In my experience, social networking applications gain marketshare by being first to innovate and then spreading virally.
I
was an early adopter of Facebook but delayed joining Twitter, a
microblog that enables me to post instant blog entries via SMS from my
Blackberry.
Over the past 60 days, I have seen an incredible
rise in Twitter use among my colleagues and have now joined the ranks
of folks who "Tweet" their blogs. You’ll find me at http://twitter.com/jhalamka
Here’s what I do to use Twitter :
1.
I’ve added Twitter’s SMS address (40404) to my Blackberry and can send
a message directly to my Twitter blog from my Blackberry wherever I’m
traveling
2. I’ve linked my Life as a Healthcare CIO blog to Twitter via TwitterFeed . TwitterFeed supports OpenID
for authentication, so you do not need yet another password. It
automatically checks my blog’s Feedburner RSS feed 5 times a day and
creates a microblog entry using tinyurl.com to keep the links short.
3.
I follow just a few people, but have increasing numbers of folks
following me. I try to limit my Twitter posts to just my blog entries
and one interesting factoid per day about a meeting or travel.
Sometimes Twitter can get overwhelming if you’re following several
people who post multiple times per day.
As with blogs, Facebook,
forums and other aspects of the interactive web, it’s a way to stay
connected with your friends and colleagues. Is there a business purpose
for Twitter? For me, it does connect me to an entirely different
audience for my blog. If I can reach my staff and colleagues via the
means of communication they find best – IM, email, blogs, microblogs,
phone/voicemail, fax, and Plaxo/LinkedIn, then I’ve met my goal of
overcommunicating with all my stakeholders to ensure they understand my
strategy, priorities, and important healthcare IT news of the day.
Twitter
is another communication tool for me that easy to use, integrated with
my existing devices, and a low burden to maintain. Staying in touch
with microblogs – that’s cool!
Categories: Uncategorized
You can also use the Omnee database (http://omnee.thebubblejungle.com/index.php/omnee/tag/healthcare) to find Twitter users interested in healthcare.
I’m curious to know how all you people have so much time for “staying connected.” I mean for me, just getting through my email can be overwhelming. Now add to that checking in with all my blog feeds, Facebook postings, Twitter, chat?
It is always great when technology helps people communicate instead of getting on the way. I really like that I can use my Blackberry to submit updates and posts.
PS: A great way to find others interested in healthcare on twitter: Join the Twitter Healthcare Group at http://twittgroups.com/group/healthcare.
The healthcare community on twitter is really growing . . . I have “met” some people who are doing really incredible work . . . @markhawker, @caparks, @jenmccabegorman, @bobcoffield just to name a few.
Maybe one day Matthew Holt will even “friend” me!
-GM