ResearchGate

• Purpose: Connects researchers and allows sharing of publications, data, and research findings.
• Features: Profile creation, publication sharing, Q&A sections, and collaboration opportunities.

2. Academia.edu

• Purpose: A platform for academics to share research papers and monitor their impact.
• Features: Profile creation, paper uploads, and follower notifications for new research.

3. LinkedIn

• Purpose: A professional networking site that is increasingly used by academics.
• Features: Networking with professionals, sharing achievements, and joining academic groups.

4. ORCID

• Purpose: Provides a unique identifier for researchers to distinguish their work.
• Features: Linking publications, grants, and other research outputs to a single profile.

5. Mendeley

• Purpose: A reference manager and academic social network.
• Features: Collaboration on research projects, sharing papers, and discovering research.

6. Twitter

• Purpose: Used by academics to share research, engage with peers, and follow trends.
• Features: Hashtags for conferences, networking through tweets, and sharing articles.

7. Facebook Groups

• Purpose: Various groups exist for specific academic fields or interests.
• Features: Discussions, sharing resources, and networking with peers.

8. Slack and Discord

• Purpose: Used for real-time communication and collaboration among academic communities.
• Features: Channels for specific topics, direct messaging, and file sharing.

IEEE Explore and Linkedin

Scientists say they’re flocking to Bluesky

"Last week, we asked Nature readers to take an online poll about whether they’ve joined Bluesky, which has become a leading candidate to take over from Twitter (also called X, if you must) as scientists’ social network of choice. In total, almost 6,000 readers responded and 70% said they use Bluesky. “Bluesky is much better for science. There is much less toxicity, misinformation, and distractions,” wrote one respondent. But not everyone’s a fan, with some citing a left-wing bias. “Bluesky is full of woke crazy people,” said another respondent. And of course, other options are available: dozens mentioned that they use — and in some cases prefer — the decentralized microblogging platform Mastodon. Or we could all just go outside and touch grass..."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00177-1

Thanks a lot for pointing out that article in Nature, Ljubomir Jacić !

Bluesky will trap academics in the same way Twitter/X did

Commercial platforms and social media companies are designed to maximise switching costs in order to retain users. Reflecting on the rise of Bluesky, Mark Carrigan warns the same market dynamics could ensnare academic Bluesky users...

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2025/03/03/bluesky-will-trap-academics-in-the-same-way-twitter-x-did/

Research seems to do better on Bluesky

Posts about research on the nascent social network Bluesky receive substantially more attention than similar posts on X, formerly called Twitter. Researchers looked at hundreds of thousands of posts that linked to academic articles and found that those on Bluesky had much higher levels of interaction (such as likes and replies) than those on X, and tended to summarize research articles rather than just stating the name of the paper...

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2507.18840

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02741-1

Thanks for that, Ljubomir.

You are welcome dear Tina Hohmann .