Why should you as a researcher be socially present?

At the risk of sounding super dramatic:) I feel so satisfied when I google someone and find a really good profile for them. I mean photos, contact details, what they do, who they are, their story, their growth and achievements….their dog/s!

Again, at the risk of sounding dramatic, I feel sad, shocked and at a loss for words when I google someone and find a blurry sort of photo and a bare LinkedIn profile or some loose contact info on an outdated staff profile. My heart is just like NO, please no….

Ok so we (my generation) google things/people. FB-ing/Insta-ing people is my second choice. We make life choices based on the search results that pop up on our phones. I chose my first therapist because he had a cool website which we chatted about during most of my first session (btw therapy is so cool and keeps you healthy upstairs, a must for everyone who can get to one; I should do a separate post about this:)).

So I’ve started a company, Look-Sci, because I enjoy social profiling so much. As any entrepreneur I spend some time wondering if this will work and in the next moment totally believing it will and then (yip you guessed) scrolling through insta the moment after….

Look-Sci was born to give a researcher a presence. Not just on Google Scholar or ResearchGate, but everywhere for everyone to see. I have started up a bit and I love it! I get to create a vision for what vibe a specific researcher should have a few months from now and then work backwards to create it for them. This could mean a website or just a social refresher…it’s really fun!

For me it means understanding someone and their passions and achievements; I also get to learn about their research. My favourite thing is watching them come alive when they share their story with me. Their eyes light up, the hands move a lot more and the energy in the room lifts up a few levels. There have been moments when I wanted to work for free, just to get to work on a profile I though was inspirational. I once told a research that it would be a sin for him to not share his story with the world and inspire younger students in the field of science.

Why I think you as a researcher should be socially present?

-To inspire! There are young people out there, sitting in your lectures idolising your output and not knowing your story. Tell them, be an even better role model, more human, easier for them to draw inspiration from.

- You deserve it! If you’re awesome, then you’re awesome. Own it, share your story and re-visit your success when your down, re-energise and get back to being awesome and doing cool things in the world:)

-For effective collaborations! Tell other researchers what your up to, and then make contact and create magic…

- Back-link to your institution! You’re wonderful, so gain good traffic to your pages which link to your institution, uplift them while you rise.

-Your work can be found and cited more easily! More exposure for all that research that’s so close to your heart.

Super excited to see where this goes, hoping to make some of your future searches very satisfying and create some academic celebs!

More posts on: smeetha.singh.co.za

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