Page 81 - Summer2022

unified forum for discussion as an alternative to the existing and more general biology, physics, and signal- processing forums. These discussions have the potential to increase the efficiency of designing experiments and processing new experimental data and to enhance the utility of existing publications. Social Media Usage and Professional Meetings The use of well-established social media, especially Twit- ter, is growing in professional meetings, including those of the ASA and the meetings they cosponsor. The orga- nization of social media content, using the same hashtag for a single meeting (#ASA182 for the June 2022 Denver meeting), combines user inputs to help prepare for the meeting, keeps track of topics across concurrent sessions, and monitors the publication of content afterward. As an example of a premeeting posting to social media, the ASA is encouraging conference authors to make simple, short-looping video overviews (GIFs) of their presentations in the weeks prior to conferences. These GIFs are compiled much closer to the conference than traditional abstracts and allow visual display. The GIF presentation is a simple way to both pique interest of both conference attendees and a public audience. Although often posted to Twitter, the GIF also can be shared on other platforms, such as LinkedIn or Facebook. During meetings, it is common to see posts about upcoming sessions or special events for the day. These alert attendees about sessions they may have overlooked when reviewing the program. Some attendees will “live-tweet” presentations by providing a short summary of the main points. Reading the brief tweets posted from a session you could not attend allows a person to learn about what they missed. Posts may provide information not included in a title or abstract and may cause a person to reach out to the presenter to learn more. Finally, social media is an effective way to track the prog- ress of research after a conference. The ASA social media accounts promote both POMA articles and popular ver- sions of presentations. The POMA account also posts session summary articles, which provide a formatted description of the presentations in special sessions. These posts complement the spontaneity of live-tweet descrip- tions. Taken together, freely available social media and promoted POMA content provide comprehensive and valuable descriptions of the activities of an ASA meet- ing. This increases their transparency to a larger audience, including members unable to attend. Social Media Promotion of Outreach and Diversity Initiatives Diversity initiatives and outreach between researchers and the broader public are important civic and profes- sional responsibilities, and social media can aid their success. Social media facilitates the promotion of events, the sharing of activities, and engages outside mem- bers of the public. For example, the twitter account of @AIP_TEAMUP (Task Force to Elevate African American Representation in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy; see aip.org/diversity-initiatives/team-up-task-force) from the American Institute of Physics has been successful in sharing webinars, employment opportunities, and the successes of African American researchers on social media because Twitter reaches out to undergraduate physics departments across the nation. Similarly, the ASA promotes the Summer Undergraduate Research or Internship Experience in Acoustics (SURIEA) program (see acousticalsociety.org/suriea) on social media for both recruiting underrepresented students and high- lighting their projects. This increases the visibility of the program, promotes the success of the participants, and makes it accessible to a wider range of applicants. For acousticians who are active in scientific outreach, it is essential to communicate on social media platforms that magnify impacts and create a historical record of events. Successful outreach demonstrations often spark interesting discussions and can inspire other researchers and laypeople to engage in hands-on learning. The ASA has an extensive list of activity plans for K-12 students (see exploresound.org). Integrating these activities into science education and sharing them on social media inspires broader interest in this age group. This use of social media avoids reinventing the wheel, facilitates sharing and building on each other’s ideas, and ampli- fies the original lesson content all at the same time. Conclusion Although using social media in scientific communities is a new concept, many fields have already demonstrated its potential. The adaptation of social media by the ASA and its members already has created some clear demon- strations of the utility of social media in acoustics, but Summer 2022 • Acoustics Today 81