Is Twitter helping us focus on the major conservation issues of our time? Based on my analysis of the content and sharing of leading enviro NGO tweets, the answer is not so much. Published (open access) here in Conservation Biology: https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.13564

I should say this is a somewhat imperfect way to answer the question. But I'd wager the findings ring true for anyone who spends any time on this platform.

I also really enjoyed writing this. There's a bit of everything in here. Behavioural economics, social psychology, Cecil the lion, viral videos of turtles and straws, @Greenpeace's masterful targeting of @LEGO_Group via @Shell.

A few things that strike me. We currently devote far too much attention to issues like plastic pollution, and not nearly enough to issues like invasions and disease (the latter being obviously relevant in our current moment).

I may or may not tweet more about this. My tweeting has fallen off a cliff in the past year or so. I tend to believe this is a good thing. Distraction and disinformation are increasingly problematic at a societal level.

Instead, I might retreat to a remote Scottish island to cull hedgehogs, off grid in a 4G black spot. Minimising my distractions and impacts whist maximising my conservation efforts.