Out of curiosity, when you hear the words "Facebook," "Twitter," "YouTube," or "Blog" what comes to mind? These applications which have become synonymous with the overarching term of "social media" have become so pervasive they can be found in nearly every aspect of life. I have heard of these applications talked about everywhere from the news, talk shows, and magazines, to everyday conversations between friends and even in church. No matter where you go, it is hard to find a situation in which these terms don't emerge in some way, shape, or form. In fact, many speculate that social media will become the preferred method of communication and marketing in the coming years dethroning conventional methods of advertising such as TV and commercials. Is this a surprise? Maybe, but when you think about it, its entirely plausible and this shift is arguably already taking place.
So why is this happening, and why do some still resist joining in on this movement? As with most any significant change, there are always multiple camps of people. The early adopters (who are always trying to stay on the forefront of where the world is going and figuring out how they can be part in shaping it), the naysayers (who will find a way to criticize, discredit, or dispel any change that threatens their own status quo), and the fence-sitters (who are waiting to see which of the two previous groups will prevail). So it is not a surprise that while social media has invaded most every aspect of our lives and so many are participating, there are still those who are "holding-out" and refusing to buy in to where the world is going.
This poses an interesting a challenging dynamic to manage in the workplace. While there is a clear new direction in which the world is moving, not everyone has gotten on board yet and we have to find meaningful ways of remaining connected with everyone regardless of where they fall on the social media adoption curve. Seeing that our hospital is on the leading edge of healthcare organizations that are trying to utilize social media tools in the workplace, my professional association, the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), has asked me to participate in a educational panel discussion next week on how to best utilize social media in healthcare.
In preparing for my presentation, I have done a lot of research on the topic, but more importantly I wanted to solicit your opinions on this topic and see if your thoughts and ideas match up to what my perceptions have been thus far. Since my first blog post in January of this year, I have considered this to be an "experiment" for both myself and our hospital. From my perspective it has been a very worthwhile endeavor, but I would like to know what you think.
While I always appreciate your comments (which can be left by clicking on the "comment" link at the bottom of each post), I would also greatly appreciate a few minutes of your time to complete a quick survey. One of our marketing team members is finishing her Master's degree and has developed this survey (click here) as part of her graduate thesis to better understand how people are using social media to communicate in their everyday lives and at work. It only takes a few minutes to complete and your feedback will help us to be more effective in connecting with our team. Clear and effective communication is key to how successful we can be as an organization. Please help us get it right! (And don't forget to connect with me on Facebook and Twitter!) Thank you!
7 comments:
This post brought up two questions for me.
First, I wonder if there is a critical threshold of consumers that must be met for social media to inform the public. I would think that if enough people received a message through a blog, you could be confident that word-of-mouth would carry it to the "naysayers". I’m not sure, though, what that tipping point might be.
Another question I’m interested in is how much people feel they can communicate through social media; by that, I mean multilateral communication as distinguished from sending messages. I took the survey linked to in the article, and I was surprised e-mail was included because I never thought of it as a social media. That leads me to wonder if “social” media is not meant to be perfectly synonymous with “electronic” media, but if not, what makes electronic media inherently more social than non-electronic media?
Mr. Bonick,
There are many of us who do not think that the internet is the best way to communicate but we are hardly "naysayers" who just like to criticize. I personally feel that sopcial skills are becoming a thing of the past. There is so much more to communication and social interaction than a blog, a twitter or a blurb. When dealing with people body language and inflection are so important. Also, many people don't want to spend their free time on a computer. They actually might like to read a book, watch the clouds, take a walk, or even have a face to face conversation.
Chaise, I can't say what the tipping point is in terms of numbers of users in social media, but I tend to think it depends more on the topic. In my experience, if it is meaningful to the individual, it doesn't take many people at all to spread the word (the old-fashioned grapevine is still alive and well!)
As for the second question, in my opinion social media is all about connecting with people vs 1:1 communication (like email) per se. In the social media world, anyone can have a say on any topic and broadcast their thoughts with relative ease to be heard by anyone or no one depending on who is listening.
Kathleen, I appreciate your comments and perspective. By the tone of your message, I interpret that you are not as opposed to social media so much as you are opposed to that being the only form of communication to which I agree completely. That doesn't make one a nay-sayer in my book at all!
And to show that I support your thoughts, I am hosting town-hall meetings again this week and hope to interact with you there! Thanks for the comment!
I believe that social media like a blog or facebook can be used as a wonderful tool to make ones self more approachable and open a dialogue between people who otherwise wouldn't speak often if ever. Marty, I hardly ever see you since we are in the hospital at totally opposite times. By being able to make some communication via social networking it makes it easier and less awkward to speak when we do actually see each other face to face. The same concept appies with many of the friends I have on facebook. While I actually do know all of my friends there are many that I haven't seen in years and would have no relationship at all except through facebook because we have been separated by many years and many miles. Now, having been in touch on facebook, I would feel much more comfortable approaching an old acquaintance if I ran into them than I would if we had no contact whatsoever for years and lived miles apart. That being said the social media should only be a supplement to actual face to face contact. That's the only way to truly read one's feelings.
I am an avid facebook user. That being said, I wonder how many work hours are being lost to facebook at JHSMH. Time and time again I see coworkers on their computers or on their personal phones, facebooking. This would not bother me, expect these employees abuse the access and ignore patient care over personal games and conversations. There is also an increase of negative comments about patients on facebook! Bye Bye HIPPA. I wish there was someway to limit the daily use of facebook to all internet users. I have seen the benefits, have even posted on FB requests for help when there are call ins. But there seems to be no balance and pt care is definitely suffering. No employee should be tending their 'farm' when a patient order has not been done. Please don't say that the supervisor needs to be notified, because that is not going to help. I have heard supervisors discussing the lack of control they have over the situation. We need to block it or limit the daily access time at work. HELP!!!
Anon: 1:54AM
I appreciate your plea for help and can understand your belief that shutting down access will solve the problem. I certainly support the fact that social media and Facebook cannot take priority over patient care and our duty as health professionals to use all our efforts to ensure the safety and well being of our patients. I would also certainly hope that our care givers would not risk their license and their job by mis-utilizing their time online at the expense of our patients.
Because of the popularity of FB, I am sure that it does seem that its use has become widespread and problematic. That being said, we all have some small amount of down time throughout our shifts and everyone finds ways to use that time. I see this when I make rounds all of the time. Whether chatting with friends at the nursing station, looking at photos that someone has brought in, talking about upcoming weekend or holiday plans, and yes even surfing the internet (and not just FB, but shopping sites, paying bills, reading the news, etc) everyone finds way to fill the non-productive time in a shift. Should we also forbid all of these things as well? Again, I am not condoning any of these things, but also realize that the internet and social media is now a part of life that is not going to change, but rather something we are going to have to find a way to use productively and rationally. Until that happens, I believe we all have the responsibility to help each other realize the reason we are all at work (our patients) and help remind those who may stray a bit off course. You don't have to call a supervisor, as anyone should feel free to speak up themselves. If you really believe that patient care is suffering, I believe it is totally appropriate if not mandatory that we be able to call a fellow team member out if it is in the best interest of our patients.
In my opinion, we have little ability to "control" this or many other similar situations. It ultimately speaks to our culture and our ability to "influence" people to do the right things for the right reasons. If we are not happy with our culture, than it is up to us to change it and that is something that each of us has to play a part in. Together, we can remind people what it is we are here for and make a difference. Me sending a memo out is not going to accomplish that alone - and imagine if I sent out a letter like the one posted below what the response would be...
http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2009/10/shutting-down-social-media-not-here.html
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