Social Media for Urology: Best Practices Matt Cooperberg @dr_coops 13 April 2014

Social Media for Urology:Best Practices

Matt Cooperberg@dr_coops

13 April 2014

Getting started

• Follow meetings, even if you’re not there• Follow journals, friends, thought leaders, &

#urojc• Use lists

• Tweet breaking news from meetings, and use the hashtags

• Use “reply” and “retweet”• Twitter is integrated into phone software and

many web pages

AUA SoMe Best Practices

https://www.auanet.org/press-media/social-media-bp.cfm

Be Professional. If you identify your affiliation with the AUA, your social media activities should be consistent with the AUA's professional Code of Ethics.

Be professional even if you don’t identify with AUA/EAU/other organizations

https://www.auanet.org/myAUA/code-of-ethics.cfm



Protect Confidentiality. Never post or disclose information that identifies a patient (implied, name on scans, faceless picture, etc.), reveals patient-protected health information or reveals other personal health information of patients, whatever the format may be.

Even “vague” details may be identifiable



Allow for Interaction. Always act in a professional and constructive manner. Spirited and passionate discussions and debates are acceptable, but be respectful of others and their opinions.

Emotion / tone can be hard to perceive online



Be Courteous Refrain from using threatening or discriminatory remarks, personal insults or obscenities.

Again, it’s easy to be misinterpreted online



Exercise Discretion. Be mindful of copyright and plagiarism laws when publishing someone else's work.

When in doubt, quote or “HT”



Support our Identity. The AUA is best represented by its members and what you publish or share may reflect on the AUA.

Same applies for EAU, local departments, etc.—even if your profile includes a disclaimer



Be Thoughtful. Remember, what you publish will be public for a long time.

A tweet can be deleted, but if it’s retweeted / quoted quickly, then it’s “out there”!

Personal thoughts

• Get started!• Separate your personal life (Facebook) from

professional activities (Twitter)• Don’t bother with LinkedIn, Google+, etc.• Never, ever post PHI (or even vague details)• Follow-back as much as you want• Tweet links and photos, not just text — your

tweet is a 120-character editorial

Twitter really is global

Personal thoughts

• Get involved—Twitter can be another “front” for contentious issues

• The “mainstream” media are watching– This is especially true for ongoing controversies

like PSA screening.• SoMe buzz around articles predicts ultimate

citation count / impact• Be pithy – good practice for word counts!• Use humor, but don’t try too hard.

SoMe for self-promotion

• Great way to direct traffic to a blog, website, etc.

• You can tweet / post about major articles and news from your research or clinical practice

• But don’t abuse this practice• Don’t use Twitter for flagrant advertising,

especially by making outlandish claims about your outcomes.

Final thoughts

• SoMe is here to stay (at least for now)• SoMe allows for another avenue for influence

(often beyond one’s traditional rank)• Twitter is a great forum for academic

exchange, discussion, and debate

• Plus, it’s “social” – have fun!• Follow me @dr_coops

HT @daviesbj

Documents

Social Media for Urology: Best Practices Matt Cooperberg @dr_coops 13 April 2014