Social media Archives - Page 5 of 8

4G LTE Technology: The Good, the Bad, and the Hospitals.

Let’s just say I was amazed by the Verizon 4G LTE demonstration today at Verizon’s Corporate Office here in Greenville, SC. As I watching them describe and demonstrate the capability…I was thinking, man this is going to change the way we do business.

The 700 Mhz is where the LTE network will exist, the part of the spectrum that will penetrate walls and buildings further than any other part of the spectrum currently in use. Also, the speed of the 4G LTE network is just as fast as my home connection, if not faster than my Charter home network of 8 Mb/s download and 3 Mb/s. Yes…over a wireless connection! The demonstration test using Speedtest.net showed the speed of the 4G LTE card in the laptop was running 14 Mb/s download and 8 Mb/s upload speed…THAT IS FREAKING FAST! Fast enough to do full 720p video calls over the wireless, mobile network…with plenty left over for the video grid demonstration.

My iPhone4 phone with 3G probably is running at roughly 2 Mb/s download speed and 0.3 Mb/s upload speed. So, in the next few months, the Greenville/Spartanburg area will see this new network released with a whole new set of devices tapping into this speed. Many of the major metropolitan areas like Atlanta, Charlotte, LA, New York already have access. 38 markets and 60 airports currently have this network. So what does any of this have to do with healthcare?

First…more connectivity to the grid. Devices will be a part of everyday life in healthcare. From tablets in emergency departments to ambulances with streaming content/video back and forth, assessment of patient care during transport. This is just one of the areas healthcare will see this change. But here is another, hospital administrators will have a harder time restricting access to the Internet and social platforms.

Yes, many hospitals have been debating whether to “open up the pipes” to employees, allowing them access to Internet sites and social outlets. Two major concerns, bandwidth and employee performance. Well guess what…the hospital’s Internet and Social Media policy just became harder to write and enforce. LTE technology not only provides speed but also hospital building penetration with the 700 Mhz spot on the spectrum. Yes…it can get through more think walls.

These devices are going to become even more necessary, as a part of the connected network for making diagnoses. Also, who is going to provide these devices to healthcare professionals? Will the hospitals pay part of the bill, splitting it with the professional. Then which part of the content created on the device is owned by the hospital? Then, can the other part can be used for personal reasons?

But let’s put aside the concern over hospital employee productivity. How about the patients and patient families. They will have access to the these devices, speed, network, and the spectrum. Now, they can get online, post pics, maybe do some video over Skype. But with this upgrade to LTE technology…more pictures, videos, and information will be shared inside the walls of the hospital. How about patient privacy? How about the media outlet that dresses up in street clothes, walks into a hospital, and streams video content from inside the walls of the hospital. Now, these are extreme cases to consider…but access to the network and speed will no longer be an issue. And hospitals are not the only major organizations facing this change in accessibility and connectivity.

Yes…LTE technology is going to force us to rethink…A LOT! I know I am going to re-think my current AT&T plan, but it looks like they will be releasing their own LTE network. How about our home Internet providers? Especially given the comparable speeds. And many business will be rethinking their internal policies, what employees can do while at work and what devices they can use.

2011 Will Be There Year of the Documentary in Corporate Marketing and PR

It is my belief that we will see more mini-documentaries this year than in years past. Why, because the “Social Space” has provided a bigger platform to distribute content and a focus on the community voice is ever so prevalent.

In 2010, AT&T launched a campaign to educate consumers about the dangers of texting while driving. This video was shot as a short documentary, capturing the stories of those most effected by this social concern. What better way to bring the consumer to a place to see right into the heart of the issue than a documentary style video.

With YouTube being one of the Top Three search engines along with the platform to deliver high quality content, this video has been viewed over 570K times. That is an amazing touch point to so many consumers of information, people are embedding this video in Facebook, their blogs, and numerous other places.

Documentary style storytelling is a way to provide a journalistic approach to content delivery, providing a view-point directly from those whom are most effected by the mission of the video. Many traditional ad firms shy away from this approach, becuase it is harder to control the message…supposedly. You can’t script responses, you can’t shot-sheet and storyboard real life action and reaction. The ethical approach to telling this type of story has a whole new approach. Most documentary style storytellers shy away from script writing, not using “voice over” to connect the micro messages of the soundbites. Most try to take a more extreme position allowing the people in the documentary to completely tell the story. The only way to guide the message is do a good job of asking the appropriate questions to find the best responses, weaving them together to tell the story.

Look at ESPN’s 30 for 30 Series. It has empowered 30 storytellers to bring a passion to the screen by telling 30 stories. As stated by ESPN, “An unprecedented documentary series featuring thirty films from some of today’s finest storytellers. Each filmmaker will bring their passion and personal point of view to their film detailing the issues, trends, athletes, teams, rivalries, games and events that transformed the sports landscape from 1979 to 2009.”

This series can be seen on ESPN, but also online not only at the 30 for 30 website. Consumers can share the videos by links and embed codes, empowering consumers to take part in the storytelling process. A community of messages sharing by a community of consumer advocates. But what is even greater, each one is produced by a different documentary storyteller with complete creative enterprise…empowering the documentary approach to the collective story. Each one has a different style, a different approach, a different story…communities telling rich stories.

Think back to 2002 when Michael Moore released Bowling for Columbine attacking one issue that is near and dear to the hearts of Americans…guns. This documentary not only inspired many Americans to think about the horrible tragedy of Columbine but attribute a national conversation wrapped around the influence of gun laws in the American fabric. But the other thing this documentary inspired, that anyone with a camera, a vision, and a passion to tell a story can achieve the national spotlight with a powerful message.

By the way, Bowling for Columbine won the 55th Anniversary Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 and an Oscar at the Academy Awards for Best Documentary in 2003. Talk about taking a message to a national spot light. It not only influenced millions of viewers/consumers but also the critics at large. You can see all the other awards that Bowling for Columbine won here on IMDb’s website.

So why will 2011 be a year of documentaries, well more and more cameras and technology have become affordable, compound that with the distribution platofrms like YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and the list goes on. The critical point of content creation and content delivery is coming to it’s true apex providing the means and opportunity to touch more hearts and minds than CBS’s 60 Minutes. BTW, that is one of my all time favorite storytelling, magazine shows still in existence!

We are seeing more and more content created with the iPhone4, Flip Cameras, Canon EOS Cameras…quality content that is being integrated into bigger productions. If you look at the video below, this was shot with a Canon EOS 7D DSLR…yes, a camera for photos!

But what makes this even more a reason why we will see more documentaries this coming year, we as a community of advocates have truely found and understood the social space. This social space has began to break down traditional means to tell stories, providing more community voices to tell big brand messages. This is the heart of the documentary approach, many voices in one story told conhesively for the consumers at large to watch and derive, project, and discuss their own point of view.

Bobby’s 5 Links of the Week | December 12, 2010

Hello friends, here are my links for the week. As you can see…they include doctors tweeting, social media, medical social media, Elizabeth Edwards, and Leadership. I hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts about any of these articles!

Why Teens Don’t And Won’t Tweet

December 8, 2010 | Michael Moore-Jones

I’m 16 and, unusually, I use Twitter quite a bit. I say unusually because perhaps you’ve heard that teens don’t tweet. This first came to light last year when a 15-year-old Morgan Stanley intern wrote a report [PDF] where he explained that teens “realize they are not going to update it,” and that “no one is viewing their profile, so their ‘tweets’ are pointless.” CLICK HERE to read more.

Elizabeth’s Legacy

December 8, 2010 | Meghan O’Rourke

It wasn’t her political career but the window she gave us into the reality—and illusions—of dying. CLICK HERE to read more.

People Consume Information Differently

December 9, 2010 | Bryan Vartabedian, MD
I learned this only recently: people vary in how they like to consume their content. For the longest time I managed the distribution of my blog content passively: push it out on RSS and Twitter. Then let the chips fall where they may. CLICK HERE to read more.

America has forgotten how to govern itself

December 10, 2010 | Thornton Kirby

I’m frustrated. Finally, after nearly a year of relentless campaign promises and bickering about everything except the real challenges facing our nation, this campaign is over. CLICK HERE to read more.

True Leaders Know the Value of Failure

December 12, 2010 | Stefan Lindegaard

A legendary story about Tom Watson Jr., who guided IBM in its glory days, bears repeating in any discussion about smartfailing. According to the story, a vice president who had lost the corporation $10 million on an experiment that failed was called to Watson’s office. CLICK HERE to read more.

What can we learn from teenagers in this social life?

I recently read an article from a 16 year old about why teenagers choose Facebook over Twitter. The article is titled “Why Teenagers Don’t And Won’t Tweet.” It was rather fascinating to hear this teenager’s perspective. The one thing that I took away from this article is this…teenagers are social creatures and picky about their online friends. Facebook gives them the opportunity to interact exclusively with their friends. They can manage who sees what, who reads what, and how they interact with others. Teenagers are finicky little creatures. But what they want is real relationships. Twitter is so nebulous to their world, it is hard for them to grasp the mass audience of Twitter.

I know that each time I start a new semester at Clemson, I ask my new students…”What social networks do you use?” All use Facebook, and at a most two students per class (of 20) say they are using Twitter. The same amount that use Twitter have a blog. Teenagers just have a hard time with talking with a mass audience. They want to feel connected. They also have a limited attention span, thus not wanting to invest in another social network that does not bring immediate results. Facebook to them is easy, because they meet someone new, look them up on Facebook, look at their pictures, make an assessment, then decide whether to ask to become friends. They can keep in touch with friends when they move away or when everyone splits up to go to college.

Teenagers are picky. They do not want to share with lots of random people, they enjoy their networks. They enjoy interacting people that they have met in person and regularly interact with in physical space and not just a digital space. They understand the power of human contact. They look at relationships based on some level of trust, trust that begins in-person and extends to the digital space.

Lately, I have been feeling the need to trim down my list of people I “Follow” on Twitter and who I consider “Friends” on Facebook. I talked about this in my post “Fall cleaning, raking leaves, and cleaning-up the social space.” I think a lot of the social complexity and anxiety has come from the Twitter platform. I know I opened my account in the Fall of 2008. I had no idea how to get started? The Twitter “handles” or usernames were so weird to me. It was hard to find people you knew because people were creating weird usernames. I just used my real name @BobbyRettew. So, you started following people based on who your “New” friends were following. You would find someone, then go through the list of who they were following, and clicked “Follow”, “Follow”, and “Follow”.

The terminology of Twitter led to this whole idea of “Thought Leadership.” I will “Follow” you and what you say. Then terms like “Social Media Rockstars” started emerging, placing significance on those who had the most followers. So the natural thought was to go out, follow as many people as possible in the hopes they would follow you back. No real relationship building, just choosing to run through a huge mass of people like walking through the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport during the holidays. You could pass someone, but had no idea if you were following them. Why would a teenager want to sign up for something like this? I challenge each of you to go into a room of 20 plus teenagers and convince them that they need a Twitter account. It is like talking to a room of crickets…and fingers clicking as they tune-out and look at Facebook.

I have also been noticing many people mentioning that they are trimming back who they “Follow” and see as “Friends” online. We are not finding the “relationships” but rather noise. Why did we fall for the idea of friending and following people we did not know, all in the hopes to be followed back. Were we trying to build a sphere of influence or real relationships? Or are we just “push” marketers at heart spraying our information? Regardless…we have lots to learn from teenagers and why they choose Facebook…engaging with exclusive relationships.

Image credit: Los Angeles Times & Washington Post

Bobby’s 5 Links of the Week | December 5, 2010

Hello friends, here are my links for the week. As you can see…they include doctors tweeting, social media, medical social media, ACC Basketball, and holiday fire safety. I hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts about any of these articles!

Social Media and the Medical Profession
November 30, 2010
The professional standards of doctors and medical students – which are based on the expectations of the community and medical peers – form the cornerstone of quality patient care. They are taught and assessed from the first year of medical school, and are continually re-emphasised throughout medical training and practice. CLICK HERE to read more.

WOMMA 2010 – Every Picture Tells A Story – Make It Easy To Share
November 29, 2010 | via Twitter by Rod Brooks (@NW_Mktg_Guy)

The Legend Of Speedo Guy
February 9, 2009 | ESPN.com
The profile of Cameron Crazies’ legend Speedo Guy. This is for all of you crazy college basketball fans out there, especially those who love and understand ACC Basketball! This is just in time before the heart of the ACC Men’s Basketball schedule begins. Video courtesy of ESPN, Inc.

Phoenix Fire Department Fireplace Safety for the Holidays
City of Phoenix | Phoenix.gov & @TinaFightsFire

There’s nothing quite as cozy as a warm, crackling fire in the fireplace. But if you don’t take some simple safety precautions, that fire could turn deadly. More than 6,000 people end up in emergency rooms for injuries associated with fireplaces and fireplace equipment… and most of the injuries occured with children under five years old. CLICK HERE to read more.

Should Doctors Tweet Between Patients?
NOVEMBER 23, 2010 | Bryan Vartabedian, MD
Social media is just another form of professional communication. We should see it no differently than the telephone or email which, as we all know, are frequently misused. To the uninformed, it’s assumed that social dialog is frivolous dialog. But my social feeds are at the core of of my communication. CLICK HERE to read more from Doctor V.

Disclaimer – A Social Media “Strategy?” Disclaimer

For those out there writing Social Media and New Media “Strategy” for clients…AND…for those who are looking for help with finding your way through this Social/New Media madness, I do not do the following:

1) Manage YOUR social media and new media accounts for you or your organization.
2) Update or communicate your message via Social Media outlets for you.

I believe in empowering the community within the organization with the tools and technology, and help you use these tools to become the true brand ambassadors. It does not make sense for me to deliver YOUR message, you know your message best. Now, I am not a full service agency with tons of AE’s, a big creative department, and tons of interns…I am a small business. The logistics of this business model does not make sense for me.

What makes sense, help organizations understand the the technology, how it works, where the audiences are interacting, and help/let you build your community around your message. I work with people that know their message best. I just help organizations look through a different lens and see how these technologies can benefit your current strategy and help create and measure the social strategy.

It does not make sense to me to convince a large organization that I can and want to Tweet, Update, Check-In, Message, and Blog on your behalf. I want to be a part of your team and work with your community to create best practices and communicate your message. I want to work with people who want to build a community of people around a message…OR…build the message around the community.

These technologies are only technologies…that is it. I makes no sense for me to take over your message…I just want to empower you with the right tools and knowledge to utilize these tools. It is about building a community, connecting with people. How are you going to connect with people when I am the one doing the connecting. OH…YEAH, that gives me control and allows me hold the purse strings of the client. No! I work with my clients as colleagues.

Now…it may seem I am bit of an idealist, but how can I…and outsider of an organization…really speak on your behalf. Maybe this post is a bit brash or sometimes screaming…but I seeing more and more noise. I can work with you to create messages, deliver these messages, but not speak in real time via these channels for you. It just does not make sense to me.

The reason I wrote this…I am noticing more and more agencies/representatives speaking on behalf of organizations without being transparent via social/new media channels.

Final Disclaimer…the only time I do speak on behalf of the organization is only when it is absolutely necessary because of staffing or an “emergent” situation.

Maybe I am crazy…if so, let me know.

Crossroads: Building a Community or Distribution Mechanism – A Self Examination

It is my humble opinion that there are two types of use of Social Media outlets, those who use it to connect with a community and those who use it as a distribution mechanism.

Building a Community
Wiki defines: “The word “community” is derived from the Old French communité which is derived from the Latin communitas (cum, “with/together” + munus, “gift”), a broad term for fellowship or organized society.” We are human creatures and we feel the need to connect with other like minded individuals. We use technology as a means to connect with this community. This technology to socialize with a community is what I define as Social Media. They use these technologies as facilitators to exchange language, common discourse.

Distribution Mechanism
Using “Social” Media outlets to only push information as mass communication. No interactivity, just one direction flow of information. Open an account, and broadcast…no reciprocation. This can be on a global basis where a account is used specifically to broadcast information, or even on a very local situation where a campaign only delivers information over Social Media accounts, information one way for a finite period of time.

Can you do both and still be social…and it still be considered Social Media. Why should we define this? Well, because we are users of this media…we should think about how we use it when interacting with a community. Think about it, do you get annoyed when someone continually updates their “Status” yet when you try to communicate…there is no response? Some even consider that Spam?

Wiki defines: “Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems (including most broadcast media, digital delivery systems) to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately.” Do we spam the community each time we send out links, content, etc. without engaging in conversation within the community. Or is it when we broadcast over and over again, in bulk?

Marketers each day are beginning to include “Social Media(s)” as a distribution mechanism, another place to increase the SEO for their sites…is it all about SEO? Is it all about the massive homogenous linkage system we call the web to make Google happy on our behalf. Noise?

Now, I realize (that if anything) this is a self reflection to better understand an rationalize this medium. To better understand how we can use it more for the community engagement and less for the marketing, one-way pushing of information.

Social Networking Spam
Wiki also defines: “Social Networking Spam is spam directed at users of internet social networking services such as MySpace, FaceBook or LinkedIn. Users of social networking services can send notes, that may include embedded links to other social network locations or even outside sites, to one another. This is where the social network spammer comes in. Utilizing the social network’s search tools, he/she can target a certain demographic segment of the users, or use common fan pages or groups to send notes to them from an account disguised as that of a real person. Such notes may include embedded links to pornographic or other product sites designed to sell something.”

Do we Spam our friends everyday with our latest blog posts, our marketing links, our causes, our clients messages? It really does not feel like a conversation. I do it…write a blog post like this, and update my status so that I can share it with the world. I do it in bulk…because I update my status(s) multiple times in a week with a link. Do I create the noise that I am trying to resist?

Do we encourage our clients to use it as a distribution mechanism? Or do we eloquently phrase it so they feel like it is another touch point. Is this community really opting in to conversations when they freely click “Follow” or “Like”?

Sometimes I think we have to define and self examine our practices so that we better serve our clients and our community we so generously cherish. We are humans you know.

Fall cleaning, raking leaves, and cleaning-up the social space.

Today…it was a day of cleaning. After a good weekend of social gatherings, thanks givings, and reflection…I spent time with family and less time with my online, social relationships. So, after the Christmas tree was picked…it was time to go outside and tidy up the yard for the winter season. I have three big oak trees around my house and a beautiful Japanese Cherry in my front year…boy do they shed some leaves. Time to pull out the rake and find the beautiful centipede underneath all those leaves. Thinking, raking, comtemplating…time to clean-up other areas as I move into the winter months, preparing for the New Year.

Social Media is just plain out getting noisy. It is about as noisy and overwhelming as those layers of leaves that needed to be raked. It is starting, well has become like a corporate minefield of noise. As more and more people, business, and applications dive into this new competitive playing field…it is becoming just as much like a machine as that corporate job I used to have.

Piles of leaves and a lots of raking to go…

Logging onto TweetDeck used to be fun. You could reach out to any person, anyone and more than likely get a response. Now, so many celebrities, corporate brands, big name CEO’s and people thinking they are celebrities have created noise and created the silos that these Social Media platforms were built to break down.

Now…the beating of the “man-chest” is about how many followers you have. These followers are not really followers, just people that have the opportunity to listen but not necessarily engage. They are like those piles of leaves just hanging out and covering what is green, what is fruitful.

The past year has experienced a tremendous amount of discussion on measurement and ROI…whatever the hell that means. We have lost the social…and yet implemented the business aspect of Social Media(s). Those who argue for the social, community aspect have sold out and are just as guilty as those they criticize…they are making a premium off speaking engagements and hefty social media retainers.

Disclaimer: Yes…I have a retainer with an organization to help with management of Social Media platforms. Yes, I get paid monthly. No, I do not Tweet and update Facebook on their behalf. It is their community and I just advise them on the best approaches and platforms to use to connect their communities. So, do I add to the problem…maybe, but trying to stay as pure as possible (whatever that means).

I need some water…and a new set of gloves.

I have totally locked down my personal Facebook account to people that I consider personal friends. I have un-followed one-third of the people I follow on Twitter a few weeks ago. I will do a cut list again. I am getting back to community. I am searching for a core community of people that want to grow both socially and professionally.

There are people on these platforms that used to answer questions, reply to mentions, and even carry a conversation…now they will not even answer a thought even when I ask with overly-nice tones. I used to tell my students that these Social Media platforms were a place that at anytime, you could have a conversation with a big corporate CEO…I barely believe that anymore. Reaching out in this space has turned into the same blackhole as trying to call them on the phone and getting an assistant or even talking to multiple customer service representatives at AT&T.

Social Media platforms are turning into true marketing platforms, another place to push information and less engagement. This is a rant, but I also think it is a sign in my mind that it is time to re-define why I use these platforms and who that I really want to connect with daily.

I DO NOT BELIEVE WE SHOULD DELETE OUR ACCOUNTS.

A few months ago, I found tons of merit in Spike Jones approach to get rid of the noise; close his Twitter account for two weeks, then re-open and start over. I like this so much…this was his way of getting through the noise. There is a lot of it. A lot of leaves. See…these leaves used to be green. On some of the trees that had beautiful blooms. Now, after they have changed so many colors…they pile up in my yard. They have piled up in my Facebook account, my Twitter account, my LinkedIn account, and even in my contact lists. Raking is a good thing, pushing them to the street for the city to pick-up.

So how do we get through the noise? How do we rake-up for the winter and get ready for new relationships?

1 – Write a mission statement for each Social Media account. What do I mean, write out how you want to use each account. How you will communicate with each account; who you want to allow or engage with using these accounts; if you will use it for business, personal, passion, cause, or all the above; and how often you want to use these accounts.

2 – Apply this mission statement to the people you follow and who follow you. Seriously, who do want to connect with daily? Use this as a barometer when you follow and also when you clean out your account.

3 – Clean-up your followers and who you follow. Go through an CLICK DELETE, UNFOLLOW, or BLOCK. Have that mission statement beside you when you clean-up, clean-out, block, and add back in.

4 – Clean-out all those many applications that connect through your social media accounts. We have so many different applications that connect and re-connect through out platforms from TweetDeck, Hootsuite, TwitPic, Seesmic, TwitVite, Farmville, Mafia Wars, etc., etc. Clean out those you do not use…these are platforms you have granted access to your accounts. This is the same as allowing tons of different people and companies having access to your email and bank accounts.

5 – Pick the right platform for you. It is not necessary to use all the platforms if it brings noise to your life. By us creating and starting an account, barley use this account, and leave it live without closing and not using it…we bring noise.

6 – Find and engage like minded people. Treat this online, social experience the same as an in-person social experience.

To be quite honest, I wrote this for myself. I needed to articulate for myself what was necessary for me to continue using and engaging with these platforms.

Bobby’s 5 Links of the Week | November 28, 2010

Hello friends, here are my links for the week. As you can see…they include social media, Facebook commenting, and hospital social media. I hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts about any of these articles!

Why Social Media for Doctors Doesn’t Make Sense
November 19, 2010 | Bryan Vartabedian, MD of 33Charts.com
When I discuss social media with physicians they often giggle and look confused. It’s as if none of it makes sense. And probably for good reason. Doctors have changed. CLICK HERE to read more.

Should OSHA create work rules for physicians in training?
October 2010 | Richard Leff, MD for KevinMD.com Blog
Recent rules issued by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for resident work hours have further limited the consecutive and total number of hours that medical trainees may work. These measures, originally created because of safety concerns, are intended to decrease the number of fatigue-related errors made by physicians in training. CLICK HERE to read more.

Four ways to get more value from digital marketing
MARCH 2010 | David C. Edelman
Companies that make the deep strategic, organizational, and operational shifts required to become effective digital marketers can become more agile, more productive, and accelerate revenue growth. CLICK HERE to read more.

Facebook Comments: Protected Speech or Personal Branding Nightmare?
November 24, 2010 | Dan Schawbel of SocialMediaToday.com
We all know that people overshare. It’s easy to write a quick status update when someone bothers you at work or you’re frustrated. And in today’s world of social media and instant communication, it’s not surprising that quite a few people are taking heat for posting inappropriate content—especially when it comes to their careers. CLICK HERE to read more.

5 Reasons Facebook Will Be the 2012 Marketing Requisite
November 24, 2010 by Patsy Stewart of SocialMediaToday.com
Facebook has generated a lot of BUZZ lately with its unveiling of a new location based “Places” with local deals. Successful companies are integrating Facebook into their marketing strategies. Fortune 500 companies are racing to see who can get the most “likes” and companies like WalMart are banking that you will share their deals with your friends. CLICK HERE to read more.

Bobby’s 5 Links of the Week | November 14, 2010

Hello friends, here are my links for the week. As you can see…they include social media, hospital leadership, Medicaid, and hospital social media. I hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts about any of these article!

Allay fears and build loyalty by using social media during crises
October 20, 2010 | HospitalImpact.org
Hospitals are not exempt from the economic woes our country is facing. More and more, we hear of hospitals facing layoffs to address budget deficits. This can undoubtedly cause concerns among patients and members of the community. They may worry about whether they will be able to get the care they need if your hospital appears to be downsizing. CLICK HERE to read more.

How to turn around a failing hospital by Richard Smith
November 11, 2010 | BMJ Group
England is said to have 30 hospitals that are failing so badly that they may be taken over by the private sector. So there might be a lot of interest in a case study posted this week on the Health Foundation website that describes how a major academic hospital in Boston was saved from failure. CLICK HERE to read more.

Medicaid managed care programs; so do issues
November 13, 2010 | USA Today – Phi Galewitz of Kaiser Health News
After Tonya Bauserman slipped in a grocery store and hurt her right knee last July, an emergency room doctor prescribed painkillers and told her to see an orthopedic surgeon. But Bauserman, 27, who’s insured by a Medicaid managed health care plan called HealthCare USA, says she had trouble finding an orthopedist in her plan who would see her. Finally, she drove 2½ hours to Columbia from her home in a northwestern suburb here to see a physician, who fitted her for a brace and recommended physical therapy. HealthCare USA later said it wouldn’t pay for the brace. CLICK HERE to read more.

Company accused of firing over Facebook post
November 8, 2010 | Steven Greenhouse of NYTimes.com
In what labor officials and lawyers view as a ground-breaking case involving workers and social media, the National Labor Relations Board has accused a company of illegally firing an employee after she criticized her supervisor on her Facebook page. CLICK HERE to read more.

12 Fun Hacks for getting more out of YouTube
November 13, 2010 | Amy-Mae Elliott of Mashable.com
There’s no doubt that plain old YouTube can be tons of fun, but when you get bored of watching clips the traditional way, there are a ton of sites that can help enhance the experience. CLICK HERE to read more.