Developing Web Presence Candidature

Developing a Web Presence During Candidature

31 March 2010

Dr Tama Leavert.leaver@curtin.edu.au

www.tamaleaver.netTwitter: @tamaleaver

Image by www.lumaxart.com

Five Questions About You

1. Who knows what results turn up when you Google (search) your own name?

2. Who reads blogs relevant to their research?

3. Who writes a blog?4. Who has a Facebook profile?5. Who uses Twitter? … and what do you want to get

out of this seminar?Image by www.lumaxart.com

Outline

1. Why have a Web Presence?2. Blogs (and Wikis)3. Social Networks (like Facebook)4. Twitter!5. Answering (Lots of) Your Questions

Image by www.lumaxart.com

[1] Why have a Web Presence?

Image courtesy of Paul Watson.

Why have a Web Presence?

To exist, to share and to discuss …

• So people can find you.• So people can find your topic (and then you).

• To share and get feedback on your ideas as they develop• To share resources and insights (and have them shared

right back!)

• To be part of your scholarly area• To be part of the larger online postgraduate

community (it’s less lonely with PhD Comics)

Image courtesy of Paul Watson.

Before you start …

• Decide what you want to say or do with your web presence!

• How ‘professional’ or personal will your web presence be?

• Who are you writing for?• How often are you going to write for it?• How often will you check your

comments (or deal with spam)?

[2] Blogs (and Wikis)

Blogs: the Practicals ...

• What is a blog? (My blog.)

• Blogger:http://www.blogger.com/

• Wordpress:http://wordpress.com/

• The Academic Blog Portal:http://academicblogs.org/wiki/

Image by www.lumaxart.com

Blogs: a few examples …

• Gwyneth’s ‘Groteskology’ (UWA postgrad) http://groteskology.blogspot.com/

• Tim’s ‘…and then the world’ (QUT postgrad) http://andthentheworld.wordpress.com/

• Jason Mittell’s ‘Just TV’ http://justtv.wordpress.com/

• Melissa Gregg’s ‘Home Cooked Theory’ http://homecookedtheory.com/

Image by www.lumaxart.com

Readings Blogs (and other websites)

• RSS (Really Simple Syndication)• Separates the form and content, so

updated content can come to you!• RSS Readers (aka Aggregators)

eg Google Reader www.google.com/reader

Wikis

What’s a wiki?

• PB Works: http://pbworks.com/• Wiki Spaces: http://www.wikispaces.com/

• Eg Mark Pegrum’s E-Language http://e-language.wikispaces.com/mark-bio

Image by www.lumaxart.com

[3] Social Networks (like Facebook)

Social Networks (aka Facebook)

• Decide in advance which social networks are just social and which will include academic networking and sharing!

• Use privacy settings and groups (not the whole world, all the time!).

• Learn about PAGES and GROUPS – many academic groups and conferences have one!

Social Networks (aka Facebook)

• Don’t forget if you’ve used social networks for professional interaction, some things should never be shared …

Other examples

• Social Bookmarking• Eg Delicious www.delicious.com

• “Professional” Social Networks• Eg LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/

[4] Twitter!

Twitter?

• Micro-blogging? (eg @tamaleaver)

• Quick sharing and commentary• Good in combination with other

services (Eg Blogs)

• Conferences: official twitter profiles, pre-conference discussions and #hastags

Twitter: Immediate Answers

Keep in mind …

• Strike the right balance for you.

• Blogging shouldn’t prevent time being spend on peer-reviewed publications!

• Explore & pick tools that work best for your area.

• Try things out, but don’t litter the web with dead profiles!

Image courtesy of Balakov

Copyright?

• If you write it or make it, you have copyright over it, regardless of the medium.

• Nevertheless, a statement of full copyright or a Creative Commons license, is a good idea.

• DON’T use material that you haven’t got permission to re-use (eg don’t just pull any old image off Google’s Image Search for your web presence).

Questions or Comments?

Feel free to comment later at www.tamaleaver.net