Welcome to The Social Academic
Welcome to The Social Academic, a blog for professors and researchers
This blog is all about your online presence in academia, where I talk about personal websites and social media.
I’m Jennifer van Alstyne, owner of The Academic Designer LLC. My company works with faculty, researchers, and organizations strategizing how to communicate your work online.
Here, I share actionable advice for
- grad students
- professors
- researchers
- scientists
- independent scholars
and anyone looking to communicate how and what you do online.
I also interview people like you for the blog. I chat with awesome educators and researchers about their work, and how they use social media.
Good communication is something we need to talk about. You can advantage of the power of the internet to share their work with the world, and The Social Academic is here to help.
Subscribe today to get advice right to your inbox.
Check out a full listing of articles at the bottom of this post.
Thank you to those of you who read my blog in 131+ countries around the world in 2020.
What is a social academic?
A social academic is a grad student, professor, researcher, or independent scholar who wants to communicate their work with a wider audience.
Urban Dictionary defines “social academic” as
“…what every college girl is looking for. He is the perfect balance between social charisma and academic excellence. It is important to note that a social academic cannot be too social or too academic, but rather a perfect balance between the two. This makes the social academic a rare and desirable breed of male specimen.”
Sydney: “I really like Danny, but he’s just not a social academic.”
Taylor: “That sucks, my boy is a commerce major and can do a keg stand for 3 minutes. He’s a perfect social academic.”
This is a sexist and limited definition, but the term itself is appropriate for what we’re trying to do with our online presences in academia: balance our research / writing / teaching with the social aspects of the academy and being ourselves.
Academics can be self-centered. Oftentimes we have to be as research can sometimes feel isolating, esoteric, internal. Much of our identities are based on the research and work that we do, and that makes sharing personal.
P.S. I was going to add an updated version of this to Urban Dictionary but it wanted me to make an account.
So here’s my definition.
A social academic is a grad student, professor, researcher, or independent scholar who wants to communicate their work with a wider audience.
It’s simple. You’re a social academic if you want more people to understand what you do. And you know it takes some time and energy to do it well.
That’s who this blog is for.
Many academics struggle with sharing their work publicly
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the phrase “shameless self-promotion” on tweets sharing a new publication or award. Imposter syndrome is real, and it effects how we talk about ourselves.
Here’s the thing, people are gonna look you up whether you want them to or not. Dr. Karen Kelsky of The Professor Is In, wrote for Chronicle Vitae, “The fact is, you will be Googled.”
But people aren’t looking for photos of you drunk on your last vacation. Okay, well maybe there is a Google-savvy grad student on the search committee, but really almost no one is searching for this.
People want to get to know you.
When you start talking about your work online, especially in ways that help your audience understand, you make some pretty meaningful connections.
Your online identity is all about balance
A social academic is anyone who wants to be better at sharing the work they do. When we’re talking about being a good social academic in these online spaces, that means knowing what people will find.
If someone Googles you, you want them to find
- the basics of who you are and what you do
- in a language they can understand
- in just a few minutes
And that’s hard!
Those of you thinking your online faculty profile is enough, let’s just say the majority I come across are not approachable for a general audience. I mean, when’s the last time that was updated?
You need an online presence beyond the static profile on your university’s faculty page.
The Social Academic blog is all about taking control of your presence online
- social media
- online portfolios
- personal websites
Thanks for checking out this welcome post
I’m Jennifer van Alstye (@HigherEdPR). It’s great to meet you.
I’m so excited you found me. Please feel free to reach out to me on social media! I love hearing from readers like you.
You’ll find a full list of articles, interviews, and YouTube videos below.
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Social Academic so you get new articles right to your inbox.
Articles and interviews on The Social Academic blog
General articles
Welcome to The Social Academic
How to manage your online presence in academia
5 ways to showcase your teaching online
How to communicate your life during the holidays (talking with your family and friends)
Gift guides
Gift guide for professors and researchers
Gift guide for graduate students
Social media articles
Getting started on social media
A guide to social media platforms for academics
3 myths about social media for professors
Are you new to social media? Start here to find your scholarly network online
How much do academics enjoy social media? I asked Twitter and here’s what you said
Social media tips and how-to’s
How to update your social media profiles in 10 steps.
Are you on the job market? Here are social media tips for job seekers
Do you spend too much time on social media? What to do when you feel like social media is consuming your life.
Tips for taking a break from social media
Social media stories: what are they? And how to use them
Connect through direct messaging on social media
Likes and retweets are endorsements on social media
Sharing your academic life on social media
How to share your conference presentation on social media
How to talk about your academic writing on social media (process writing)
Are you working on a manuscript? Talk about your new book on social media
Platform-specific advice
What to do when tweets go wrong, dealing with negative reactions on Twitter
How to build community on Instagram
Personal websites for professors and researchers
Here’s why you need a personal academic website
A step-by-step guide for making your personal website for professors and researchers
8 reasons you’ll benefit from a personal website to share your teaching and research
Pitfalls of personal academic websites (avoid these 3 things)
Inspiration for your personal website (10 things to include on your website)
Want a simple website? Here’s what to include on a 1-page personal website
Feature interviews
2019
Dr. Leigh A. Hall of Teaching Academia talks YouTube
Greg Loring-Albright on crowdfunding and game design
Dr. Echo Rivera talks effective presentations
Jazmine Benjamin found community on Twitter
Dr. Daisy Shu on science communication and Instagram
Dr. Jessica Doble talks managing social media in grad school
Dr. Sophie Arthur of Soph Talks Science talks Instagram
Dr. Walter D. Greason on Twitter and going viral
Tomi Oluwasanmi on networking and teaching with YouTube
Journalist Lauren Smart talks about teaching social media
Dr. Norman Eng on self-publishing your book
Dr. Melanie Bruce of The Leveraged PhD talks personal branding
2020
Andrew Paulsen of Agile Mind
Jacklyn Lord of the Society for Scholarly Publishing
Dr. Chris Cloney of GradBlogger on blogging
STEM Website Designer Brittany Trinh on personal websites
Dr. Ruth C. White about YouTube and being on video
Writer Steven Dunn about Facebook and community
Jennifer Adams of @RunwayRedLA talks about being an Instagram influencer
Aaron Shepard talks science communication and video
Want to be a guest on The Social Academic?
In 2021, we’re doing more YouTube live conversations.
Want to join me on YouTube? Email me with what you want to talk about at jennifer@theacademicdesigner.com
Videos on YouTube
The Social Academic is now on video! Watch the channel trailer below.
Live on YouTube
Jennifer van Alstyne
A series of livestreams with Jennifer van Alstyne about managing your online presence. Replays are available on YouTube for 1 month.
How to Update Your Personal Website, coming soon
LinkedIn for Alternate Academics, coming this Spring
The following YouTube live replays are exclusive to my online self-paced courses.
Academic Personal Websites: How to get started, November 9, 2020
LinkedIn vs. Website: Which is right for you? January 23, 2020
Live conversations with guests
2021
Dr. Alexandra Mihai on how to use social media in your teaching
2020
Dr. Echo Rivera on collaboration, presentations, and connecting as introverts on social media
Dr. Jennifer Polk on networking, some common misconceptions about networking, and why it’s important for you
Dr. Caitlin Faas on procrastination on social media
Dr. Eleni Routoula talks about the dark secrets of academia
Cheryl Lau on fear of judgement on social media
LinkedIn for grad students with Sammie Walker Herrera
Academic Quick Takes
Meet Dr. Caitlin Faas, a tenured professor turned certified life and weight coach
Jazmine Benjamin joins me to talk about her new professional directory for #BlackAndSTEM
Tips from Jennifer on managing your online presence
Like what you’ve seen? Subscribe to The Social Academic blog today.
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Jennifer van Alstyne View All →
Jennifer van Alstyne is a Peruvian-American poet and public relations consultant. She founded The Academic Designer, LLC to help academics, researchers, and writers control their online presence and share their work with the world.
She holds a B.A. from Monmouth University in English, and an M.F.A. from Naropa University in Writing & Poetics where she was the Jack Kerouac Fellow. Jennifer also holds an M.A. from University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Literature and Cultural Studies where she was one of four master’s fellows and a finalist for the Outstanding Master’s Graduate Award.
Jennifer van Alstyne
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