Mark Jacot

I use social media tools as part of my job to engage with and learn from people in my teams, across the university and with experts in my areas of interest such as technology and education.

The best analogy I have seen to explain the different social media uses donuts (it’s American!). So here is my take on this topic, with my own personal favourite social media tools.

Facebook: “I like donuts”

Personal stuff, friends outside work, especially keeping up with those who not living near me.  

Twitter: “I am eating a donut”

Can seem a bit daunting and potentially full of useless information. The trick is to think of it as a feed of information from organisations and people relevant to your job to help you stay up to date and informed. If you want to start using twitter, set up an account and follow one or two key people and see who they follow. I am @MarkJacot. If you have a tablet – try using the Flipboard app to turn the feed into a newspaper. I have done a longer blog on twitter and how to get started – click here.

Instagram: “Here is a vintage photo of my donut“

No idea, don’t use that, but my kids do so I guess I will have to understand it one day. Ditto Snapchat!: “Here is a photo of my donut that is going to disappear in 30 seconds“. 

LinkedIn: “My skills include donut eating, and I am connected to loads of other donut eaters“

Essentially my electronic business contacts directory. Really useful for tracking where colleagues have ended up working, and also for introductions into people in other industries whom one of your contacts may know.  

Blogging: “Thoughts about the last donut I ate“

I blog internally within the OU as another means of engaging with my own and wider IT team and also externally using this WordPress site www.markjacot.com  

My advice is: don’t be afraid to have a go! Experiment and see how you get on. Talk to people and learn from others. What tools do you find most useful?