As we talk over the course of the week, and as you start to develop your own communications strategy, we have found this pyramid philosophy to be very helpful. We build from the most in-depth products (eg, working papers) to the least complex products (eg, tweets). 
This helps demonstrate to researchers that the idea of using social media or writing op-eds or blog posts is not rooted in the idea of "cheapening" research, but that they represent alternative ways to reach broader audiences. And that audiences grow as you move up the pyramid.
Better, more effective data communication is not about "dumbing it down," "making it pop," or "cheapening" the research, but to think about how to--in the words of the Heath brothers--get to the "core of the idea".
Think of these different output types not as a list of options, but as a hierarchy. Communications efforts should not pit one type of audience against another or trade sophistication for simplification. Rather, communicating research requires a multilayered approach.
The key to this pyramid philosophy is that every product on that pyramid links to one below it, grounded in in-depth, sophisticated analysis. More on this concept here: urban.org/urban-wire/use…
