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Why Not Use Twitter to Prevent Surgery Miscues?

By Mike Blankenship, PepperDigital

Rhode Island Hospital, in Providence, was fined $150,000 by the state's Department of Health after a surgeon operated on the wrong finger of a patient in October. Ever more astonishing is that the same hospital has conducted five "wrong-side surgeries" since 2007. My first reaction is why is this hospital still open? Why hasn't the administrator been fired?

The fine levied by the Department of Health will pale in comparison to the subsequent medical malpractice suit. In addition to the fine, the hospital is going to be required to install video cameras in all operating rooms, and all surgeries will be monitored by a clinical professional--not on the surgical team--trained in surgical safety measures. Why wasn't this done after the first botched surgery?

An even simpler solution, and perhaps an added protective measure, would be to Tweet the surgical procedures. There are examples of successful surgeries that have been broadcast via Twitter, including one we wrote about here. 

Anyone who has had surgery knows that during pre-op, a nurse uses a marker to annotate which side of the body or body part is going to be cut open. Once inside the OR and on the table, the entire team, including the surgeon, discuss the procedure and everyone verbally agrees to what is going to happen and to which body part.  All of this is done prior to the administration of anesthesia.

With a Twitter protocol in place, each step can be Tweeted in detail. The OR Tweeter would provide a detailed account of the procedure, including microblogging the pre-op confirmation discussion:

@RhodeIslandHospital: Dr. Jones has just asked Jim the Patient which knee has been marked for the surgery.

@RhodeIslandHospital: Jim the Patient has confirmed that his left knee has been marked and has confirmed that his left knee is undergoing the procedure.

@RhodeIslandHospital: Dr. Jones has verbally confirmed that he will operate on the left knee. The rest of the team has verbally agreed to the left knee.

@RhodeIslandHospital: Jim the Patient is now under anesthesia. Dr. Jones is making the first incision on the left knee.

This simple Twitter feed provides an additional layer of checks and balances for an obviously screwed up surgery department at Rhode Island Hospital. What is gained by Tweeting the surgery is an additional level of oversight.  A patient's family can also follow each step of the procedure and interject with a direct reply to the OR if anything is Tweeted that is wrong. For example, in the above scenario, if any Tweet had contained "right knee" instead of "left knee," the family could have immediately sent a reply notifying the OR staff.

The other benefit of using Twitter in the OR is that it's free. Of course this requires an extra body in the room but using somebody already on your payroll is a lot cheaper than fines and malpractice lawsuits. Use a med student who is completing their surgery rotation. It could be used as a teaching tool or part of a "scared straight" initiative to demonstrate the need for situational awareness during surgery.

Happy Birthday To Me!

By Brooke Winebrenner, Pepperdigital

Last week, I celebrated my 24th birthday. Now I realize this year does not mark a special milestone in life, but nonetheless it was my day. Overall, I would say it was much like many other birthdays in the past, or was it? 

As the day came to an end, I was caught off guard at the realization that I had only received 2 phone calls from loved ones wishing me a Happy Birthday. The dozens of other birthday greetings were sent to me via emails, texts, tweets and Facebook wall posts and direct messages from extended family, as well as close and long lost friends. Now I don’t know about you, but 5 years ago this would have never happened. My phone would have been ringing off the hook and I would have received a handful of birthday cards.

While experts have repeatedly stated that social media is changing the way we communicate with one another, on a personal level, it really hit home. Is it that hard to pick up the phone and give someone a call? Maybe for some, but no, I don’t think that is the case. I believe this is a result of the level of comfort we have all begun to develop through social media. Communicating through these outlets has become the norm, day in and day out. So, silly me, why would I ever think that my special day would be an exception to these communication platforms? 

Maybe if I would have read Mashable.com’s: Top 5 Ways Social Media is Changing Our Daily Lives before my birthday, then I wouldn’t have been caught off guard. I think it is important for everyone to take the time to reflect on how our lives are continually changing overtime in result of social media. Below, please find an excerpt from Mashable’s Top 5 Ways Social Media is Changing Our Lives:

1. Where We Get Our News

News has become more social than ever. While many people still use RSS feeds to stay up up-to-date on publications of interest and blogs, our list of sources for what is worthy of our attention has expanded substantially. Many of us have begun to look to our friends and the people we recognize on social networks like Facebook and Twitter for recommended news. This makes it easy to communicate with one another about this information.

2. How We Start and Do Business

It is easier than ever to start and launch a business today, in great part thanks to social media. Social media, including everything from blogging to posting videos on YouTube to tweeting, has brought about unlimited opportunities for both consumers and clients. Who we do business with and how we promote that business has moved increasingly online, and for small business especially, social media has proved valuable. A recent article in the New York Times concluded, “For many mom-and-pop shops with no ad budget, Twitter has become their sole means of marketing.”

3. How We Meet and Stay in Touch with People

Studies show that our time on social networks has nearly tripled in the last year, and while Facebook has always primarily centered around connecting with people and staying in touch with friends, according to a study on eMarketer, “41.6% percent of Internet users who used Twitter did so to keep in touch with their friends.” People certainly still meet others at social venues like clubs and parties, but it is easier than ever to discover people who share our interests through social media, whether that means via groups on Facebook or following people on Twitter. Of course, there is only so much communication that can happen through a social network, but via Tweetups and other in-person events, people are expanding these online interactions to face-to-face meetings. 

4. What We Reveal

We now have queens acknowledging that they get nervous at times when speaking, CEOs being more honest and at times using blogs to express reservations over past decisions, and people openly sharing personal views on social issues. Of course, what we decide to reveal and when to reveal it can be delicate, and there will always likely be items we wish to keep private. However, rather than working to hide our thoughts and feelings, social media is helping to create greater personal transparency. The paradigm is now no longer to try to appear perfect, but to be more transparent with your thoughts and feelings, to reveal your humanness.

5. What We Can Influence

So-called mainstream media is no longer always the driving influencer of public opinion. On Twitter, some individuals now have a million or more followers, Facebook Pages can also have hundreds of thousands of fans, and YouTube videos can get millions of views when they go viral. Most of this content is coming from regular people, rather than big, corporate-owned media organizations.  As the networks for sharing and amplifying information strengthen, the ability of each person to influence public opinion and policies increases. As a result, we feel much less like passive bystanders and much more like participants who have a voice in the events in our world.

Twitter: Friend or Foe

By Dawn Lauer, PepperDigital

In my most recent blog, I extolled the praises of Netflix and its ability to leverage digital technology to further its business. More and more corporations are experiencing for themselves how a strategic, well thought out digital plan can help strengthen relationships with customers and ultimately even impact the bottom line. The latest example?  TweetPhoto Inc., a new Twitter photo-sharing company, has actually used Twitter to build a base of customers, before the company’s brand  was even launched.   In fact, it built the company and its officers through some very smart Tweets.  

The brains behind the operation, company founder Sean Callahan, used Twitter wisely and it worked to his advantage.  He used the millions of Twitter followers to form a community of photo-sharers to provide to share best practices and ideas as he perfected the inner workings of his own company.  He capitalized on the mistakes of the competition and targeted their victims, offering a free trial of his company. Using Twitter, Callahan was able to essentially build a fan base before even “officially” going to the market. 

While this example may open doors for other start-ups in today’s economy, users must remind themselves of the consequences if they get it wrong.  Like other social media tools, Twitter can be a corporation’s best friend or worst enemy. The Internet age has brought new meaning to the term “public knowledge,” and careless mistakes can and will be used against you.  Three key things companies need to remember:

• You can run, but you can’t hide: Once a statement is made, consider the Internet a key to the eternal.  Just about anyone can track down something a company said, promised or refuted on any site.  It may take years to build a strong brand and reputation, but it can be very easy to destroy it.
  
• Split personalities can confuse your following: Your corporate personality should match your online one.  Don’t try to portray one image on a social site and another one in your business life.  Consistency is important and will let your followers know what to expect.
  
• Know your audience: Give bloggers and other online personalities more credit . . . they know a commercial when they see one!  Don’t rush to infiltrate their world until you’ve shown an interest in theirs.  Slowly becoming an active part of a conversation will earn you credibility.

Robo.to Statusphere, Out Of This Stratosphere?

By Brooke Winebrenner

I recently heard about one of the latest sites to hit the web called Robo.to, which hopes to win over the social media status updating fanatics by asking, “We already know what you are doing, but what does that look like?” Robo.to adds microvideos to the mix of the statusphere, allowing users to record and publish a 4-second silent video that can be displayed as a visual message status update.

The site also allows users to link to other preferred sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Fickr, LinkedIn and more. Want users to know your exact location, at that exact moment? Robo.to will let you add your very own Google Map to hone in on your precise position for other users to view.

Sounds like another website dedicated to exploiting your personal life…will everyone join in? According to the New York Times, the service has garnished a modest following since it came out in August, attracting more than 100,000 new members.

The social media guide Mashable.com reports that Robo.to has received more than 350,000 site visitors in August, and 1.5 million Robo.to views total. This is definitely a great start for Particle, the company behind the site, and it can’t hurt to have the handsome Justin Timberlake backing you up. That’s right: JT has invested in the new company, and you can view him as he updates his microvideo status throughout the day and silently screams for attention along with thousands of other users.

Another feature that I believe will soon take Robo.to to a higher level is called “TV Mode,” which the site launched yesterday. The TV Mode will allow Robo.to users to watch video status messages in personalized television channels by using hashtags, keywords or usernames. Trending topics, much like the Twitter feature, will showcase real time user reactions around hot topics. Not only can you read what they are saying, but you can now see what their reaction is. Personally, I would like to have seen the viewer reactions to the Kanye West stunt (With Robo.to, many users wouldn’t have needed to use words to get their message across).

Of course, this site offers another portal for brands, businesses and marketers to learn what consumers are talking about first-hand. Now, with Robo.to, it gives them the ability to get a good look at their reaction as well. 

My curiosity turned me into a Robo.to user in no time. Normally, as I enter the Twitter site, I immediately know what to say. Adding a short video clip to my update really threw me off. But I decided to go with what was right in front of me, which goes to show that the site could soon turn into a prime advertising spot.

Could the site eventually join the ranks of Facebook and Twitter? If Robo.to continues gaining traction, brands could be jumping on board soon enough. You never know: Coca-Cola may be cutting me a check very soon.

Bob Barker Wins Twitter’s Showcase Showdown

By Sam Ford, PepperDigital

On Monday of last week, a rather unlikely phenomenon began to develop: amongst the top trending names on Twitter appeared longtime The Price Is Right host Bob Barker. Generally, celebrities appear as a popular search on Twitter when their name is in the news, and people immediately assumed that Barker’s name appearing was a sure sign he’d passed away.

As people began Tweeting to ask if Barker had died, and others responded confirming that the host was indeed still alive, the name rose even further toward the top of the “trending topics” list.

Barker had initially become a trending topic on Twitter because he was serving as guest host for that evening’s World Wrestling Entertainment Monday Night RAW on the USA Network, and wrestling fans and channel flippers alike were writing about the novelty of Barker’s odd appearance and/or critiquing the 85-year-old’s performance on the wrestling stage.

Barker, remembered for giving the smackdown to Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore, delivered a few blows to the hapless wrestler Chavo Guerrero, led wrestlers in various contests, and even included the obligatory urging to spay/neuter one’s pets. The real reason he was there was to promote the publication of Priceless Memories, Barker’s new book. And, on that front, his appearance has to be considered a major success.

The former game show host not only got publicity in front of millions of wrestling viewers but in front of the large audience of those active on Twitter that particular evening, many of whom never saw his actual appearance on Monday Night RAW. What’s more, Barker’s surprising rise in popularity on Twitter became a news story itself, inspiring coverage from sites like 1010wins and WPIX.

The situation demonstrates the snowball effect of gaining attention on sites like Twitter, where at some point the popularity itself becomes a news story. For Barker, not only can he be thankful that the rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated, but the Twitter-verse and wrestling fans alike are now aware of his new book and his continued existence post-Price Is Right.

Barker’s popularity on Twitter is also a perfect example of how audiences spread content for their own purposes. Barker didn’t devise a plan to “take his book viral,” but people saw Barker as a newsworthy topic and began writing about him for their own purposes: communicating with fellow wrestling viewers, nostalgia for a former cultural icon and, as rumors of his death circulated, a desire to be abreast of the latest celebrity news.

As of this week, Barker’s name is still quite popular among Twitterers, especially since WWE made references to his appearance on the next week’s edition of Monday Night RAW. Will this translate into book sales? Time will tell. But, in the meantime, Barker and the WWE certainly got their money’s worth out of his guest appearance.

MySpace Returns

By Carl Foster, PepperDigital

News out today says that MySpace has appointed advertising agency BBH to lead its digital marketing strategy. Hopefully this means that MySpace is on the cusp of launching its MySpace Music service in the UK. The debut for the new look MySpace is behind schedule according to reports and may well suffer for it, with other music services such as Spotify gaining ground all the time and expanding into the US, according to today’s Wall Street Journal.

The big plus for MySpace though is that it has 70 million users. Facebook has 90 million and Twitter has only 20 million users in the U.S. per month, according to this post on eConsultancy. From these numbers it is clear that MySpace punches well below its weight and could be posed for a dramatic comeback. However, while Rupert Murdoch’s strategy of charging for news content might well work in an industry dominated by News Corp, the situation will be quite different in the online music business. These days people expect content to be free, and that is no more true than for music. Also, the online music business is fragmented, especially since Apple dropped DRM for it iTunes store. Even with 70 million users MySpace has a long road ahead and BBH a tough brief to work with. Good luck.

Social Media Without Borders?

By Mike Blankenship, PepperDigital

I am a huge proponent of social media. Technology has undoubtedly changed the world in which we communicate. From Facebook and MySpace, to blogging and Twitter, to iPhones and YouTube, social media continues to evolve at a lighting speed pace, especially those platforms that exist on open source networks to allow developers to expand functionalities with “can’t live without” applications .

No longer just another way to talk to friends; we use it to connect with customers, debate political issues such as healthcare and organize protests such as in Iran earlier this year. It seems that social media has no borders. My experience this past weekend, though, urges the need for boundary lines to be drawn and enforced.

While waiting to board a flight over the weekend at DFW airport, I ducked into the men’s room to take care of business to avoid having to use the aircraft lavatory. I was immediately greeted by two voices coming from two separate stalls. I quickly ascertained from the dialogue that two separate phone conversations were happening. Not such a big surprise these days. Cell phone conversations in public restrooms have become commonplace. The big surprise was the guy standing at the urinal to my left texting (the phone was held above his head for all to see) while doing what one normally does at a urinal. Not to be outdone, a guy two urinals to my right was dictating a Twitter update into his Blackberry. I don’t think the developers at Vlingo intended for their product to be used at urinals, and I hope they don’t launch a marketing campaign using that scenario.

Plain and simple, social media is great, but it needs borders. It doesn’t belong in the men’s room—or women’s room for that matter. And, while I am on the soapbox, the “no social media zone” should also include gyms (come on, really?), places of worship (any deities on Twitter?), in the car (just drive, folks) and the floor of Congress (maybe Congressman Wilson was reacting to a Tweet last week instead of voicing his opinion to the Commander in Chief?). 

Does Facebook Have The Face For Hollywood?

By Brooke Winebrenner

Recently, there has been talk, chatter and twitter about a possible movie production about Facebook—to be named “The Social Network”. When I first read about this on mashable.com, the social media guide, I honestly had to do a double take—thinking that it was a joke. I found that my reaction was similar to that of many social network users that responded with comments underlying that the blockbuster will be a bust, while other’s seem to think this movie idea may be brighter than the Harvard founder himself.

With over 200 million members on Facebook, will it be as big of a hit on the big screen as it is on our little screens? Well, Aaron Sorkin (writer of the television series The West Wing and movies such as A Few Good Men and Charlie Wilson’s War) sure thinks so, and was very eager to write the script after reading only a few pages of the 14-page book proposal that over-views the book written by Ben Mezrich, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook. A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal.

According to Forbes.com, the book that was released in late July is the storyline focus of Sorkin’s script for the movie. The movie will portray the story behind the creation of Facebook and all of the juicy gossip that goes along with it. The movie is set to begin production in October, according to Christina Warren from mashable.com, with Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin on board, which Sorkin mentions in his Facebook group message. 

Sorkin apparently joined Facebook to “figure out how it works,” and asks users “to share any interesting Facebook stories they may have.” Just a thought, but I would have assumed the writer would have been a Facebook user prior to taking on “The Social Network”.

Well, I guess we should have seen it coming. Web 2.0 has taken over our computers and soon enough it will be taking Hollywood by storm. If this is a hit, I wonder what the sequel will entail? I am going to guess it could turn out to be a gory war movie that portrays the battle between Facebook and Twitter down in the trenches.

Facebook Wispa Heard Loud And Clear

By Carl Foster

Last year I wrote about one of the most successful social media campaigns in the UK, the relaunch of the Cadbury Wispa chocolate bar. This year Cadbury is back with the relaunch of the much missed Wispa Gold bar, which is basically a Wispa bar with  a layer of caramel on top.

Like last time, Cadbury has listened to social media sites, notably Facebook, where 22,683 users have signed up to the ‘Bring Back Cadbury’s Wispa Gold’ group. It has also invited visitors to the Cadbury website to sign up to an email list to be the first to hear about details of the relaunch. Publicity for the relaunch has included inviting the administrator of the Facebook group to push the start button on the Wispa Gold production line. It has also seen Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley delivering the world’s most expensive chocolate bar to Selfridges – expensive because it was covered in edible gold leaf and wrapped in more gold leaf.

However, engagement with the community of fans (or marketing foot-soldiers, as they could be described) will be the center of the marketing campaign for the relaunch, according to an email sent out yesterday. Cadbury has bought thousands of billboards around the UK and Ireland and is inviting Wispa Gold fans to submit designs to www.wispagoldmessages.com to fill the advertising space. Designs and messages can be anything you want (so long as it is legal) and you can specify your preferred location. It’s not clear how many different designs will be printed, but the best 15 designs will be shown in the most sought after locations.

This campaign promises to be very successful, with the coil of demand being tightly wound before the product hits the shelves. The relaunch of the Wispa boosted Cadbuy’s UK sales by 11%, which is pretty significant seeing as Wispa is just one chocolate bar in a vast product line. The relaunch of the Wispa Gold, sub brand would do well to create similar results – but regardless of that, this is another case study in successful social media marketing from Cadbury.

He'll Be Back

by Rob Longert, PepperDigital

Earlier today, I came across a tweet from Blagica Bottigliero, a “digital media veteran” at Edelman about a micro site, MyIdea4CA, launched today by “The Governator,” Arnold Schwarzenegger, which allows “Twitter users to share and discuss their ideas to move California forward.” 

The site is an open forum that was created to encourage public participation when it comes to ideas on the state budget and other public policies. The about page of the site includes a quote from Governor Schwarzenegger saying the following:

“I am personally committed to making government more accessible and responsive through social media tools like Twitter and MyIdea4CA. I’ve gotten great feedback from Californians through Twitter, and I’m sure that this new Web site will allow us to hear more ideas and help identify new ways to approach the challenging situations that face our state.”

Visitors to the MyIdeas4CA site can vote on various ideas presented by the community, and the top ideas are then listed in the “most popular” section of the microsite.

By giving the public a voice and allowing them to weigh in on hot button issues via social media, “The Governator” and his staff are taking a page out of Barack Obama’s book and giving “the people” a sense of community (virtually and socially).

Check out this interview with Schwarzenegger and Jennifer Van Grove of Mashable, detailing the thinking behind the site, the governor’s future plans in terms of using social media and how he reacts to “negative feedback received via social media.”

Personally, I really like the idea of this site, and if Governor Patterson or Mayor Bloomberg decided to do something similar, I think a lot of loud mouth New Yorkers would weigh in.

Would you participate and provide suggestions on how to make your state/ country better via social media?

Oh, and wasn’t Arnold outstanding in Kindergarten Cop?