Earlier this morning (my time), while live Tweeting from the Australian Society for Microbiology's (#2014ASM) annual meeting in Melbourne, Prof Racaniello imparted these words of wisdom. This came out during a Tweet exchange with @NewProf1 about how to find some balance as a scientist engaging in social media communication in addition to having a life, succeeding at work...and personal hygiene.
.@scienceCC @AmerSocVirol Have to figure out how to balance lab/data/reading/family/spouse/writing/grants/eating/sleeping/showering...
� NewProf1 (@newprof1) July 7, 2014
@newprof1 @scienceCC @AmerSocVirol My two cents: If you have to figure out how to balance you�re already in trouble
� Vincent Racaniello (@profvrr) July 7, 2014
@newprof1 @scienceCC @AmerSocVirol My point is not to overthink about balance, tenure, grants, family. Just be passionate and it will work
� Vincent Racaniello (@profvrr) July 7, 2014
Interesting how close those words are to Yoda's...
No.
Try not.
Do. Or do not.
There is no try.Oh, and if you are at the ASM this year - Tweet something for crying out loud!!
Get into it.
Create a Twitter account right now - just use it for work related stuff and follow a few people. Social media is, among other things, a great way to get another view of science. And if you engage with the public a little, just around your field of interest to start off with, you might be amazed at how positive and personally rewarding it can be. Not to mention how widespread your reach can become compared to a standard journal publication paradigm. Think of it as another way to look at impact. You may even pick up some collaborations.
At the very least remember, teaching is a great way to learn.
