whysharksmatter.bsky.social profile picture

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social

Hey everybody! @drjuliawester.bsky.social and I have a new paper!

We surveyed over 800 scientists, science communicators, and science educators who use social media.

Conclusion: Scientists no longer find Twitter useful or pleasant, and many have switched to Bluesky! 🧪🌎🦑

doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For

Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky

Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For

Replies

  3. infrasound.bsky.social profile picture

    Anna Perttu @infrasound.bsky.social

    Hello fellow scientists! I am a geophysicist specializing in #infrasound, early warning systems, and helping people understand the active geology where they live.

    I am also a huge early music lover (and entered Uni as a performance major)!

    Currently in NZ but making a big move to Europe soon!

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  4. detoxthegop.bsky.social profile picture

    @detoxthegop.bsky.social

    You mean "X". Where the feeds are saturated with conspiracies, lies, anger & hate inciting posts. BSKY now is getting close to being the Twitter from before Musk, imo.

    0
  10. katharinehayhoe.com profile picture

    Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com

    I have never been so jealous of not being an author in my life 😂 … thank you for this!

    You were and still are the very first person I followed here!

    1
  12. puregin.bsky.social profile picture

    Gin (she/her) @puregin.bsky.social

    Thanks for this research—super interesting! I note the survey included folks from diff. disciplines. I’ve noticed migration seems to vary by field (chem/health more on LinkedIn; eco/bot/soc sci bigger here). Here in Aus, uptake feels slower too, esp with journos/media, so key in the sci comm space.

    0
  13. sjryan3.bsky.social profile picture

    Prof Sadie J. Ryan (she/her) @sjryan3.bsky.social

    Thank you for this awesome study - early on, people asked why I was on Bluesky, and that was when it was a nice new safe space - then it became where I could say climate change, and so could the international community! I'm happy it has become a go-to for science broadly.

    0
  20. jpschnitzlerlab.bsky.social profile picture

    Jörg-Peter Schnitzler @jpschnitzlerlab.bsky.social

    The article accurately reflects my impressions. BSky has become a much more viral medium for science than X. One big but: the interactions on BSky could be even better, more interactive. Beyond liking and reposting. Towards real exchange. Otherwise it gets boring.

    0
  24. shulamit.bsky.social profile picture

    Shulamit @shulamit.bsky.social

    Yeah...I left it the week the idiot child bought it. Have only had my instinct to leave validated since then. Nothing happened that had me second-guessing that decision.

    Picture of two angry, crazy toddlers wearing diapers, destroying a toy US capitol building. One toddler has sticking out brown hair, the other has sticking out orange hair. They represent the two nutjobs trying to destroy democracy shortly after the orange one was inaugurated
    0
  25. lordmalignance.bsky.social profile picture

    Lord Malignance @lordmalignance.bsky.social

    Wasn't Asked, because the Science Establishment doesn't care to recognize the hard work Evil Scientists are doing every day, but Yes, One has left Twitter as well. It has become a madhouse of lies and pseudoscience.

    1
  31. benyoel.bsky.social profile picture

    Ben Yoel @benyoel.bsky.social

    Cool study! I'd love to see some descriptives of the sample of respondents by profession (unfortunately, I don't have access to the journal).

    1
  35. smcgrath.phd profile picture

    Scott McGrath @smcgrath.phd

    A challenge I am finding has not necessarily been getting people to switch, but for them stick around and help grow the community.

    A lot of people still expect Bluesky to operate like Twitter, are confused by the differences, and thus wander away.

    2
  37. william80.bsky.social profile picture

    William @william80.bsky.social

    Well, I could have told you that! 😁 I AM glad to see there is actually some real data behind my beliefs. Keep on Sciencing, Reachering, and Surveyoring. My life really is dependent on you.

    0
  38. 0xlyd.com profile picture

    Luca Yesupatham Daniel @0xlyd.com

    Glad that there is some "science" into my anecdotal take 🙏. From your perspective how bigger should be the sample for this data point being reliable given the audience size of both platforms?

    0
  39. pulmcrit.bsky.social profile picture

    josh farkas 💊 @pulmcrit.bsky.social

    “for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter.”

    cosign, no lies detected 🙌

    ALT: a baby is crying while being held by a woman in a crowd .
    1
  41. porchcryptid.bsky.social profile picture

    Randy @porchcryptid.bsky.social

    I'm actually quite happy that I've been able to find the scientists on here I followed at the previous social media site.

    0
  43. biomatik.bsky.social profile picture

    @biomatik.bsky.social

    While I do enjoy the idea that Twitter is not useful (just a look at comment sections is pretty icky), the engagement and activity on twitter still vastly outclasses what we have here

    0
  44. sjorsscheres.bsky.social profile picture

    Sjors Scheres @sjorsscheres.bsky.social

    The problem, at least for me, is that Twitter used to be much better than Bluesky currently is. There was more science, there were more scientists, and there were many more people of all different backgrounds. Social media is now just less useful for science than before.

    1
  53. bri4change.bsky.social profile picture

    Bri4Change (formerly Bri4Change2024 on Twitter) @bri4change.bsky.social

    Similar for lawyers. This is my political account but my professional profile on Twitter & BlueSky is @ briheller @briheller.bsky.social and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/briheller

    LinkedIn is tops but BlueSky better than Twitter now.

    --Lawyer & "Deal Guy"; Partner at Outside GC (virtual law firm) --Tech Contracts… · Experience: Outside GC LLC · Location: Vienna · 500+ connections on LinkedIn. View Brian Heller’s prof...

    Brian Heller - Outside GC LLC | LinkedIn

    --Lawyer & "Deal Guy"; Partner at Outside GC (virtual law firm) --Tech Contracts… · Experience: Outside GC LLC · Location: Vienna · 500+ connections on LinkedIn. View Brian Heller’s prof...
    0
  54. wantshoes7.bsky.social profile picture

    @wantshoes7.bsky.social

    I joined Bluesky in November & really liked the science, music & books content. A lot has been overtaken by politics. Will be happy to read your paper & see more scientific posts.

    0
  57. schrarstzhaupt.bsky.social profile picture

    Isaac Schrarstzhaupt @schrarstzhaupt.bsky.social

    I have a 50k followers account on Twitter and stopped using it since this nonsense took place there. Was verified by them as a science communicator but everything eroded and I left.

    The PhD stops me from having regularity in the posts but at least I don’t feel threatened here as opposed to Twitter.

    0
  58. whysharksmatter.bsky.social profile picture

    David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social

    Scientists of Bluesky, introduce yourselves by replying to this post and I’ll share it and help you get some followers!

    I’m David, I’m based in DC and study shark ecology and conservation policy. I’m the author of “Why Sharks Matter.”

    🧪🦑🌎🐠🦈

    Me securing a shark getting measured for a research workup Posing with some friends as part of my Why Sharks Matter book tour.
    186
  60. whysharksmatter.bsky.social profile picture

    David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social

    Here is a press release/ summary blog post about our new paper.

    Key conclusion: For every single professional use that scientists used to use Twitter for, Twitter is much worse now than it used to be, and Bluesky is better that Twitter currently is.

    www.southernfriedscience.com/twitter-suck...

    My colleague Dr. Julia Wester and I have a new paper out in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology reporting on the results of a survey distributed to over 800 scientists, science educator…

    “Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:” Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter professionally useful or pleasant

    My colleague Dr. Julia Wester and I have a new paper out in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology reporting on the results of a survey distributed to over 800 scientists, science educator…
    24
  63. oceansinitiative.org profile picture

    @oceansinitiative.org

    This was a fascinating read! We’re remembering those early days, looking for alternatives. We tried BlueSky, Mastodon, Spoutible, Tumblr!!!, Threads. (Remember some platforms required invites to create scarcity & demand?) We landed on BlueSky & LinkedIn but miss golden Twitter

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  66. achuck-ten.bsky.social profile picture

    a Chuck @achuck-ten.bsky.social

    One of my favorite things about bluesky is when someone posting misinformation about something like extraction of Nickel gets fact checked by an actual expert named The Nickel Nerd. (true story)

    1
  76. labwaggoner.bsky.social profile picture

    Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social

    X is damaged in many ways and BlueSky addresses some of these, but I am still surprised by the title of your manuscript. X still provides value even if diminished, while the survey results shown suggest respondents chose 'much less useful' rather than 'not useful'. Tangible difference

    2