OPINION & COMMENT
26 The Linguist Vol/61 No/1 2022
thelinguist.uberflip.com
Practical advice for linguists on how to make the
best use of social media for professional purposes
I have heard from many sources that social
media is a minefield and we must tread
carefully. Agreed: it is a very volatile field, not
only because changes keep coming at users
without warning, but also because of the
human element itself. We can be
unpredictable, misinterpreted and overreact.
But all that can be managed.
I recommend auditing platforms,
accounts and groups before deciding on
which ones to use professionally. They
each offer a different form of interaction
and serve a different purpose. By
researching them, we can gauge the
administration, how members interact and
whether their activities meet the group's
intended purposes.
It is also important to remember that social
media is a tool; when we are done with it, it
needs to be put away, as it can easily
become a distraction. Exercising self-
discipline is vital to maintain concentration.
When I am working on a particularly boring
document, for example, I reward myself with
a few minutes on one of the platforms I use. I
control the length of my visit by deciding
ahead of time which platform, group or
account I am going to use, and for how long.
That is necessary to avoid losing focus and
coming up for air hours later.
Social media allows me to interact with
colleagues in my working languages, which is
very important to me. I can easily practise my
native language, Brazilian Portuguese, and
brush up on my passive language, Spanish.
Because I live in the United States, this is less
useful for English, as I am constantly exposed
to the language in my daily life.
Professionally social
Selecting a platform
My method for choosing a social media
platform is very simple: I gravitate to where
my colleagues are. I work in a variety of
subjects and three languages, so there is an
overlap in the subjects of the groups I belong
to. For instance, I have joined three
conference interpreting groups on Facebook.
In one the discussions are in Brazilian
Portuguese and English; in another the
language is Spanish; and in the third the
language is English.
In fact, I belong to approximately 20
professional Facebook groups, including
Continuous Training (CPD) & Events for
Translators and Interpreters, Tecnologia e
Tradução, Tradução e Interpretação
Profissional, Foro para Intérpretes, Legal
Writing and Translation, The Legal
Interpreter, Tradutores/Saúde, and
Medical Translation and Interpreting Crew.
GIOVANNA LESTER
