In March 2022, RU AFS hosted a Science and Social Media Workshop led by Rutgers’ very own Julia Van Etten, a PhD candidate in Ecology & Evolution and the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology. She is behind the popular (>32,000 followers) Instagram account @couch_microscopy, which focuses on harnessing the beauty of algae and other microscopic organisms as an education and outreach tool. In 2020, her photos were featured on the front of Microscopy Today, and she has been interviewed on multiple podcasts, including Coast to Coast Science and In Defense of Plants. Julia taught us how to better communicate our science to others. During the workshop, we learned about the different purposes of social media platforms, how to utilize them in order to effectively reach users, and how to make posts accessible with her useful list of DOs and DON’Ts.
The workshop started off for RU AFS, but was quickly opened up to the MAC and NED as well! We were so happy to see the faces of other folks from AFS. All participants had the opportunity to take a photo of theirs and workshop a post to make it accessible to a broad audience. Thanks so much to Julia for leading this informative event!