First, it was Twitter; then, it was Mastodon; now, it’s Bluesky?: Social Media Engagement and Outreach and the Translation Studies Community

Because social media platforms offer a convenient forum for virtually anyone to post online, often, it is assumed that it is ‘easy to do socials’. However, if it were so ‘easy’, why is it that some within the research community, broadly, and within the Translation Studies community, more specifically, are reluctant to have a presence on social media? Are the reasons generational? Professional? Lack of know-how? Alternatively, are there some relevant ethical and ideological considerations that justify this reluctance? In the first part of this presentation, I explore and share answers to these questions. I will also make a case for why it makes strategic sense, especially for our discipline, to have a presence on socials and how this intersects with the concept of visibility. In the second part of the presentation, I will provide some strategies and suggestions for how to effectively (and efficiently!) create content and outreach output intended for various social media platforms. Given that more and more funding bodies are requiring public and media outreach as part of a effective knowledge mobilization plan (KMP), these strategies and suggestions are not about monetization and clout (akin to influencer content creation); they directly speak to new(er) ways of ensuring disciplinary knowledge and research are not siloed and gate-kept.  In other words, social media may afford a way to circumvent some of the issues raised against paywalled journals and other less accessible forums. That said, outreach on socials can also present some other valid concerns, such non-remunerated labour, data and AI extractivism, and various forms of online harassment (e.g. trolling, doxxing). I will also address the issue of performance appraisal and why it is in the better interest of the academy to rethink what ‘value’ and ‘impact factor’ mean in an increasingly ‘extremely online’ world.

This seminar is intended for all members of the APTIS and Translation Studies community, regardless of whether they have an online or social media presence.

Event page and registration: Please click here

Bionote: Renée Desjardins (pronouns: she/her) is an associate professor at the Université de Saint-Boniface in Winnipeg (Treaty 1), Canada. She is the author of Translation and Social Media: In Theory, in Training, and in Professional Practice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) and the co-editor of When Translation Goes Digital: Case Studies and Critical Reflections (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021). Her recent work examines translation in the creator, influencer, and gig economies. She currently holds two national research grants from the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada: an Insight grant for a project titled TikTokers, Instagrammers, Podcasters, Livestreamers - and Translators: Translation in the Creator Economy, and a Connection grant as a team member of LINET, a French-language research group focused on translator education and new technology. She is not on X, but she is on LinkedIn.