Twitter As a Professional Development Tool for Physicists

Social media is ubiquitous in popular culture and is used by individuals and businesses to build a brand and interact with customers, but it is much more than a repository for advertising and banal statements about the state of an individual's lunch choices. Twitter, in particular, can be used to develop professional connections, share news regarding research and teaching, and collaborate with colleagues around the world in real time. This can be especially important for faculty teaching in smaller departments, where the opportunities for professional interactions with diverse colleagues are limited, although physicists from departments of all sizes can benefit from effective use of Twitter.