From November 9th to 16th, our cherished #SciComm expert Dr. Sarah Morgan switched to curation at RealScientists. For those of you don’t know Sarah, you can get introduced to her here.
Sarah took us through the immersive journey of her life from microbiology to human development to
pedagogy and science communication targeted at pre-adolescence and teens. Here’s a recap of all that.
Sarah made her case for compulsory education and importance of integrating current research data into teaching. And she showed us the way it is done by conducting some polls herself.
Let's run some polls! Hit fav if you're not science studying/employed but just interested. Please RT.
— realscientists (@realscientists) November 12, 2014
(58 followers favorited)
Let's run some polls! Hit fav if you're female.
— realscientists (@realscientists) November 12, 2014
(66 females)
Let's run some polls! Hit fav if you object to being asked to identify your gender.
— realscientists (@realscientists) November 12, 2014
(23 objected)
Let's run some polls! Hit fav if you're an undergrad student! Please RT
— realscientists (@realscientists) November 12, 2014
(15 undergrads)
Let's run some polls! Hit fav if you're aiming for a grad degree
— realscientists (@realscientists) November 12, 2014
(18 followers aiming for a grad degree)
Let's run some polls! Hit fav if you have an education qualification of PhD or equivilent. Please RT
— realscientists (@realscientists) November 12, 2014
(33 followers with an educational qualification of PhD or equivalent)
Let's run some polls! Hit fav if you DON'T have financial stability AND are employed in the science sector.
— realscientists (@realscientists) November 12, 2014
(20 followers in the science sector lacking financial stability)
For those of you interested in learning more about science communication and the DOHaD field, be sure to follow her on @DrSMMorgan. Finally, here’s Sarah sharing her experience.
How did you find your week as a curator?
It was great! Feels a bit like tossing pebbles down a well until you get some engagement, but at that point it is fantastic. Overall I think the conversations with people are more rewarding at this end, than simply sharing your work.
Were there any lowlights?
One troll in response to #shirtstorm, but was an isolated event.
It can be a shock talking to 12,000. Did you find the sudden rush of interactions (good and bad) daunting?
I had a bit of RSI in my thumb one evening because I used my phone to tweet & reply for 3 hours straight. But apart from that (my own folly) it was still manageable. The actual number of people engaging in conversation is much less than 12k.
Is there anything you wanted to get out of / do on the RS account that you didn’t manage to fit in?
Yes! Heaps! The week went so quickly!
Do you have any tips or advice for future RS curators?
Have a plan, but be flexible. There a certain topics people always want to talk about, be willing to do so!
We really want RS curators to show people a rounded view of life as a scientist. Other than yourself of course, are there any other people/accounts that people should follow if they liked you and what you covered?
I actually think that the best way to engage on twitter is with people with whom you feel a connection. So – my advice is to try and engage people who work or talk about interesting topics in conversation, and then follow them, or follow the people followed by people that you know. My favourite tweeps are random normal people, certainly not the famous ones who tweet but don’t engage with the public.
What TV show do you think everyone should go watch right now?
I don’t really watch TV so I’m not up with the play on current TV trends. I do love Doctor Who and the BBC Sherlock series, so definitely those if you’re not already.
Special thanks to Sarah of RS team for an engaging week of curation.
