Twitter is a social media channel that allows users to connect according to their shared interests, and the academic surgery community is no different. In our ongoing #FollowFriday series, we’re interviewing our most Twitter-enthusiastic faculty about their online presence and how they use the platform to stay connected.
Read last week's installment here.
Social Media Tips from @UABSurgery:
- Tweets that begin with a Twitter handle (@UABSurgery) are considered replies and do not appear in others' feeds the way other tweets do. When beginning a tweet with someone’s Twitter handle, add a period before the handle (.@UABSurgery), or else your tweet will only be immediately visible to the account you mentioned at the beginning of your tweet.
- Understand that retweeting or sharing a post from another user or organization is great for networking but that, by retweeting, reposting or sharing another account’s content, you are essentially lending them your credibility.
- Include your specialties, research interests and media relations contact in your Twitter bio so that reporters know your areas of expertise and can contact you and your media relations specialist if they are interested in including you in a story. Our media relations contact is generally Adam Pope: arpope@uab.edu.
Learn more about social media best practices from UAB’s Brand and Communication Toolkit.
Gregory Kennedy, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Surgery
Director, Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery
John H. Blue Chair of General Surgery
UAB Department of Surgery
- Handle: @gdkennedy88
- Followers: 428
- Tweets: 420
Why do you use Twitter? I think Twitter is a great platform for academic surgeons to stay connected with friends and colleagues. It allows us to see what others are doing and to read some of the latest research and news.
What do you tweet about? I only use Twitter to promote UAB Surgery events and UAB faculty. I particularly like to use it to promote junior faculty and the great things they do outside of the operating room. I generally only tweet to promote others and to help spread their great work.
Graeme McFarland, M.D.
Assistant Professor
UAB Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy
- Handle: @gemcfarland12
- Followers: 141
- Tweets: 111
Why do you use Twitter? I mainly use Twitter as an educational resource. I primarily follow leaders in the field of vascular surgery which allows me to read articles that those at the forefront of my specialty think are important. I also get to participate in clinical discussions about challenging scenarios with the brightest minds in my field. Outside of vascular surgery, Twitter is a great way to follow the accomplishments of my colleagues at UAB across all aspects of medicine. Through the power of a retweet, I can share/brag about the accomplishments of my outstanding colleagues at UAB.
What do you tweet about? I typically tweet about advancements in my specialty of vascular surgery. If there is an article I have read recently that I find interesting and think it is something that others in my field will find beneficial, I will usually share that via Twitter. I also like to share things going on in my division here at UAB with clinical and academic accomplishments, as well as updates with goings-on in our training program. In addition, I will occasionally share an article about how awesome the city of Birmingham is and what it has to offer.
Abhisek Parmar, M.D.
Assistant Professor
UAB Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery
- Handle: @abhishekpar
- Followers: 56
- Tweets: 17
Why do you use Twitter? I had joined Twitter in 2010 but really never used it until I joined the faculty [here] last year. Over the past few months, I noticed one of my partners, Britney Corey, was very active on Twitter for both professional and personal reasons. I use Twitter 100 percent as a professional vehicle to both make my name known in the surgical community and to try to attract patients as I build my practice.
What do you tweet about? I like to tweet about educational information in my field (surgical treatment of hernias, minimally invasive surgery, surgery education, quality improvement). While I may use Twitter to read about current events, I will rarely tweet about anything that is not surgery-related.
[Note: Follower and tweet counts as of Oct. 26, 2018. Marina Moody contributed to this report.]