A #Fishmas Carol: A tale of social media, science communication, and increasingly bad fish puns

Session: Beyond Peer Review: Why You Must Connect Your Science to Stakeholders (and how to do it) (3)

Katherine O'Reilly, University of Notre Dame, , [email protected]

Abstract

Individuals increasingly turn to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as sources of information including for news about science and environmental issues. Though posting on social media may be thought of as yelling into the “void”, individual researchers can use a variety of techniques to engage with audiences in meaningful and productive discussion. To illustrate how researchers can connect their science to stakeholders using social media, I use a case study of a popular Twitter science communication event I created called #25DaysofFishmas. #25DaysofFishmas began as a light-hearted way to showcase the diversity of fish species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and has evolved into an annual forum to discuss connections between humans and the aquatic environment. Diverse audiences – scientists, anglers, and residents of the Great Lakes basin – are brought together to share their expertise and experiences, as well as to discuss challenges facing the Great Lakes. Social media, particularly Twitter, is not simply a tool for scientists to broadcast their research to audiences, but can be a platform to engage and affect personal responses towards science. Like other tools for stakeholder engagement, time must be invested to build relationships and trust before social media platforms can be effective avenues of audience engagement.

Twitter handle of presenter
@DrKatfish