TY - JOUR
T1 - How scientists and physicians use Twitter during a medical congress
AU - Cevik, M.
AU - Ong, D. S.Y.
AU - Mackenzie, G.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Miss Chantal Britt and Prof Winfried V. Kern who coordinated the social media activity during the ECCMID 2018, and active tweeters from the official ECCMID 2018 Twitter handles; ESCMID and TAE accounts; Dr Selay Demirci, Dr Muge Cevik and Dr Zaira Palacios. We also would like to thank the ESCMID Executive Committee for kindly providing permission to publish these findings. Lastly, we would like to thank all the active Twitter users during the Congress for making this activity a success.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - OBJECTIVES: During medical congresses Twitter allows discussions to disseminate beyond the congress hall and reach a wider audience. Insights into the dynamics of social media interactions during congresses, dissemination of scientific information and the determinants of a successful tweet may allow us to better understand social media's role in science communication.METHODS: We retrospectively extracted social media data during the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) 2017 and 2018 using NodeXL. We compared social media activity during these two congresses. Subsequently, we conducted in-depth analyses to identify the components of a successful tweet and multivariable analysis to assess independent factors associated with retweet activity.RESULTS: In 2018, approximately 13 000 delegates attended ECCMID, but only 591 Twitter accounts actively tweeted about the congress. Although fewer tweets were posted in 2018 compared with 2017 (4213 versus 4657, respectively), ECCMID 2018 generated a 63% increase in the total number of retweets (p < 0.001). According to multivariable logistic regression analysis, using multimedia, URL or hashtags and mentioning other Twitter account(s) were independently associated with retweet success. Mentioning of other users and use of multimedia were the only consistent predictors of retweets irrespective of the number of followers.CONCLUSIONS: A substantial increase in retweet activity and a modest increase in the number of influential Twitter accounts were observed between two successive congresses. Dissemination of scientific messages is more successful when connected accounts are actively involved in social media activity, and social media posts constitute the right combination of components.
AB - OBJECTIVES: During medical congresses Twitter allows discussions to disseminate beyond the congress hall and reach a wider audience. Insights into the dynamics of social media interactions during congresses, dissemination of scientific information and the determinants of a successful tweet may allow us to better understand social media's role in science communication.METHODS: We retrospectively extracted social media data during the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) 2017 and 2018 using NodeXL. We compared social media activity during these two congresses. Subsequently, we conducted in-depth analyses to identify the components of a successful tweet and multivariable analysis to assess independent factors associated with retweet activity.RESULTS: In 2018, approximately 13 000 delegates attended ECCMID, but only 591 Twitter accounts actively tweeted about the congress. Although fewer tweets were posted in 2018 compared with 2017 (4213 versus 4657, respectively), ECCMID 2018 generated a 63% increase in the total number of retweets (p < 0.001). According to multivariable logistic regression analysis, using multimedia, URL or hashtags and mentioning other Twitter account(s) were independently associated with retweet success. Mentioning of other users and use of multimedia were the only consistent predictors of retweets irrespective of the number of followers.CONCLUSIONS: A substantial increase in retweet activity and a modest increase in the number of influential Twitter accounts were observed between two successive congresses. Dissemination of scientific messages is more successful when connected accounts are actively involved in social media activity, and social media posts constitute the right combination of components.
KW - Communication
KW - Congresses as Topic/trends
KW - Humans
KW - Information Dissemination
KW - Laboratory Personnel
KW - Physicians
KW - Social Media/statistics & numerical data
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067244577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cmi.2019.04.030
DO - 10.1016/j.cmi.2019.04.030
M3 - Article
C2 - 31102781
AN - SCOPUS:85067244577
SN - 1198-743X
VL - 25
SP - 1561.e7-1561.e12
JO - Clinical Microbiology and Infection
JF - Clinical Microbiology and Infection
IS - 12
ER -