Tracking the digital footprints to scholarly articles: the fast accumulation and rapid decay of social media referrals

Academics are increasingly encouraged to share their scholarly articles via social media, as part of a wider drive to maximize their dissemination and engagement. But what effect does this have? Xianwen Wang has studied the referral data of academic papers, with particular focus on social media referrals and how these change over time. Referrals from social media do indeed account for a significant number of visits to articles, especially in the days immediately following publication. But this fast initial accumulation soon gives way to a rapid decay.