Strategies for academic communication in digital
environment
Vimal Kumar V.Mahatma Gandhi University Library
Kottayam
Presented at Workshop on Academic Communication and Collaboration Tools
organized by College of Engineering, Thalassery
on 7-8 March 2013.
Importance of e-profile
➲Building networks (Academic, professional, Business)
➲Facilitating public engagement
➲Receiving feedback
Establishing an e-profile
➲Who can? Professionals, Teachers,
Researchers, students
➲PlatformsFacebook, LinkdIn, Academia
etc.
Decorate your wall
➲Educational qualifications➲Professional experience➲Publications➲Attendance in seminars,
conferences etc.➲Resource persons➲Other responsibilities
Micro Blogging
➲Create a nice profile➲Follow others➲Tweets➲Retweets
Blogging
➲Plenty more to talk➲Type of blogsLibrary blogProfessional blogEvent blogPhoto blogResearch blog
Advantages of blog?
➲Usage statistics➲Feedback from readers➲Discussion➲Followers➲Tagging
Blogging Tips
➲Contribute to an existing blog➲Add sharing widgets (Social
network, Bookmark)➲Regular posting➲Give ideal tags➲Encourage discussions➲Reply to comments soon
Personal websites➲ Don't host sites in free space➲ Buy a domain name, its very cheap
price➲ Buy an instance of content
management system (Drupal, Word press)
➲ Add blog module➲ Display your social network
widgets➲ Update content frequently
Curation and sharing of content
SlideshareScribdGoogle DocsInst. repositories
Effective use of discussion forums
➲Conferences➲Job postings➲Article request➲Training programmes➲Extension activities➲Event reports➲Higher education ➲Service matters etc.
Continues
➲Participate in discussion threads
➲Active professionals get more attention
➲Helpful to build professional network
Scholarly writing: things to remember
➲ Start early as possible➲ Try to convert your dissertation as
journal article ➲ Consult your teachers for reviewing➲ Write paper based on your
presentations➲ Make use of library resources in your
institution.
What should I write about?
➲Form ideas based on your experiences and expertise
➲Read others articles➲Collaborate with others➲Start from where others
stopped
How do I start?
➲Review of related literature➲Discuss with your colleagues
How do I start writing the paper?
➲Just write➲Don't worry about title➲Skip abstract, introduction and
conclusion➲Develop an outline of headings
and subheadings➲Set small quota of writing
I'm finished first draft !
➲Take a few days off➲Reread the article➲Allow your friends/colleagues to
read the first draft.
What goes on when I submit the work?
➲Reject➲Revise and resubmit➲Accept with major changes➲Accept with minor changes➲Accepted
Things to remember...➲Post the content regularly➲Promote e-profileVisiting cardEmail signature➲Accept the feedback➲Give the reply soon➲Enable the content in public
access mode
Continues.....
➲Don't post things at midnight➲Don't post things on week end➲Best time is between 11 am - 5 pm
References
Lupton, D. (2012, July 24). Professional digital practice in academia: From online
networking to building apps | Impact of Social Sciences. LSE Blogs . Retrieved
March 1, 2013, from http://goo.gl/pXg82
Nicholson, S. (2006). Writing Your First Scholarly Article: A Guide for Budding
Authors in Librarianship. Information Technology & Libraries, 25(2), 108.
Patel, S. (2013, August 10). I’m an academic and desperately need an online
presence, where do I start? | Impact of Social Sciences. LSE Blogs . Retrieved
March 11, 2013, from http://goo.gl/R5J93
Terras, M. (2012, November 26). What’s in a name? Academic identity in the
metadata age | Impact of Social Sciences. LSE Blogs. Retrieved March 11,
2013, from http://goo.gl/2jUsR