Social media for academics

Follow the leaders: the best social media accounts for academics

Irreverent, funny and informative – higher education does the internet really well. Here are our favourite blogs and Twitter accounts




Your colleagues have taught difficult lectures, handled endless meetings and lived to tell the tale – on the internet. Photograph: Alamy

University life often involves being stuck at a desk; writing articles, marking and planning. Lucky, then, that this usually means there’s an internet connection nearby, offering an escape into the wide world of university-related advice and humour on the web. Here are some of our favourites (and we’d love to hear yours in the comments).

Twitter humour

Feeling despair at a looming deadline? Had a crappy piece of review feedback? You’re not alone. These Twitter accounts offer a constant stream of catharsis.

@ShitAcademicsSay Does what it says on the tin.

@Academic Pain Gifs to make you laugh on the outside (while crying on the inside).

@ShitMyReviewersSay Think you’ve had a bad review? You ain’t seen nothing yet.

@AcademiaObscura The lighter side of academic life, and home to the prestigious annual Academics with Cats competition.

@TheLitCritGuy A tongue-in-cheek take on literary theory. 

Tips on writing, teaching and academic life

Your colleagues have taught difficult lectures, handled endless meetings and lived to tell the tale. And they often tell those tales on the internet, meaning there’s a wealth of information and advice out there to help you in your career.

 The Virtual Leader A teaching expert offers up her hard-won knowledge, including lots of helpful tips on how to use internet-based learning tools. 

Tenure, She Wrote A collective of female academics (mostly based in the US) document the ups and downs of university life, with a feminist slant.  

ALawUntoHerself Reflections on teaching and research from a law PhD candidate and clinical supervisor. 

Cash for Questions: social science research funding, policy, and development Adam Golberg, a research manager at Nottingham University Business School, blogs about how to get funding. 

Janni Aragon’s blog A political scientist and senior lecturer at University of Victoria in Canada offers teaching tips and book reviews. 

The LSE Impact Blog A mix of personal and policy-related posts, useful for social scientists and those with an interest in the impact of research beyond academia. 

@RealScientists An insightful Twitter account – run by a different scientist each week – looking at new discoveries as well as the lives of the greats. 

@Research_Voice A bridge between researchers and policymakers in Europe, offering expert views, developments in research and jobs.

PhD 101

Studying for a PhD can be exciting and terrifying, often in equal measure. Thankfully there’s a wealth of advice out there for academics navigating the early stages of their careers. 

The Early Career Blog Steve Joy, a careers adviser for arts, humanities and social sciences researchers at the University of Cambridge, gives his tips for success. 

James Hayton PhD A former nervous PhD student, now a post-doc, shares his wisdom about how to write a thesis without losing your mind. 

Get a Life, PhD A popular blog with plenty of PhD advice and guest posts from those in the know. 

The Thesis Whisperer A comprehensive and long-running site that covers everything from dealing with supervisors to tackling your reading list.

NEWS AND VIEWS

There are some brilliant blogs out there offering updates on higher education (in addition to the Higher Education Network, of course). 

Athene Donald’s blog The physicist and champion of women in science writes on policy, research and gender. 

HE Watch Views of the sector written and curated by Steven Jones, a senior lecturer at the Manchester Institute of Education. 

Critical Education Journalist and higher education author Andrew McGettigan raises an eyebrow at government policy, with a particular focus on finance and student loans. 

Wonkhe Editor Mark Leach and his team publish thinkers from people across the sector, offering insights into policy and a wide variety of related issues. 

University Ranking Watch University rankings expert Richard Holmes analyses the methodology and usefulness of various league tables. 

Emma Sabzalieva’s blog A view of higher education from central Asia. 

Dr Education Trends and insights of international higher education from Rahul Choudaha, who previously worked at World Education Services in New York.