Succinct messages have power. Share your poster via Twitter, interact over your results, & your research impact will grow #PlantBiology14
See what we did there? In just 140 characters (equivalent of one whole tweet) you learned a key theme, professional goal, and a practical action item (the hashtag) for connecting at Plant Biology 2014 and beyond.
There are going to be over 1000 posters at the Plant Biology 2014. Likely, you’re only interested in a subset of them having to do with your research area, but you also want to be open to serendipitously finding a relevant poster that you didn’t know existed in another section of the hall. Another big part of the poster session is connecting with people (aka networking). It can be hard to track down the author of a poster; they never quite seem to be standing there when you walk by. Or you have to stand by your poster while the authors of posters you want to see have to stand by theirs. The First step is a good poster, then talk about getting connected using a tool like Twitter.
Creating a visually appealing, readable (from 6-10ft) poster with a concise message.
ASPB has a guide to creating a great poster. There are also sites like betterposters.blogspot.com, where Zen Faulkes, Ph.D. reviews and writes about elements that make effective posters. The main points of a great poster:
- Readability – Does a viewer intuitively know how to read your poster as they would a book?
- Legibility – Can the text be read from a distance? Can figures be seen?
- Well organized – Are the elements laid out intuitively for the audience?
- Succinct – One message, the elevator pitch that a casual observer can take away.
Now, let’s get your great poster seen and connect with others during the poster session & beyond.
- Sign up for a Twitter account before you arrive and follow at least a few fellow plant biologists (tips: see who follows the @ASPB & search #PlantBiology14).
- Put your Twitter handle prominently on your poster. It’s an easy way for someone to contact you about your if they have a question or wanted to meet to talk about research in near real time without having to give your private phone number.
- Then advertise your poster, say when you’re around it and interact with fellow poster presenters on Twitter throughout the conference.
- Be bold and tweet at specific people you’d like to see your work. Twitter is a great platform that can spread your amazing poster’s message beyond the 10-foot (3m) visible radius it otherwise has.
Twitter will help you connect with researchers & work you may not otherwise run across– even those not attending #PlantBiology14.
The iConnect with Plant Biology team will be curating Twitter and social media activity during the conference and you can help enrich other’s experience of Plant Biology 2014 by tweeting and using the #PlantBiology14 hash tag.
See you on Twitter & at Plant Biology 2014 in Portland, OR in July, +Ian Street (@IHStreet) & The iConnect Team