Sometimes 140 characters just isn’t enough to get your message across on Twitter. So what options do you have to make the most of your tweet?
I’ve discussed tweetable science posters in a previous blog but today I saw a great gif tweeted by @WWF that explained the 2oC climate change concept in an incredibly clear and simple way. In just five slides WWF laid out the facts about the global temperature rise to date, the maximum increase in temperature if we want to limit the worst impacts of climate change, what the temperature rise will be if we carry on with business as usual, and the temperature rise if every country sticks to its climate pledge. All this in one tweet!
Limiting the increase of the global temperature rise has been a key topic of conversation during COP21 in Paris. I have seen tweets, mainly sent by climate deniers, which show a clear misunderstanding (perhaps wilfully) of what world leaders are trying to achieve through their discussions. For example I came across a tweet by someone who was complaining about the arrogance of leaders for believing they can reduce the global temperature by 2oC! For me this highlighted that climate science needs to be communicated better.
With their gif, I think WWF is achieving this. They are also using this gif to call for greater action by highlighting current pledges are not enough keep the global temperature rise within a range that can limit the most dangerous impacts of climate change. The look and style of the gif itself is in the typical WWF design style and delivers just the right amount of information.
Done well, gifs could be an amazing way to communicate science and perhaps the tweetable science poster will soon evolve into a tweetable gif!
Check out WWF’s gif for yourself!
A warming world: why we need action at #COP21 to turn down the heat #ChangeClimateChange pic.twitter.com/tQZbH94VnL
— WWF (@WWF) December 8, 2015
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What a great idea! Science communication via social media is incredibly important but so hard to do effectively. I especially love that WWF included a “call to action” since we know that this is a critical aspect of social marketing to create change. Now on to try and figure out how to make one of these bad boys! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Emily, you make a very important point that a call to action is a critical aspect of social marketing. Thanks for reading my blog!