I typically spend 15-25 minutes per day on Instagram. This includes time posting, reading, and interacting with other posts.
Conclusion Instagram is an easy-to-use, smartphone-based platform that allows users to share images and text quickly and easily. From the perspective of science communication, it can be used to publicize events, describe research, interact with other researchers and practitioners, and build community. The combination of images/video and text is far more engaging with scientific and general audiences that text alone. The Benefits of Building Virtual Community On a Tuesday morning in March 2018, as we were approaching the peak of our lambing season, we were worried about a cold/wet storm that was forecast for the Sierra Foothills. One morning as I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, I saw a post from a UK shepherd I follow featuring a newborn lamb in a plastic raincoat. The post explained that she was using these LambMacs to protect her lambs from wet, windy weather. I immediately messaged her (morning in CA, evening in the UK) and learned that LambMacs were sold by Shearwell in England. A bit more research, and I found Shearwell’s representative in the
U.S. (who I immediately started following on Instagram).
By Friday, I received a package of LambMacs, and we immediately began using them (and have used them ever since.) I’m convinced that we’ve saved a number of lambs since adopting this technology. And it all started with a connection I made on Instagram.
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