Academics who tweet: “messy” identities in academia

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the growing use of Twitter in academic and artist practices. The authors explore commonalities, overlaps and differences within the reflections on the initial and ongoing motivations, usage and learnings the authors have encountered whilst immersed in this environment. Design/methodology/approach – The authors locate the particular inquiry by drawing on the literature surrounding digital identities, academic literacies and digital scholarship. Departing from other studies, the focus is on a narrative inquiry of the lived experiences as academics and as artists using Twitter. Findings – Academics use of Twitter plays a distinctly social role enabling communication that connects, and fostering accessible and approachable acts. It enables a space for challenging norms of academic ways of being and behaving. In addition, the authors draw conclusions about the “messiness” of the interconnected space that incorporates multiple identities, and highlight the risk taking the authors associate with using Twitter. Research limitations/implications – Academic practice is ever changing in the contemporary university. This initial study of academic and artist practices and the use of Twitter suggests future developments including participants using similar questions to elicit notions of practice to engage in a deeper understanding of motivations and behaviours. Practical implications – In using social media tools such as Twitter, individual academics and their practices are modified; the impact of this practice is visible. Originality/value – The authors contribute to emerging discussions and understandings about academics, social media and identity. The authors argue that by participating in the use of Twitter, the authors are part of the collective process of challenging what it means to be an academic and artist.

De Facto Adoption of Blog and Wikipedia in Research Reporting

“…A quick example is reported with (Budge, Lemon, & McPherson, 2016) where micro blogs by academicians on Twitter are investigated. The picture gets even bigger when we include video streaming sites such as the popular YouTube.…”

Educational leadership research, Twitter and the curation of followership

“…For contemporary professors, social media presence and research activities are no-longer separate but deeply interwoven (Carrigan 2016). In doing so, social media is arguably challenging the norms of academic activity (Budge, Lemon, & McPherson 2016) and potentially what it means to have research expertise.…”

“People are reading your work,” scholarly identity and social networking sites

“…Academic networking sites like Twitter may play a social role in communication that challenges academic norms (Budge, Lemon, and McPherson, 2016) and promotes professional values (Logghe et al, 2018). Benefits such as connecting with other researchers and exchanging ideas may permit participants to increase their relational closeness with scholars in their fields (Bazarova and Choi, 2014).…”