Syndicom

Syndicom and web 2.0 jujitsu

Last week we asked how many people in the SpineConnect community classified themselves as creators, critics, collectors, joiners, spectators or inactives. Building on the numbers, this week we wanted to discuss the list of Syndicom ‘homes’ listed to the right of this blog. You will notice now that you can join Syndicom and your colleagues on SpineConnect in many different places - Facebook Business , Facebook , MySpace , Plaxo , Bebo , Hi5,Twitter , Flickr , YouTube , StumbleUpon , Friendfeed , SlideShare , Digg , Delicious. You may wonder why we have done this though.

Jujitsu. Yes, you heard it right. Jujitsu. As in the Japanese martial art which defines itself by its focus on flexibility and suppleness. Jujitsu does not use strength against strength, as my karate sensei told me, the ‘art’ from martial arts is in using another’s force or strength against them. That is, jujitsu involves a flexible yielding, transforming and returning of another’s energy and movement.

What has this got to do with Facebook you’re wondering. Well, as we have discussed in other blogs, the technologies of web 2.0 are involved deeply in participating, collaborating and co-creating. All inter-active processes, that is, they happen between people.

Each of these technologies enables a particular kind of relationship according to Li and Bernoff, the authors of Groundswell. Blogs, podcasts and videos from Youtube (the content sharing technologies) allow us to create, share, reference content and then link these pieces of content to each other. Social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Plaxo, Bebo and LinkedIn connect people and facilitate their relationships, across the street, across town, across the nation and across the world. Wikis are sites which support collaborative efforts and provide a real time record of people working together on a project, often building something for people to use (SpineConnect is very similar in this regard). Twitter, as a relative newcomer to web 2.0 acts as a form of microblogging in that when we follow and connect to people on Twitter, we also share short updates on what we are doing, tips, stories etc (140 characters). Twitter is excellent for spontaneous and quick communication, and when people follow each other in mobs, can even resemble a mini network.

Just to give you an idea of how physicians are using these technologies, Jim Farrell posted recently an excellent discussion of how healthcare professionals use social media to become connected to not only their peers, but also their clients. Nicholas Jacobs, CEO of Windber Medical Center is a blogging legend and one of the first, if not the first, hospital CEOs to get into social media, working to translate the complex workings of hospital systems for regular folks. Dr Ronen Rotem is a cosmetic dentist on the East Coast who uses facebook and his own podcast ‘the good dentist’ to connect with his patients and participate in information sharing groups with them. Brooke Thomas teaches wellness providers how to build private practices and uses facebook groups for both clients and providers to connect with each other and share information. Finally, Dr Steven Park, an otolaryngologist, uses a blog and twitter to inform the public and educate patients on sleep disorders.

As you can see, your jujitsu possibilities and abilities are endless! So the next time you get an email or invite from Syndicom or one of your colleagues to ‘join’ them on some form of social media, accept. Think about how you want to connect with people and what you would like to share and make your own social media plan. But don’t forget the primary principle - TOGETHER WE RISE. Connecting yourself is good, finding friends and connecting them is even better!

With many thanks to Ross Mayfield for his ‘colors of web 2.0′ flag and Catmadogma for her ninja grasshopper!

Kirsten Broadfoot