Twitter. It’s great for yelling at airlines, executing flawless DM slides, and keeping tabs on the Republican presidential debates after promising yourself you wouldn’t turn on the TV. But can it be used for good?
It depends on whom you follow. On the occasion of Twitter’s 10th birthday, I asked others here at The Chronicle as well as my Twitter followers to name that one tweeter in academe whom they just can’t live without. Here’s a selection of their responses, listed in no particular order:
1. Shit Academics Say
@AcademicsSay, whose creator revealed his secret identity in a Chronicle piece last year, would be the overall No. 1 seed in an NCAA Tournament-style bracket of academic tweeters. Here’s a sampling of his prolific wit:
2. Sara Goldrick-Rab
Speaking of prolific, this scholar-activist has one of the most active and influential accounts out there (which has occasionally landed her in hot water):
3. Angus Johnston
In an age of enhanced student activism, no one is more knowledgeable on the topic and its rich history than the man whose account bears the handle @studentactivism:
4. Robert Kelchen
If there’s a big story in higher ed, it’s more likely than not that this Seton Hall professor has tweeted about it. He’s also a reliable source of deep-weeds wonkery, spitting out insightful blog posts on a regular basis:
5. Damien Kempf
If you want a steady dose of medieval imagery, he’s your man:
6. Sue Dynarski
She’s a must-follow for anyone interested in issues of college access and affordability:
7. Jesse Stommel
There’s no better place than Twitter to contemplate digital pedagogy, and he’s a good place to start:
8. Chemjobber
I can’t imagine being a chemist and not following this account (I can’t imagine being a chemist):
9. Leah Crane
Some awesome tweets about outer space and the people learning about it:
10. Katie Mack
Her account is ubiquitous in the astronomy world, and she’s been particularly vocal and insightful on the issue of sexual harassment:
11. Tressie McMillan Cottom
Few accounts have the breadth of hers, and she’s downright funny:
12. Joseph A. Howley
For classicist Twitter, he’s chock-full of nerdy hilarity and insight:
13. The Oxford English Dictionary
Day in and day out, a fascinating collection of knowledge about the English language:
14. Raul Pacheco-Vega
Scroll through his timeline for some insight about academic life and writing (and he came up with the hashtag #ScholarSunday):
15. Nyasha Junior
Follow for tweets about religion, race, and some impressive livetweets:
