Social media for academics

The controversy over Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter has caused many academics and others to withdraw from, or cancel, their subscriptions. I've struggled with what to do, recognizing that I get a lot of my early notifications on world issues through my Twitter feed. Even though I have few followers and most of my posts are ignored, I remain a Twitter subscriber for now. Interestingly enough, the only example where I get likes or reposts is if I post on Pete Buttigieg. He must have an amazingly attentive social media team!

Insider Higher Education's Ray Shroeder offered perspective on social media presence that helped me look at which platforms are worth retaining and others to consider. Some of the dispersion of academic Twitter usage is going to Mastodon but other platforms may emerge. Considering Twitter's instability, LinkedIn is apparently expanding beyond job future networking. I only sporadically use LinkedIn and, as with any social media, consistent promotion and amplification is required in order to be anything close to an influencer. The other platform he noted was Blogger, which I began using in 2005 and through which I maintain two blogs - Pursuing Leadership by Denny and this Global Student Affairs blog. My followers are few in number and it is questionable how useful my involvement is but I stick with it in order to stay contemporary.

A major question related to social media is whether my participation is about gathering information or offering my views and influencing thinking. I would love to know what you're thinking. Please let me know where you are headed in your social media. Also, let me know if you see value in any of my posts on Blogger, Twitter, or LinkedIn. My blogs were unfortunately dominated by foreign intrusion several years ago so I closed down comments. The other two platforms are still readily available for likes and comments.