Grad student blogging/tweeting?

[I_mix]

I heard that, as a grad student at some schools, you're required or highly recommended to blog or tweet about your work. How important is this? Do any of you do it as well? What are your guys' thoughts?

[TakeruK]

I don't blog. I have a twitter account though. I use it as my main social media for professional interactions. It helps me keep connected to people I meet at conferences but maintain a little distance (compared to being Facebook friends). I also like that Twitter allows for one-sided relationships, so that I can "follow" super-famous-prof on Twitter without feeling like they need to follow me back (it would be too weird to FB friend request them though).

I don't use my Twitter for public outreach, although anyone can find and follow me. I am mostly active on Twitter for just a few weeks a year at conferences. When not at a conference, I might make fun and/or serious remarks that my academic friends and colleagues might enjoy. I might celebrate achievements that are more relatable to my professional colleagues than my FB friends on Twitter, for example, celebrating that I finished a paper draft or silly academic puns. I keep my personal and social life more to FB. Finally, I feel like Twitter is a much more "low key" platform, personally. On Facebook, before I post something, sometimes I'm self-conscious about whether people will actually care. On Twitter, because tweets are much shorter and occur more frequently and because it allows for one-sided follows, I don't feel this way and I just filter for professionalism before I hit the "tweet" button. 

Tweeting isn't required by my school though. I just do it because I want to.

[Eigen]

I have a personal website I write on, but it's mostly news and teaching stuff. 

I also have a site some friends from grad school and I run that humorously applies a mock peer review process to non academic things- beer, bourbon, popular articles, etc. I doubt anyone reads it, we mostly do it to keep in touch- and it doesn't have any of our real names on it. Everything is pseudonymous. 

[I_mix]

11 hours ago, Eigen said:

 I also have a site some friends from grad school and I run that humorously applies a mock peer review process to non academic things- beer, bourbon, popular articles, etc. 

That sounds hilarious (and fun)! 

[Camilla00]

Hmmm, during the last few months I was trying to focus on the tweeting, did not really work out. I think the tweets are too short to judge info or let's say think about info in these tweets. Of course, not always in many occasions. Am I alone having such opinion or no?

About blogging... personally, I think it is a good thing. Information is written in one style, so it is easy to read. I like some professional blogs, getting new info and already being adapted to the style of blog. 

I think blogging can be especially important for someone planning to study/work in the marketing field. it seems like it is easy to write a blog but it really depends. If it is a professional blog, many things should be considered.

 

What do you think?