**Updated April 14, 2011**
A few times over the last week or so, I’ve been asked how many life science companies are utilizing social media. I decided to make a list, and I also have some hints and shortcuts for you so that you can get a head start. In this post, I am focusing on companies that have physical or software products for life scientists and biotech companies not classified as healthcare (e.g., Monsanto). Note that I also have some personal genomics companies listed–they’re a bit of a grey area, but personally I’m very interested in them, so I’m including them. I’ll also show you how to find scientists in social media and blogs, as the list would be too lengthy here. There is a very nice, complementary list of pharma and healthcare social media that can be found on Dose of Digital kept up expertly by Jonathan Richman. Both lists are dynamic, feel free to leave a comment below to add your company, and I know Jonathan is open to updates to his list.
Life Science Companies Using Social Media
You’ll notice that many of the companies listed below are small, as social media is a great way for them to get exposure inexpensively. The larger companies are starting to be more active, and I have talked with a few who are working out policies and procedures to implement. There are some great examples of companies providing interesting information and helping customers. Also, there are some companies who simply post special offers and don’t seem to ‘get it,’ but I’m sure in time, they will. If you want to get updates from all of the companies easily, check out the Shortcut section for the RSS feeds and email updates.
Life Science Companies in Social Media
Shortcuts
When we had our ‘Social Media for Scientists‘ event in May, we discovered that many of you feel as though you don’t have the time for social media. How can we help? Well, nothing really substitutes for diving in and experiencing it yourself, but there are some shortcuts we can help you with. If you need help with RSS, check out this post/video.
Shortcuts for Scientists in Social Media
| Area | Details | Required Accounts | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientist Blogs | There are many scientist blogs to choose from, too numerous to mention here. I suggest that you start with Science Blogs and Research Blogging. | RSS reader or email | Science Blogs RSS, Research Blogging RSS, Combined Email |
| Life Science Company Blogs | We’ve set up an RSS feed and daily email for you. | RSS reader or email | RSS, Email |
| Life Science Company Tweets | Ditto on row directly above. Note that there will be a lot of info in these emails. It really is best viewed by getting a Twitter account and following, but if this gets you started, go for it! You can also follow the Twitter list we’ve created. | RSS reader, email, or Twitter account | RSS, Email, Twitter List |
| Scientists on Twitter | The easiest way to follow scientists on Twitter is to visit the ‘Twibe,’ log in, add yourself, and mouse over each name list and click on ‘follow.’ Warning: do not follow more than 100 people per day or you may be banished as a spammer. | Twitter account | Scientists ‘Twibe’ (thanks to David Bradley of ScienceBase and his original list) |
| Biotech on Twitter | Ditto on row above, check out the Biotech ‘Twibe.’ | Twitter account | Biotech ‘Twibe’ |
| Biotech on LinkedIn | Tips and list of good LinkedIn groups to join for Biotech. | LinkedIn Account | Biotech on LinkedIn |
| Scientists on FriendFeed | FriendFeed is a great tool for scientists to get together and discuss topics as a group. | FriendFeed account | Scientists on FriendFeed |
| Videos for Scientists | A list of video resources for scientists. | YouTube account (optional) | Videos for Scientists |
| Social Media for Scientists | Presentation to the SDBN May 2009 covering LinkedIn, Twitter, science blogs, and social bookmarking. | Social Media for Scientists |
NOTE: Spammers are everywhere, so use caution. If you begin to get ‘direct messages’ from the people we are suggesting to follow on twitter, simply unfollow and block them.
We hope that you find these resources useful, and feel free to comment or give suggestions below. There are other resources for scientists on social media, and we will try to cover them here–this is just a start. If you work for a life science company, now is a great time to get started, contact Comprendia for a free consultation to learn more.
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