Last week Robert Scoble announced on Cinchcast the fresh news that his son Milan had just been diagnosed with autism.  I often listen to his Cinchcasts and the disappointment in his voice was heartbreaking.

Then I began to wonder:  If one of my children were to receive a devastating diagnosis would my first impulse be to share the news on a public platform?  Probably not.  And that, among a number of obvious things, is what differentiates me from Robert Scoble.

Everyone’s got their transparency threshold.  You can see it with attitudes surrounding location applications.

The importance of community to each of us varies tremendously.  I see it among people with their own health.  And its no different with our sick children – some of us start blogs, Facebook groups and even national movements surrounding the issues of our kids.  Others prefer the private support of family alone.

And social media has nothing to do with this.  The urge to reach out or withdraw is human and individual.  It’s unrelated to technology.  Social media just amplifies the effect of those who choose to reach out.

I can’t speak for Scoble but from having read (watched, and listened to) him for a number of years I suspect his online relationships are pretty important to him.

I wanted to say that it took a lot of courage to sit at a microphone and share his news.  But that’s my more private perspective.  For Scoble, it’s what he does.

 

This is something.

Foursquare and MTV have joined forces in an effort to remove the stigma associated with getting screened for sexually transmitted diseases.  During the month of September Foursquare members who check in for STD screening will be awarded a special badge.  The badge is part of MTV’s “GYT: Get Yourself Tested” campaign, which is hoping to cultivate open communication with parents, partners and health care providers.

Transparency truly is king when you wear your STD status on your public profile.

While its unclear how the GYT campaign will ultimately affect public health outcomes, it’s a clean demonstration of how location-based social apps can be leveraged to raise disease awareness.

My mind’s already thinking where this could go.

h/t to Alltop’s Holy Kaw

 

Yesterday’s piece in the LA Times created quite a kerfuffle in the social health infosphere.  When Facebook goes to the hospital, patients may suffer detailed some of the issues facing hospitals that have chosen to flirt with Facebook.  Stories of nurses posting images of dead patients.  Lawsuits and employee rights.  An interesting read.  It offered up a serving of fresh red meat for those health professionals looking to keep their heads squarely in the sand.

A couple of thoughts.

Blocking Facebook won’t stop stupidity. Read Paul Levy’s most recent post on the issue.  He reminds us that administrative legislation will not stop ignorance.  It’s the messenger, not the medium.  As healthcare administration’s most vocal advocate for social adoption, I’d recommend you check out Paul Levy.  His point of view is remarkable.

Good employees may not understand privacy. We need to go to the next step and address the fact that many hospitals have employees who don’t understand the privacy laws.  We still have a responsibility to protect patients from the misinformed.  While it’s suggested that you ‘can’t stop the conversation’, it’s important that hospitals take responsibility and educate their employees regarding what’s appropriate and what isn’t.  Many health professionals I know innocently believe that by simply excluding an individuals name you’ve protected their privacy.  We have work to do.

You can block but you can’t hide. The natural course of human conversation will occur whether or not hospitals block Facebook.  The adoption of smart phones has created avenues for conversation that were barely on the radar two years ago.  Tablets will soon be found in every purse.  WiFi is ubiquitous.  Technology will continue to become more accessible but the way health care employees understand patient privacy needs to stay the same.

The media never cared about patient privacy until Facebook came along. It’s interesting that privacy infractions were never a media concern until social media became sexy.  Sure the scale of Facebook exposure is greater that that of an employee sharing protected information on a cell phone.  But you have to admit that there’s a subtle element of schadenfreude surrounding these stories.  Be certain that Andrew Keen has this piece bookmarked for prominent mention in his next book.

I thought this was a generally fair piece but a little attention to social’s upside might have helped the cause.  My server isn’t big enough to hold the examples of how our connections have improved the way we see ourselves and our diseases.

Ed Bennett was quoted in the piece and amidst the chatter on Twitter yesterday afternoon suggested that we all stay calm and remain seated.  This too shall pass.

 

Transparency can be fun. But the rage of digital voyeurism may be peaking. Case in point: Blippy, the latest incarnation of real-time, social self-exposure. I learned about Blippy on Scoble’s latest Cinch broadcast with founder Philip Kaplan.

While Twitter asks what we’re doing and Gowalla asks where we are, Blippy asks what we bought, how much we paid and which credit card we used.

It works like this:  You go to the store and buy some stuff. You pay with your credit card. The world instantly sees where you were and what you paid via your Blippy feed . Everybody comments.

(“Excuse me, I’d like everything on AMEX except the whip and the rubber chicken”)

Transparency has a human flexion point that’s different for everyone. I find Gowalla amusing, for example. Gwenn O’Keefe finds it disturbing. So for some Blippy will provide the opportunity for community and perhaps entertainment. But at the end of the day I suspect it will exceed the comfort zone of most. I wouldn’t expect a tipping point at SXSW.

Luddite skepticism you say? After all, they laughed at Twitter and they laughed at YouTube.  But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.

Speaking of laughing, check out Colbert’s thoughts on Blippy.

 

I loved Hospital Song’s original post describing efforts by the Toronto University Health System to thwart social media privacy violations. What I love more is seeing the posters!

In a healthcare world where social strategy centers around burying one’s head in the sand it’s refreshing to see such a progressive, reality-based campaign.

This is the first of its kind as far as I’m aware.

I’m convinced that Elizabeth Han’s thinking is the product of her environment.