Social networking software

Social networking software (SNS) now exists for a whole host of different functions. Increasingly, researchers are examining what potential it might have to help develop research networks.

Social networking software is good to:

• enable you to access an academic community
• use the people you know to help you make contacts
• help you to keep track of who you are in contact with
• give you access to tools that facilitate networking e.g. blogs, file share, messaging applications.

Social networking software can be problematic because:

• the culture of SNS can encourage you to be overly informal
• it can reduce your privacy
• it can take up a lot of your time
• your personal and professional networks can become more entwined than you might desire.

You are probably aware of SNS such as MySpace and Facebook. You may find these useful in your networking, but the following sites are designed with professional or academic networking in mind.

• LinkedIn has many academic, research focused groups
• ResearchGate  is a network dedicated to science and research. Connect, collaborate and discover scientific publications, jobs and conferences.
• Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network that can help you organize your research, collaborate with others online, and discover the latest research.