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Sound Perspectives
Dan Farrell
Postal:
Web Office Manager Acoustical Society of America 1305 Walt Whitman Road Suite 300 Melville, New York 11747-4300 USA
Email:
dfarrell@acousticalsociety.org L. Keeta Jones
Postal:
Education and Outreach Coordinator Acoustical Society of America 1305 Walt Whitman Road Suite 300 Melville, New York 11747-4300 USA
Email:
kjones@acousticalsociety.or
ASA Sounds Out on Social Media
Social media has changed the world. It is an omnipresent and seemingly unstoppable force. How has science embraced it and how is it used by the Acoustical Society of America (ASA)?
An insightful article by Collins et al. (2016) suggests that “while social media usage has yet to be widely adopted [...] scientists perceive numerous potential advantages to using social media in the workplace.” Interestingly enough, these results mirror the social media experience within the ASA.
For many years, the ASA did not focus on social media even though many other professional organizations began to adopt its use. However, a grassroots ASA Facebook group (http://acousticstoday.org/asafacebook) was started and administered several years ago by David T. Bradley and other members. Yet the first officially sanctioned initiative using social media was the Twitter handle @acousticsorg (https://twitter.com/acousticsorg) that was created in 2014 for none other than this publication, Acoustics Today. Editor Arthur Popper tasked Acoustics Today intern Dr. Laura Kloepper with formulating a strategy to engage members, particularly at meetings, using Twitter hashtags. The two-way communication and instant “publication” of ideas, commentary, and activities inherent to Twitter were an instant success. ASA Twitter followers quickly grew to 600 and then to over 2,000 a year and a half later under the stewardship of Dr. Lawrence Norris.
Members currently use Twitter at all the biannual meetings, but more importantly, they do so throughout the year for their specific research or industry activities, just as Collins et al. (2016) suggest, “[...] there is evidence that scientists are using social media for communicating specific aspects of their research, as well as science more generally, as a means of outreach to increase engagement and science literacy.”
With the launch of the newly revised www.ExploreSound.org outreach website this year, it was a natural fit to take Twitter and all new social media in-house. Dan Farrell, ASA Web Office Manager, is overseeing the management and strategic planning for social media and L. Keeta Jones, ASA Outreach and Education Coordinator, is curating the daily substantive scientific input.
ASA is leveraging social media usage to support both our membership and our partner organizations like It's a Noisy Planet, DOSITS, and Inside Science as well as to encourage others to get involved in the field of acoustics. Below, you will find brief explanations of how ASA is currently using various social media outlets.
Facebook
The ASA Public Group (http://acousticstoday.org/asafacebook) was created in June 2007 by David T. Bradley and has 1,145 followers.
Facebook is a space for members to share individual work, seek information from other members, and make announcements or encourage others’ efforts and accom- plishments. The ASA office posts general ASA news, journal announcements, and meeting information as well. Although this group is public, Facebook users must be approved by the ASA group administrators.
72 | Acoustics Today | Winter 2017 | volume 13, issue 4 ©2017 Acoustical Society of America. All rights reserved.