April 18th, 2010 by PhilBaumannRN in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Even though it’s 2010, the talk and hype orbiting around social media continues. In fact, it seems to be getting louder. So I put together a Prezi: 8 Stages of Social Media Psychosis (some language may be harsh.)
For those of us who’ve been at this for a long time (my experience with social networking goes back to 1978 –- that’s a whole other story), it’s startling to witness the level of Web illiteracy in many important, well-financed organizations. Unfortunately, due to this Web illiteracy, I’m sad to say that the talk around social media will go on for some time. And that’s dismaying, because there so much more that we can talk about.
*This blog post was originally published at Phil Baumann*
November 4th, 2009 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Some physicians may be hesitant to participate in social media outlets, like Facebook and Twitter.
Well, get over it.
Great post by pediatrician Bryan Vartabedian who addresses this topic. Indeed, physicians have lost control of the online message, especially with, according to recent data, 60+ percent of patients visiting the web first when looking for health information.
Instead, anti-vaccine proponents and homeopaths have embraced the Internet, and now exert tremendous influence on patients. We doctors have no one to blame but ourselves for being so slow to get online. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
October 26th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in True Stories
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I entered the wonderful world of blogging in 2006, full of enthusiasm and wide-eyed innocence. I still have the enthusiasm, but the naivety is fading fast.
Over the years I’ve seen so many scams and dishonest “partnership” propositions that I’m beginning to wonder if the Internet is an exceptionally seedy place. The medbloggers I know are genuine, caring people – and that’s probably why they are regularly targeted by unscrupulous people trying to make a buck off blogger credibility.
Take for example an online salesman who contacted me recently. He began the conversation with, “Better Health has such great content. My online network has 5 million unique viewers per month and we’re looking for more high-quality content, so would you like to talk about a content partnership opportunity?”
Silly me, assuming that he meant he’d like to syndicate our content and understood the value of good writing. Here’s how the conversation actually went: Read more »
October 23rd, 2009 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Opinion
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It was a legitimate challenge.
When I mentioned to a fellow blogger that I was appearing on NPR, and he raised a very important question: ”Is that really a good thing? I thought that the point of blogging was to pose a challenge to the mainstream media, but it seems like bloggers feel like they have made it when that same media pays attention to them.”
This hits at the core of what I do as a blogger (and a podcaster). Why do I spend so much of my time doing something on that takes a bunch of time and energy, when I already have a very busy life? Why blog? Why podcast? Why do interviews? Why llamas? Why spend a weekend in Las Vegas? OK, the last question has any of a number of answers, and I have no idea about the llamas. But you get my drift: given the busyness of my life, why should I do all of this? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind*
October 19th, 2009 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
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It would appear that doctors and nurses in the social space have finally arrived. This week marked the first Blog World Expo with a track dedicated to the medical blogger. BWE brought together some of the web’s most visible medical minds including Kevin Pho (KevinMD), Rob Lamberts (Musings of a Distractible Mind), Kim McAllister (Emergiblog), Bob Coffield (Health Care Law Blog), Paul Levy (Running a Hospital) Mike Sevilla (Doctor Anonymous), and Nick Genes (Blogborygmi), and many more.
From health privacy to the ethical obligation of doctors to be visible on Twitter, the panel-based dialog at Blog World Expo raised as many questions as answers. Medical professionals in the online space face remarkable challenges, especially with regard to transparency, personal boundaries, and the definition of patient privacy. It’s clear that our technology is ahead of our legal and ethical dialog. Read more »
