rexlibris, a magazine for librarians, put up a nice interview about my work in Second Life and the Path of Support.
I’m Knoh Oh in Second Life. The Path is a way to show people inworld the diversity of healthcare support groups…and is growing so fast it is hard to keep track!
Do the types of healthcare support groups differ in the worlds of Second Life, Kaneva, There and IMVU? In what worlds are there more groups concerning mental health than disabilities. In what worlds is the opposite true? How does this compare with types of groups in the real world? And why might there be differences?
Since May of this year, I have been posting a daily tweet on how healthcare orgs can use social media. @John_Norris with the tag #hcsm
The example I use is Twitter, but any microblogging and socially connected platform would do. I put together some of my thoughts in a presentation, “Hyper-Local Social Media and Healthcare” or better known as “@mayoclinic has good info, why should I listen to you?”
Here’s my tips so far in all their twittery goodness-
The Guiding Lights group in Second Life offers 6 session course on doing peer support within Second Life.
It is put on by Avalon Birke, RL Board Certified Counselor and psychotherapist; Kat Klata, highly experienced online healthcare support person.
I finished all 6 courses, and they were quite good. Lots of role play, outstanding guest lecturers, and super classmates.
If you are thinking about, or already doing, online peer support, I think you will find these classes helpful. I highly recommend them. You need not go to every meeting if you do not want to pursue certification.
I graduated with honors for the work I did on a group discussion simulator.
More about Guiding Lights Peer Specialist Training.
I put together some ideas for healthcare orgs to add value to their local communities.
Basically, it’s getting past the PR broadcast stage of tweeting and onto chatting with the folks in the neighborhood.
Twitter just happens to be the tool for the example. This can be carried out in a variety of ways.
I’m especially interested in what works with mobile technologies (cell/smart phones) as well as web. With a simple web page, those that do not want to be seen as following a particular medical issue can still access the information.
Update:
Lee Aase, who works on the @mayoclinic Twitter account, posted a very thoughtful response to this slideshow. I think we all agree that local and internationally renowned expertise can complement each other. …and he is a good sport about the whole thing.
