Dr. Saurabh Jha (aka @roguerad) recently posted this comment on the limits of Twitter: No controversial topic can be adjudicated, or meaningfully discussed, on Twitter. My Twitter motto for 2020 I shared the idea and suggested that it should be framed and put over every physician’s workspace. Some agreed. Some disagreed. Twitter for ... Continue Reading about The Limits of Twitter for Debate
Potty Mouth Doctors and the Emerging Value of Outrage
It’s interesting how the use of social media by physicians has changed as it relates to risk and professionalism. In the earliest days doctors either didn’t use social media or they mitigated risk through anonymous profiles. Even now, the core goal for many physicians dipping their toes in the public conversation is to first avoid getting in trouble. The rise of ... Continue Reading about Potty Mouth Doctors and the Emerging Value of Outrage
Have We Hit Peak Podcast?
This is from the New York Times this morning. Have We Hit Peak Podcast? It’s no wonder that the phrase “everyone has a podcast” has become a Twitter punch line. Like the blogs of yore, podcasts — with their combination of sleek high tech and cozy, retro low — are today’s de rigueur medium, seemingly adopted by every entrepreneur, freelancer, self-proclaimed ... Continue Reading about Have We Hit Peak Podcast?
Twitter’s Narrative Correction
On July 3rd I shared an image from an Independence Day celebration that’s a tradition in my home town. A colleague replied that celebration is difficult when children are in cages. On the morning of the 4th I opened Twitter to a short clip of a woman sobbing with the suggestion that the American flag is ‘bathed in our blood.’ Laurence Scott tells the story of a ... Continue Reading about Twitter’s Narrative Correction
How Not to Teach Social Media
The early days of Twitter and Facebook were all about early adopters giving ‘social media talks.’ For many of us these amounted to cheerleading over shiny new objects - fast moving talks that subtly oversold social media. Conversions from non-believers to believers were less frequent than we liked. We told ourselves folks 'just didn't get it.' Speaking for myself, I ... Continue Reading about How Not to Teach Social Media
Eugene Gu and MedTwitter’s Strangest Hour
Medical cyberpresence can be stranger than fiction. Case in point is the saga of Dr. Eugene Gu. For those who don't remember, Gu as a surgical resident positioned himself as a victim of white supremacy at his training program's institution. Last year his public world exploded as a weird medical pseudoreality involving, among other things, anonymous Twitter accounts ... Continue Reading about Eugene Gu and MedTwitter’s Strangest Hour