“EVERYTHING WE DO BEFORE A PANDEMIC WILL SEEM ALARMIST. EVERYTHING WE DO AFTER WILL SEEM INADEQUATE” – Michael Leavitt Why are we writing this? The COVID-19 pandemic has reached a point where containment is no longer possible. The COVID-19 threat is real, and rapidly getting worse. Many of you are very nervous, some are unsure of the validity of the information you ... Continue Reading about COVID-19 Update – A Message from Concerned Physicians
COVID-19 Infodemic and the Question of Expertise
Welcome to the COVID-19 infodemic. I opened Twitter last week to a guy with a 'biology degree' hosting an 'ask me anything' session on COVID-19. I stumbled on another thread where an economist using cockamamie statistical magic had conjured up stats on projected mortality. The thread was followed by gasping responses and replies. Based on misinformation, ... Continue Reading about COVID-19 Infodemic and the Question of Expertise
WHO Joins TikTok – Thinking Coronavirus and Communication
To fight misinformation around the coronavirus pandemic, the WHO (World Health Organization) recently joined TikTok. Crazy? Maybe not. When the public health arm of the United Nations joins the trendiest new social network you know something serious is going on. https://youtu.be/7Hvs_S9uMGY So what can we learn when the WHO joins TikTok? We can draw a couple ... Continue Reading about WHO Joins TikTok – Thinking Coronavirus and Communication
Communication and the Law of Constraint
The smaller the space you have to communicate the more the preparation you need. I think of this as the law of constraint. When I have lots of space I’m a little lazy and loose with what I deliver. Smaller spaces, however, require real thought. Think about it: 140 characters on Twitter took more thinking than 280. Prepping an 18 minute TED talk is ... Continue Reading about Communication and the Law of Constraint
Facebook and Twitter Fight Coronavirus Misinformation
With the emerging global public health crisis Facebook has initiated coordinated measures to control the spread of coronavirus misinformation. Below are select clips from Facebook’s recent press release, Keeping People Safe and Informed About the Coronavirus, detailing their initiative. Twitter has undertaken similar efforts to ensure that reliable health information ... Continue Reading about Facebook and Twitter Fight Coronavirus Misinformation
What Do Your Ideas Look Like?
We need to pay attention to what our ideas look like. Recently I was working on a project with a colleague. We were shaping an idea and he put together a concept sheet — a summary of our idea for leadership buy-in. His summary was one long-winded paragraph in a tiny font compressed on to the top third of the page. The only thing more exhausting than glancing ... Continue Reading about What Do Your Ideas Look Like?