Intro to Astronomy Outreach with Social Media

Anastasios (Andy) Tzanidakis // atzanida@uw.edu // andytza.github.io

Anastasios (Andy) Tzanidakis // atzanida@uw.edu // andytza.github.io

dotastronomy, 2023

ABOUT ME

Ph.D. astronomy student at the University of Washington and

Director of the UW planetarium

(he/him)

My Personal Experiences

LaGuardia Community College, CUNY

Public outreach to empower youth to pursue STEM careers 😁

Long Island City, NY

My Personal Experiences

• Provide open-source tools and resources we use in astronomy for a global audience and astronomy enthusiasts
   
• Educate and inspire the next generation of STEM students
   
• Documenting the process of doing a Ph.D. as a first-gen/community-college student
   
• Science communication!

Why Social Media?! 🤔

Social Media Motivation

• Social media has become a popular means of communication, sharing information, and sharing creative content
• It's a useful tool to engage scientists in outreach and communicate science to the general public
• Many opportunities to expand efforts in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in STEM outreach

Our world is changing how we communicate, and we should be part of that change!

🕦

• Citizen science projects contributing to scientific discovery
   
• Over 480 peer-reviewed publications contributed by citizen scientists (zooniverse.org; 10/23)
   
• Enables accessible educational content, community engagement, and participation with a global audience

Zooniverse.org

zooniverse.org/projects

• Effective Reach: Dark Energy Survey (DES) Education Public Outreach (EPO) social media efforts demonstrate the potential of these platforms for expanding the audience of astronomy outreach
   

• Targeted Engagement: It's important we target the right audience  - DES online product users showed a strong predisposition to science-related interests. This emphasizes the need for tailored strategies to effectively engage the desired audience on social media.
   

• Content Creation Challenges: It is difficult to design content that ignites new interest in science. Successful outreach hinges on crafting content that resonates with social media users and sparks their curiosity.
   

• Sustaining Scientist Participation: It is challenging to maintain scientists' participation in online EPO programs.  New strategies must include incentives for inclusive ways of maximizing professional involvement - and is crucial for the success of online EPO.
   

 Wolf et al. 2018 (arXiv: 1804.00591)

Social Media Paper from Dark Energy Survey (DES)

 Bauer et al. 2020 (arXiv: 1910.14088)

Reccomendation #1

• Create accessible online activities for the public
• Develop web interfaces and tools for public access to astronomical data

AURA/LSST EPO

Reccomendation #2

Reccomendation #3

• Include dedicated/domain experts in educational outreach teams (i.e. astronomers, educational specialists, DEIA)
• Enhance accessibility, relevance, and usability for outreach activities

• Fund dedicated or centralized astronomy EPO
• Support professional times to provide strategic EPO
• Amplify agency investment in broader impacts

Reccomendation #2

"...Therefore, the astronomy community and NSF-funded centers need to capitalize on positive trends in digital literacy, the increasing use of mobile devices, and a discovery space driven by social media, through the progressive development of effective online resources in astronomy education and public outreach (EPO)." 

Social Media Creators & Agencies

Current Social Media Formats

Extended

Video

Writing & Images

Audio

Short

Blog Type

Posts

Publication/e-books

Podcasts

Education

Art/Music

Animations

Live stream

Threads

The HR Diagram of Social Media

Youtube Videos

Instagram

Features:

Posts

Images, videos, but most folks use it for writing and showing images 

Supports

Location, basic image editing, hashtags, comments, likes, and other metrics

Post

Reel

Video

Story

Live

@NasaHubble

Instagram

Features:

Posts

Bite-sized videos (<90 sec) scrollable videos or images with audio

Supports

Music/audio, video/image editing, audio control, location, captions

Post

Reel

Video

Story

Live

@Astronomypicturesdaily

Instagram

Post

Reel

Video

Story

Live

Features:

Stories

Images, videos (<60 sec), or share posts/reels

Supports

Music/audio, video/image editing, filters, pooling, captions, stickers...

@NASAHubble

Audio & Social Media

@SYSTEMSounds / Ben Russo

@PlanetarySociety / PlanetaryRadio

@Melodysheep / John Boswell

@DogStarsPodcast / Chris Lintott

Live Streaming

@Wolfram

@Drsimonclark

• Live stream talks, courses, or educational material that students can follow and discuss in real-time
   
• Allows videos of longer format and community engagement 

Practical Tips

Practical Tips (IMO)

Vulnerability & Sharing Work

• Sharing work online can be scary and vulnerable... Our efforts won't always be recognized...
   
• Take it easy and share content you're most comfortable creating
   
• Find a support network of friends, family, and colleagues who you trust
   
• Social media engagement can be extremely rewarding. Make new professional connections, friends, and learn

Growth

Nuture

Cultivate

Foster

Boundaries & Acknolwedgements

• As a white male practicing science, I acknowledge that my experiences with social media can be vastly different from my colleagues who do not share the same identities
   
• On any given day, it’s very evident how attacks on gender, race, identity, or even questioning one’s knowledge are common for our peers
   
• It’s critical that we are aware of our own biases, and we do our best to be allies and supportive of our colleagues who pursue EPO using social media
   
• It is also important to be mindful and set boundaries when doing online EPO

Workshop
Time 🎉

Social Media Excercise

1. Choose a social media platform & content type (i.e. video, post/blog, audio...)
    
2. Outline a quick script regarding your idea. Write down a preliminary draft of the social media content you'd like to create
     
3. Turn to your neighbour and discuss the following:

• Briefly present your social media content idea
• Discuss what were some shared challenges about this activity

github.com/andytza/social-media-outreach

Open-Source Resouces for YOU

github.com/andytza/social-media-outreach

example from doc!

Social media can be used to communicate, educate, inspire, and, support a global audience of people who are enthusiastic about astronomy

Summary

⬛️ Use this channel for conversations,           
     collaborations, or sharing some of your work     
     and ideas! 

There are many social media platforms out there that capture a variety of different experiences. Choose the one that makes most sense to you 

Social media can be used to communicate, educate, inspire, and, support a global audience of people who are enthusiastic about astronomy

Be an intentional content creator. Choose your audience, don't be afraid of trying, be mindful, set boundaries, engage with the community

@ AndyTzaAstro

atzanida@uw.edu

Web: andytza.github.io

Random Exhibits