Online presence & Responsible Research

Week 50, 2016
Joensuu, Finland

At the end of November I was having a conversation about my bad “skill” on social media. This bad skill is better understood when I compare myself with colleges who are actively broadcasting information via Facebook, twitter or even Instagram. Personally, I appreciate their activity on those channels because when I have the opportunity to read their lines, some of their information is relevant for me. So THANK YOU! , I have no idea how do you mange, but I want to give you an honest thank you for your active life on those social channels. 🙂

Within the conversation, I was told I am not that “invisible” online because I have my blog. That is correct, but I am not particularly good blogging because my personal blogging goal is unclear since the first day I blogged (March 5th, 2006   wowow! That is a decade!!!).

The lack of purpose in addition to be overload of information freezes me. I have a considerable amount of posts which are half written and life goes trillions times faster, but still the question of what shall I post? or the famous and so what?

Then I got an interesting survey related to “Responsible Research and Innovation” from the European Union. Apparently the survey is from the ResAGorA project.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I can say that for first time I am glad to have filled the research survey. Often I am not happy filling surveys.  I respond to them because I know how important they are for the researchers.

It was through the survey’s questions that allow me to see social media from a different perspective. Until now, most of the arguments I heard about why to use social media are: to increase visibility or it is good for your marketing. Most arguments might not care about quality of the information, it is more about “likes”, “hits”,“traffic”….. to benefit the producer of such information either a persona or a group or an institution. I understand such arguments, however they do not motivate me to make a priority blogging.

Then, with the questions of Responsible Research and Innovation, my attitude towards blogging changed because I start to see my blogging as a source to spread knowledge. Maybe I am finally able to see its purpose, we will see 🙂 but from all the previous attempts to have a purpose, this feels more solid.