sharing the aspects that don't make it into published papers, such as negative results or easily made mistakes. You can express your excitement and show why your questions are worth solving (and worth taxpayers' support).
You can provide your own real-time take on controversial research in your field that is making the news and show that science is not black and white, that ideas evolve, and that disagreement between scientists does not undermine the legitimacy of a particular field.
You can show people the importance of not taking things at face value, perhaps making others more sceptical and savvy. You can draw people into your scientific world with your own passion and understanding.

Tools of the trade

Social media offers many ways to share your scientific life. Keeping a science blog — a regular, personal written account — is one way (read more about how to start a science blog here). Examples of entertaining scientist bloggers include Nina, a soil scientist in New Zealand, and Female Science Professor, an anonymous professor of physical sciences.
If your mobile phone is the easiest way to access the Internet, there are some good applications for instant blogging, for example Blogpress or Posterous. If you favour short, sharp updates on your research, Twitter might be for you, and could also be a good way to get involved in debate about other scientists' research if you wish.

Researchers can use social media to distribute videos

Flickr/IRRI Images

Or you might prefer to use audio or video. Audioboo is a great mobile and web platform that helps you create and upload audio tracks. YouTube remains a great platform for sharing video, with several programs for mobile phones.
For example, Stephen Curry, a professor at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, uses video to share his excitement about determining protein structures.
If you don't feel you have the skills to do this on your own, you might consider collaborating with a local filmmaker. Alom Shaha works with scientists in the United Kingdom, making short films about their work. This example looks at the work of Tara Shears, a physicist at the University of Liverpool who works with the Large Hadron Collider.
But if all this isn't for you, just maintaining a creative, up-to-date lab website can go a long way. Scientists' university pages are often static, dry, and technical, intended mostly for other scientists. But recently there have been more public-facing and creative web pages with simpler explanations and lots of photos.
You might even consider collaborating with colleagues in a particular field and making a super-site, like this French superconductivity website .
And more and more people are mixing up the various kinds of platforms. The superconductivity site has lots of amazing videos, of levitating objects for example, to draw people in. And lecturer Joanne Manaster'swebsite is part blog, part video diary, part scrapbook.
Whatever your medium, don't forget your audience. Write or speak clearly using plain language in a conversational tone, not technical terms. Real-life metaphors and analogies will help make your point.
You'll probably use your own language, and engage with people who speak it. But you might also broaden your approach with multiple languages. Have your webpage translated into other widely-used languages, give your video subtitles, or make your video universally understood by making verbal explanations unnecessary. The levitating objects video on the French superconductivity website inspired me with wonder and curiosity at the almost magical properties of the materials on display, even though I don't speak French.

The 'social' in social media

Your next step is to promote your thoughts, ideas and stories. At the moment, Twitter and to a lesser extent Facebook, are popular with scientists promoting their communication activities in the Western world, but Google+ is also starting to take off. Social media platforms Hi5, MXit and Orkut are more popular in the developing world and could be good places to start.
New sites crop up regularly, and others (such as MySpace) wane. So keep active on sites that are doing well.
Some websites may be unavailable. China does not allow its citizens to access Facebook, Twitter or YouTube (though there are apparently ways around some restrictions). So you will need to use whatever channels are available to you and take into account the technical difficulties you might face. Some tools may be easier to access in low Internet bandwidth situations than others, so trial runs can be useful.

Keeping things sociable

Increasingly, people get ideas about science primarily from the media, including social media in which science communicators, including scientists, are expected to engage with their audiences and interact with them.

All social media outlets let people leave comments or ratings. And interaction gives commenters a sense of belonging and helps build up a following. So try to be responsive.
Not all commenters will agree with you or one another. So enforce the rules of polite engagement. Tolerate differences of opinion, but not personal abuse — be fair but firm. If abuse persists, all social media sites allow you to ban or block abusive users — don't be afraid to use that power.
Remember, once online, material can last 'forever'. Search engines cache web pages, and screen-shot technology can capture pages before they are deleted. So think carefully about what you put out there.
Be legal
Be discreet
Be aware
Be sensitive
Be moderate