Blogging Anniversary

Yesterday was my birthday and this month is the anniversary of when I started blogging. You'll see the image above which was my very first post from June 19, 2006. It was four lines, and I didn't know how long I would be writing. And, now it's (almost) seven years later.

This is a blog post of thanks for everyone who reads this blog and for everyone who has supported by social media projects through the years. I am not the most famous health care social media person out there (and, really, who wants to be), and I have made a lot of mistakes along the way. 

But, the best things that have happened to me in social media are the people that I have met along the way, and the opportunities that I have been given to tell my story. A lot of people have come and gone in the medical social media community through the years, and there have been many people who used to be very active, and not so active anymore on social media, but you still here about them every once in a while.​ I feel very lucky for still continuing after all these years.

Apologizes for such a reflective blog post, that is where I'm at these days. Over the next few days, I'll have more to say and more to write as far as where I'm at - at this moment in time. You'll have to stay tuned for those thoughts...​

Wrap-up FamMedRocks Ep306: Just Talking Podcast

​Thanks again to Christopher Snider for being by guest on Family Medicine Rocks Podcast Episode 306 last week. He is the host of the Just Talking Podcast and in the video clip above, we talk about "podcast theory" - particularly how to start your podcast episode.
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​We also talked about how he shares his life online as a person living with diabetes. He as accounts on twitter, a blog, a podcast, a bunch of tumblr accounts, and probably lots more of social media accounts that I didn't mention here. One section of our conversation was the challenges of being spread out everywhere on social media. I'd also like to thank Chris for writing three blog posts here, here, and here, about our conversations.

​One of the cool things that have happened in the past couple of weeks is a twitter hashtag started by Chris called #DayOfDiabetes. In the podcast, we talk about the origin of this and why he things this is important. Live tweeting is not a new idea on twitter. But, the cool part is that there have been other people in the Diabetes Online Community have picked this up and did a live tweeting day as well. Check out this link to see more #DayOfDiabetes.
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You can listen to the show in the player above, or you can download the show here and listen anytime. I also encourage you to check me out on other social media platforms including twitter, facebook, youtube, and linked-in. Enjoy!​

The Social Oncology Project

How does social media and digital communication impact everyday life? ​The folks over at MDigitalLife and WCG not only ask this question, but they also gather data, analyze data, and draw conclusions from them. Earlier this year, they worked with Kaiser to present some of this data in the "American Voices: Aligned For Health" project. The slides AND audio are below along with a youtube video with me and social media superstars Kevin Pho & David Harlow. 

American Voices - Aligned for Health from W2O Group

In a report published today called "The Social Oncology Project," they analyzed multiple platforms of digital communication including 13.6 million tweets, 640,000 forum posts, and 285,000 blog posts over a one year period. Also check out this post by co-author Brian Reed. Here are some conclusions that were found:

• Among cancer types, breast cancer remains the most-discussed cancer type. This reflects heavy interest from the patient community
• Cancer awareness months are rallying points online, driving measurable increases in online dialogue in most cancer types
• Celebrities, more than research or clinical news, tend to create conversations online. Like awareness months, nearly every major cancer type has seen a spike in dialogue based on high-profile individual's experience with cancer.

​There is a section of the report talking about physicians talking about cancer online. I'm proud to say that Family Physicians, more than other specialties, are well represented in their MDigitalLife database.

The report found that digital communication, like twitter, was aimed mostly at the general public for awareness purposes, as opposed to digital networking with other medical professionals. And who is mainly driving this public awareness? Family Physicians. How about that? (Do you hear that #FMRevolution)​

There is a lot more data and analysis that you should check out, read, digest, and even consider writing your own blog post on. It's good stuff and I applaud MDigitalLife and WCG for their continuing work on this...​

​Addendum: Also check out our pal @Doctor_V and his take on this from the 33 Charts website...

Social Media Doesn't Have To Be Serious

​Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me that social media has been way too serious for a while now. Success in social media these days is defined by a social media business plan to make money or finding some way to achieving reproducible outcomes in social media that gets you labelled as a success. Oh well, I guess that'll never be me.

I know I'm going to sound like an "old guy in social media" (the "get off my lawn" attitude), but I remember when social media was a lot more fun than what's happening now. Just wanted to share a couple of videos from the lighter side of social media life.

Back when I started blogging, I did what is called video blogging. And, that was a lot of fun. I've seen on youtube, a lot of people doing this now. So, I'm trying it out again. Let me know what you think, do you want to see more of this? The other video is just funny with a couple of the people I know just doing a random video. It won't make you laugh, but it did me. So, enjoy...​

Interviewed on Just Talking Podcast

Thanks to Christopher Snider, who is the host of the Just Talking Podcast, for being a guest on Episode 189 just released today. Check out their website here, and download the entire audio podcast here. Also check out the brief video segment above from the show. At the bottom of this post, you'll see Chris' notes from the podcast.

Dr. Mike Sevilla is my guest this week. We spend the next hour discussing his motivations to pursuing a medical degree, his journey to family medicine, and he shares experiences, within reason, as a doctor within his community. We also discuss the role of social media within his own practice, the potential for social media among all medical professionals, and the pressure faced when presenting the concept of social media to his peers. Enjoy.

While, it's always ​good to be the one interviewed, I like to be the one asking the questions. That being said, Chris is going to be MY guest on Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 9pm Eastern Time for Family Medicine Rocks Podcast Episode 306. Hope you can join us then!

The Revenge of Long-Form Blogging

​As I was flipping channels this holiday weekend (while on call), I ran into Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I know that I have already lost most of you (I don't blame you), but I cannot help but playing back in my mind "You Were The Chosen One." 

This long form blog post was inspired by another long form blog post by our friend Sean at the My Strong Medicine blog with the post entitled, "When IRL Imitates Social Media." It is an almost 3000 word masterpiece. In today's world, that would be 10 separate blog posts.​

Many people have said that long form blogging has gone the way of the dodo bird, which is extinct. Sean's post gives a great summary of Health Care long form blogging in the past few years. This post was inspired by that post. Remember when that happened "back in the day."​

I remember Mike was that anonymous doctor-dude who had an amazing intelligent sense of humor (equal parts dry, sarcastic and witty) while maintaining a level of professionalism expected from a physician. He posted great quality content that spanned the world from tech-geek Apple stuff all the way to health care, health care reform, and social responsibility.​

​When I read this, I was both proud and embarrassed at the same time. I remember the blogger I was then, but then something happened. Something similar to how Sean describes in his essay. My emphasis shifted from quality content to wanting more quality marketing with spreading links to every social media platform I could find. It's a full time job to try to keep up with all the old and new social platforms out there.

You're ​gonna get sick of me talking about this, but the May 23, 2013 meetup has recharged my long form blogging voice. No one reads these long posts anymore, but I'd like to try to change that.

It's kind of a long form blogging renaissance, even back to basic ideas like, "How Does One Gain An Audience In Blogging?" It would be fun for me to write stuff like that again. I hope that you stay along for the ride. I very much appreciate everyone who checks out my blog and my other social media projects. Stay tuned for more fun!

FamMedRocks Ep305: Dr. Rachel Franklin

​Thanks again to Dr. Rachel Franklin for being my guest on Family Medicine Rocks Podcast Episode 305. It was a fascinating interview that was recorded about 24 hours following the F5 tornado in the Oklahoma City tornado on May 20, 2013.

There were so many emotions going through my mind as I was watching the news and keeping the cable news channels on for those few days following the tornado. Dr. Franklin reflected very nicely on how Family Medicine takes a role in disaster situations like this.​

In the video above, I asked her how people from across the country and around the world can help her community right now. She also has some great closing thoughts on Family Medicine.​

You can listen to the entire audio podcast in the player above, or you can download Family Medicine Rocks Episode 305 right here. I also encourage you to follow me on twitter, like the facebook page, check out my youtube page, and see my linked-in page. Enjoy!​

Social Media Is Still About IRL

It is 1 o'clock in the morning as I write this, and I am so energized by the meet up tonight, I just had to write about it. Thanks to my long time social media pals Emily Bennett (@crzegrl15) and Sean Dent (@IAmUnafraid) for the great discussion tonight. Most of the conversation I'll leave at the bar, but there were three themes that I wanted to share here:

• What has happened to social media discussion? All three of us started around the same time blogging - meaning long form blogging, not the microblogging of  twitter and facebook. Back then, success was about quality writing and commenting, and not about the number of twitter followers and facebook likes. As I have discussed previously with Meredith Gould, social media discussions have moved from the public forum to private direct messages. Are public social media discussions dead? Maybe not, with things now like google hangouts, podcast interviews, and twitter chats.

• Social Media burnout happens. Back in the early and mid 2000s, to be a successful anonymous blogger, you had to be pretty transparent and honest in your story telling. Even though health care bloggers were not transparent with their real names, those bloggers shared sometimes pretty personal information & stories, which readers loved, but blog writers could not sustain, and many of those bloggers quit and blogs deleted. In today's social media world, marketing people say that you have to have a continuous stream of content.  But, I have found social media sanity by taking occasional and intermittent social media breaks. Recognize that social media burnout happens, and instead of quitting, know when to pull back a little bit and not sharing everything you're doing.
• Social Media Is Still About IRL (in real life)​. Back when I started blogging, I was able to make a real connection with the blog authors I was reading - mainly because the amount of sharing that was happening was fairly deep at that point. Today, it's very difficult for me to determine whether a blog post is a genuine story or a re-worked press release. People have noticed that when I'm at conferences or meetings, I do not tweet that much. This is because the way to make connections today is In Real Life (IRL) in the back halls of the conference room or in the hallways. For me, social media reinforces the in person conversations and connections I have with people - So it's still about In Real Life meetings for me.

I hope some of this makes sense. As I hope (and dream), I challenge you to leave a comment below to continue the conversation. But, I know what will happen. I will receive the limited comment of the tweet response, and a thumbs up like on facebook.. Maybe I am sound like Statler and Waldorf below from the muppets, an old guy wanting to go back to the past and how things were when social media was fresh and new. An old guy can dream, right? ​(It's 2am as I finish this post. Apologies if it sounds like a first draft, because it is lol)

Cleveland Meeting Of The Minds

You're guilty of this, I know. On social media, how many times a week do you type in, "Hey twitter friends, we should meet up sometime and hang out." And, then, nothing happens, maybe for years....

In Cleveland, there will be a twitter meet up which has been years in the making. Ive known @Crzegrl15, who recently started blogging again, pretty much when I started in the social media game, and for years, we've been joking, "Hey we should head out for that beer sometime." Well, it will happen Thursday night...​

Thanks to our pal @IAmUnafraid, the new graduate, for putting this meetup together. To check out the fun Thursday night, monitor our twitter feeds, including mine. It's going to be a good one...

Physician From Oklahoma City

Very few physician stories out of Oklahoma City this week following the F5 tornadoes there. I'd like to change that. I hope you can join me on Thursday, May 23, 2013, for Family Medicine Rocks Podcast Episode 305.

Dr. Rachel Franklin is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. She lives with her family in the Oklahoma City area and we chatted about what it has been like there for the past few days.​ In an earlier blog post this week, I talked about how Dr. Franklin was live tweeting information from the ground in OKC just a few hours after the tornado.

I didn't know this, but Dr Franklin was living in the area there for the April 19, 1995 bombing of a federal building, the May 3, 1999 F5 tornado, and this week's May 20, 2013 F5 tornado. ​I can't even imagine being in the area of one of these events, but all three? Wow.

In the video above, I asked Dr. Franklin what people can do Right Now to help the people in her community. You can listen to our full interview on Thursday, May 23, 2013 for Family Medicine Rocks Podcast Episode 305. Visit my podcast page for more information. Hope to see you for the show!