A few years ago, an academic friend accused me of overposting. They commented it wasn’t like I was Taylor Swift - a star.
Because I was not an academic star, they felt that overposting was a sign of hubris - people didn’t need to know my breakfast or what I was doing with my kid - or when my papers hit or were rejected, for that matter.
At the time, I was running a center that translated social media posts into actionable information, so I felt obligated to ‘live the experience’ of the people my center was extracting data from.
So while the pointed comment didn’t cause me to stop posting because I was living like the people I made money from, it made me more mindful that not everyone interpreted my posts the same way.
Fast forward a few years, the same friend commented on humble brags & intimated that I embarrassed myself by posting too many.
By then, my feed had changed & was more purposeful- I was illustrating balance by featuring the interplay between family and work life in academe - and showing to my FB friends, many junior, that you could navigate both domains.
While I am admittedly an over-poster - no doubt about it - I was puzzled by the resentment of posts on academic success.
So I asked around - my close friends didn’t seem troubled - my more distant friends expressed some discontent - all suggested that there were good ways & wrong ways to promote success.
So what did they share?
First, the bad.
Humble brags should not disparage the work of others. Letting others know you took a role, had a paper hit, or won an award need not throw shade on others.
Second, the good (part one).
Humble brags are important. It takes success from being local to global. It lets people know what you are doing. This can create opportunities for citation or collaboration.
Third, the good (part two).
Humble brags create opportunities to promote your team. Especially if you work with early career faculty, it’s important to let people know you consider them competent. This creates opportunities for your team members.
Fourth, the good (part three).
Humble brags represent opportunities to thank your supporters - be it a funding agency, a uni, or a company. It is always ok to say thank you.
Fifth, the ugly.
Humble brags can create envy or are open to misinterpretation. You need to be careful about their frequency & content.
As a habitual over poster, I am acutely aware that I must keep the celebrations tightly in check.
Overposting humble brags, esp. posts that assert your views or work are more important than others, are problematic for you & your community; keep the normative tone in check (says the person with the third post of the day 🙇).
All in all, if you are mindful of content & frequency, humble brags are helpful. They let you support your team.
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