Mike Young

Social Media for Research Impact: How Scholars Can Share Ideas, Build Networks, and Make a Difference This book reviews the effects of the professional use of social media on science and scholarship, providing practical tips, tools, and guidelines for platforms, practices, and routines on social media...

8 / Our book can be pre-ordered on Routledge here:
www.routledge.com/Social-Media...
[END OF THREAD]

Change in Antarctic ice shelf area from 2009 to 2019 Abstract. Antarctic ice shelves provide buttressing support to the ice sheet, stabilising the flow of grounded ice and its contribution to global sea levels. Over the past 50 years, satellite observat...

7/ Here is Julia's original article, co-authored with Anna Hogg and @heatherselley.bsky.social . The article was recognized by science news site Carbon Brief as having the highest Altmetrics score ever among their climate paper reviews: tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/...

When Climate Research Fuels Climate Myths: Author Insights from a Misused Publication - Eos By equipping ourselves with preventive strategies, mitigation tools, and trusted networks, we can guide misinformed conversations back to accuracy and preserve the value of rigorous research.

6 / Here is Julia's own article in the science news magazine EOS, with recommendations: eos.org/opinions/whe...

5/ 🙏 Thanks to Julia for sharing her experience! The post explores the case in more detail than in the book. Thanks to @icymatters.bsky.social for suggesting I talk to Julia. Here on Bluesky @ksvenenvig.bsky.social , @nick-golledge.bsky.social and @profdatharper.bsky.social may be interested!

4/ It illustrates how researchers can prepare for something called ‘context collapse’ — and how to support colleagues when it happens to them. Her scientific community showed up for her: Some replying to tweets (and getting in to arguments), others offering support and advice.

3/ But a sentence from the abstract was reframed by climate skeptics. #IceSHELF became #iceSHEET. One line became a talking point. It is one of the case stories in the book Social Media for Research Impact (@routledgebooks.bsky.social, Jan 2026) which I wrote with @bogers.bsky.social .

2/ It was a small-scale study of a narrow data gap. Julia and her co-authors Anna Hogg and @heatherselley.bsky.social had reported that, during one decade, more Antarctic ice shelves had advanced than retreated. A narrow, descriptive finding.

Ice sheet or ice shelf: What’s the difference? How a glaciology paper got pulled into the climate wars — and what you can learn from research that went viral for all the wrong reasons

The loudest voices don't always win: In 2023, a scientific paper in the field of #glaciology was suddenly thrown into the climate wars. I interviewed one of the co-authors @juliaandreasen.bsky.social and appreciate any reposts! [Thread]
mikeyoungacademy.dk/ice-sheet-or...

Thanks for sharing it Barry!

Oh yes, thanks Philip for the link!

There is bonus material + other interviews that didn't make it into the book on my website here: mikeyoungacademy.dk/book-social-...
My co-author @bogers.bsky.social book webpage is here:
www.marcelbogers.com/social-media...

Social Media for Research Impact: How Scholars Can Share Ideas, Build Networks, and Make a Difference This book reviews the effects of the professional use of social media on science and scholarship, providing practical tips, tools, and guidelines for platforms, practices, and routines on social media...

🦀As a niche medium, iNaturalist does EXTREMELY WELL what mainstream platforms like LinkedIn + Facebook (remember that?) only do well. Not by 'going viral' — but by enabling participation. Thanks Trond for the conversation. You can read more about our book here: www.routledge.com/Social-Media...

Our argument: researchers should (also) use platforms that are:
a) already integrated in their field (like iNaturalist), or
b) designed for other tasks but have a social layer that fits one thing researchers do really well.

📘I spoke with Trond while working on 'Social Media for Research Impact', a book that I’m co-authoring with @bogers.bsky.social (coming with @routledgebooks.bsky.social early 2026). We dig into cases like this — where a platform supports doing the work, not just talking about it.

🪼On iNaturalist, people outside academia aren’t an outreach audience. They’re part of the research infrastructure. That shift has boosted the field of marine biology in ways that a platform like, say, LinkedIn would not be able to do.

🪸Marine biologist @trondoskars.bsky.social calls iNaturalist the 'Twitter for species' (let us call it Bluesky for species 😆! ) Amateurs post photos + locations of organisms. Researchers and other skilled amateurs then help ID them. The result: verified, open data on #biodiversity.

Why niche social platforms like iNaturalist matter to science Forget viral content. Here is a quiet social platform where researcher impact comes from verified observations and open science

Most science social media aren’t built for doing science.
But one platform is — and it has reshaped #marine #biology. It is the kind of thing scientists on Bluesky will appreciate, so: Here’s a thread on the platform iNaturalist @inaturalist.bsky.social 👇
mikeyoungacademy.dk/why-niche-so...

Hi Leah, thanks for taking it seriously! Your suggestion would give you a science feed if all scientists used the #sciencesky hashtag. But they don't. So as far as I understand, the problem still persists if you want an alternative Bluesky feed focussing on your scientific interest / best Mike

Researchers are (also) stoking politics on Bluesky. Here is how to avoid it When researchers migrated from X to Bluesky, the hope was for a quieter space. They wanted less outrage, and more science. But reality is biting back. So here are a few tips to avoid the politics anyw...

How to avoid politics on Bluesky 🦋 [THREAD]
When scientists left X, many hoped for a quieter space. But politics will take over your feeds unless you actively do something about it. This guide will help you if you just want to follow your scientific interest!
mikeyoungacademy.dk/researchers-...

💡3/ Spoiler alert: This phenomenon is not just because ALL scientists on Bluesky are from the US, and not because all scientists are into politics. In my post, I give my interpretation.
DISCLAIMER: Goes without saying, I am not making any political statement one way or the other.

💡2/ I was inspired to write this by an analysis by my colleague @lassehjorthmadsen.bsky.social . It shows that among 200 highly influential scientists on Bluesky worldwide, the posts with the most reposts and likes are overwhelmingly about US politics:
lassehjorthmadsen.github.io/blueskyanaly...

Researchers are (also) stoking politics on Bluesky. Here is how to avoid it When researchers migrated from X to Bluesky, the hope was for a quieter space. They wanted less outrage, and more science. But reality is biting back. So here are a few tips to avoid the politics anyw...

How to avoid politics on Bluesky 🦋 [THREAD]
When scientists left X, many hoped for a quieter space. But politics will take over your feeds unless you actively do something about it. This guide will help you if you just want to follow your scientific interest!
mikeyoungacademy.dk/researchers-...

It was a great pleasure to present our forthcoming book "Social Media for Research Impact: How scholars can share ideas, build networks, and make a difference" (with Mike Young @mkeyoung.bsky.social) during a seminar at FGV EAEAP @fgvoficial.bsky.social in São Paulo, Brazil.

My favorite side project these days: Analyzing the Bluesky Science community (with @mkeyoung.bsky.social). Just finished a write-up of an angle not explored until now: A look at the most popular posts from the most influential network members. Lots of examples and some funky graphics—fun to explore!

Science research gets more engagement on Bluesky than X, study finds Bluesky posts referencing scholarly articles ‘find substantially higher levels of interaction’ than on Elon Musk’s platform

"Bluesky: growing status as social media platform of choice for world’s scientists...

...more engagement and original scrutiny than on X"

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

A poster for the book 'Digital Media Metaphors: A Critical Introduction"

Presented a poster for 'Digital Media Metaphors: A Critical Introduction' at our department seminar: Can you guess the metaphors?

Yes I agree completely. And this is 'kind' behaviour that social media algorithms specifically do NOT reward!

Oh yes, I would love to know if this turns out to be the case!!

4/ These are the questions I am pursuing, and I'd love to hear my followers' take! I think that @trineb.bsky.social might like this. Here is there paper: www.nature.com/articles/s43...

3/ So how would their theory apply to scholarly social media?
• Do kind actions really proliferate on social media?
• How do algorithms help or hinder them?
• Do scholars' generosity on the platforms make academia a better place?