I think it's a good idea to separate academic from non-academic output like this. But I'm really not a fan of academia.edu's for-profit model that requires registration
Yeah, I’ve had a free account on Academia for years, and the constant nags to upgrade are annoying. ResearchGate isn’t as bad in that way. I’m interested in what approach you eventually choose.
100% agree -- high-quality video is both a natural spot for academia and an unmet need for audiences. My own limited experience making videos and building a modest following on TikTok talking about stuff like critical theory and archival methods has amazed me -- there are way more people than I expected searching for that kind of content, wanting to converse about it in my comments, and learn together. I would add audio as a good format too -- podcasts. Imagine if the left's Joe Rogan is, right now, a brilliant and undervalued adjunct at a state university just waiting for the call of destiny.
Excellent article! I do wonder however, even if such a high-quality video platform were built (that would be cool!), with "substantive" academic discussions, could it compete with tiktok anyway? Given the high cost in time and money to produce such quality video (as for example with some channels on yt like Veritasium...) I wonder whether energy is not better spent cultivating spaces and activities that take us out of the dopamine-cycle altogether. So really I just want to out-elitist you ;) Admittedly in-person discussion and debate doesn't have the zero-marginal cost scaling properties, ...but maybe that's where our effort should go?
We definitely can't compete with tiktok, and I don't think we should try. But yes, high-quality Youtube channels are the comparison point, and I think academia does have the money to compete in that space -- if we actually took it seriously, gave people real incentives etc
Very interesting read! I'm currently working on an academic infrastructure and we were aiming for more presence on social media - but this piece made me realize that we didn't really think of why we would do as such. It just felt extremely 'standard', but might actually be the wrong way to move ahead. So thanks for sharing!
Enjoyed this article, Kevin, thank you. Curious to hear your thoughts on research-oriented sites like Academia.edu ?
I think it's a good idea to separate academic from non-academic output like this. But I'm really not a fan of academia.edu's for-profit model that requires registration
Yeah, I’ve had a free account on Academia for years, and the constant nags to upgrade are annoying. ResearchGate isn’t as bad in that way. I’m interested in what approach you eventually choose.
Hear hear!
100% agree -- high-quality video is both a natural spot for academia and an unmet need for audiences. My own limited experience making videos and building a modest following on TikTok talking about stuff like critical theory and archival methods has amazed me -- there are way more people than I expected searching for that kind of content, wanting to converse about it in my comments, and learn together. I would add audio as a good format too -- podcasts. Imagine if the left's Joe Rogan is, right now, a brilliant and undervalued adjunct at a state university just waiting for the call of destiny.
Loving the Stafford Beer lectures. (Your article was also very thought provoking) Thank you for sharing :)
Excellent article! I do wonder however, even if such a high-quality video platform were built (that would be cool!), with "substantive" academic discussions, could it compete with tiktok anyway? Given the high cost in time and money to produce such quality video (as for example with some channels on yt like Veritasium...) I wonder whether energy is not better spent cultivating spaces and activities that take us out of the dopamine-cycle altogether. So really I just want to out-elitist you ;) Admittedly in-person discussion and debate doesn't have the zero-marginal cost scaling properties, ...but maybe that's where our effort should go?
We definitely can't compete with tiktok, and I don't think we should try. But yes, high-quality Youtube channels are the comparison point, and I think academia does have the money to compete in that space -- if we actually took it seriously, gave people real incentives etc
Very interesting read! I'm currently working on an academic infrastructure and we were aiming for more presence on social media - but this piece made me realize that we didn't really think of why we would do as such. It just felt extremely 'standard', but might actually be the wrong way to move ahead. So thanks for sharing!