Microblogging for physiotherapy
Micro-blogging is a quick update in the form of a short message usually containing a very limited number of characters. It is a popular feature of social networks like Facebook where you can update your status, but it has become best known because of Twitter who is the clear leader in the micro-blogging field. In essence, micro-blogging is for people who want a blog but don’t want to blog. A personal blog can keep people informed on what is going on in your life, but not everyone wants to spend an hour crafting a beautiful posts. Micro-blogging great way of keeping people informed on what you are up to without the need to spend a lot of time crafting an entire post on the subject.
While Twitter may have started as a micro-blogging service, it is grown into much more than simply a tool to type in quick status updates. It is often described as a cross between blogging and instant messaging. Put simply, Twitter is social messaging. With the ability to follow people and have followers, and the ability to interact with Twitter on your cell phone, Twitter has become the perfect social messaging tool. People use it simply to stay in touch with a close network and share thoughts or start conversations.
Take a look at this video by Common Craft that explains Twitter:
For wider networking Twitter is also used for news reporting and social media marketing. It has become a favourite target for social media marketing and this new form of getting the message out has been used effectively by many as a quick way to connect with an audience, including Barak Obama during his Presidential campaign. Its suitability as a vehicle for delivering news has been evidenced when breaking news has been brought to us live from the local public before the official news agencies can get there, this has encouraged the BBC and CNN to use Twitter.
Personally Twitter has enabled me to network with physiotherapists, learning professionals and like minded geeks throughout the world that I otherwise would not have met. We have engaged in professional conversation, learnt from each other and even collaborated on projects as a result of our meeting on Twitter.
Below are some other examples of how physiotherapists might use Twitter:
Continued Education and Professional Development
- something you need to know, ask your Twitter network a question
- find someone in another country who is interested in the same topic you are, follow each other and share information, resources and ideas
- ask your Twitter network to comment on current national issues
- communicate with experts
Education
- with a group of students create a conversation around a #tag with the physiotherapy community on Twitter
- get your students to connect with experts to assist them with assignments
- use it to create a class newsletter
Research
- keeping people up-to-date with how a research project is progressing
- raise your profile as an expert in your field by regularly tweeting about your area of clinical interest
Business
- keep people up-to-date with what is happening at your clinic
- regularly offer health information in your clinical speciality to increase your profile
As usual if you have any other ideas to add to this list, please do add them as a comment below.
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