Scientists love social media

Written byEdyta Zielinska

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Do you use LinkedIn? What about Friendster? If the answer is "no" to both of these questions, or "what is LinkedIn?", you're probably in the minority. According to a survey by linkurl:BioInformatics,;https://www.gene2drug.com/reports/Default.asp?action=details&report_id=184 a marketing research company, 77 percent of life scientists reported using social media -- tools like blogs, podcasts, online communities, Wikis, and networking sites -- to get tips and protocols and to share information. BioInformatics surveyed 1500 scientists via the website of the Science Advisory Board (SAB), a science networking website. It showed that around 50 percent of scientists used social media to research products and vendors as well as to make connections with other scientists. Online social websites can also be used to find linkurl:mentors,;https://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/53313/ as we reported in July. Since SAB is a science networking site, the data might be biased with respondents who already value social media. However, BioInformatics, a parent company of SAB, tried to ensure respondents weren't limited to web-savvy SAB members by reaching out to non-members, who made up approximately half of respondents. Even though nearly 70 percent of respondents said they used SAB for networking purposes, it's clearly not the only online networking show in town. You can read more about what other networking sites like LinkedIn have done for researchers in our linkurl:June careers article.;https://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/53233/

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Meet the Author

Edyta Zielinska
Edyta Zielinska was a senior editor at The Scientist from 2007 to 2013, where she worked closely with scientific illustrators to develop accompanying graphics to illuminate complex concepts.
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