Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, March 2007; Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 29-30ISSN 1745-3054 Print/ISSN 1745-3062 onlineDOI: 10.1080/17453050701299506 29125
ONLINE
ONLINE
Web 2.0 Communication Tools
Taylor and Francis LtdCJAU_A_229854.sgm10.1080/17453050701299506Journal of Audiovisual Media in Medicine0140-511X (print)/1465-3494 (online)Original Article2007Taylor & Francis0000000002007Associate Director [email protected] 2.0 consists of the next generation of person-to-personcommunication tools that emphasize online collaboration andsharing among users, such as RSS feeds, wikis, weblogs,podcasts and social networking sites. Web 2.0 has becomea social phenomenon which harnesses the collective contributionsof all participants; it is characterized by a spirit of open communi-cation, the decentralization of authority and the freedom to shareand discuss many forms of communication.
Web 2.0 is possible because of Asynchronous JavaScript (Ajax),or XML (Extensible Markup Language). Ajax allows users toexchange, add and update data in small quantities to a webpagewithout having to reload the entire page. In this way, the web-based applications take on the look and feel of many desktopapplications such as spreadsheets, word processors, projectmanagement and presentation software.
RSS
One of the most important characteristics of Web 2.0 is the capa-bility to syndicate site content, which allows users to publishfrequently updated digital content, such as blogs, news feeds,podcasts or videocasts in another context, ranging from anotherwebsite, to a browser plugin, or to a separate desktop application.The most common forms of syndication are RSS (Really SimpleSyndication) and Atom.
RSS has been described as ‘automated web surfing’ by DaveWiner, the father of RSS. Users can subscribe to an RSS feed byusing programs known as ‘Feed Readers’ or ‘News Aggregators’.These programs then check the list of RSS feeds on behalf of auser and display any updated articles or information. The contentis then ‘pushed’ to the subscriber in the form of headlines, ratherthan having to constantly check for fresh content on each desiredsite. RSS technology allows the user to stay current with medicaland communications technology, regulatory issues, medicalspecialties and much more.
News-reader functionality is now being integrated into the latestversion of browsers, including Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox.There are several online readers available such as Bloglines(http://www.bloglines.com/), Google Reader (https://www.google.com/reader/) and MyYahoo (http://my.yahoo.com/),which now has RSS capabilities built into the custom start up pageallowing you to select any RSS enabled content.
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows visitors to add, remove, and editcontent, typically without the need for registration. This ease ofinteraction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass
collaborative authoring. Health 2.0 Wiki (http://health20.org/wiki/) is a new health-focused wiki. This site allows the publicauthors and users to add healthcare content and resources. Medi-cal wikis allow physicians or patients to collaborate about condi-tions, treatments, drugs, legal issues and many other topics ofinterest. Ask Dr. Wiki (http://www.askdrwiki.com/) is a medicalwiki devoted to creating a free source of medical information. Indi-viduals can publish clinical notes, pearls, EKGs, X-ray images,angiograms and more on the site. Using this wiki, anyone with amedical background can contribute or edit medical articles.
Blogs
A blog or ‘web log’ is a user-generated website where entriescontaining images, text, and hyperlinks, are made in journal styleand displayed in a reverse chronological order. As the tools forblogging became more sophisticated and more people joined inon the blogging phenomenon, there has been creative growth inthe ways and type of content that is delivered or written. Notablemedical blogs include Family Medicine Notes (http://www.docnotes.net/), In the Pipeline (http://www.corante.com/pipeline/), Medpundit (http://www.medpundit.blogspot.com/)and Gruntdoc (http://www.gruntdoc.com/).
Podcasts
A podcast is a media file that is distributed over the Internet usingsyndication feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personalcomputers. A podcast is distinguished from other digital audioformats by its ability to be downloaded automatically, using soft-ware capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or Atom. Excel-lent podcasts pertaining to a wide variety of medical issues andtopics can be found on the Internet. Notable podcasts includeACC Conversations with Experts (http://conversations.acc.org/), John Hopkins Podmed (http://www.hopkinsmedi-cine.org/mediaII/Podcasts.html) and JAMA Audio Commen-tary (http://jama.ama-assn.org/misc/audiocommentary.dtl)
Social Network Service
A social network service is social software specifically focused onthe building of online social and professional networks such asMySpace, Facebook and Friendster. Sermo (http://www.sermo.com/) was launched in September 2006 as a forumfor physicians to discuss anything from the latest medical break-through to problems with new drugs. It has attracted substantialattention in its first months, with more than 6,000 physicians
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30 Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, March 2007; Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 29-30
already signed up. DailyStrength (http://dailystrength.org/) is asocial network that provides a space for patients with a wide varietyof medical, psychological and life conditions to discuss their strug-gles and the treatments they are undergoing.
Web 2.0 tools such as these are increasingly being developedby companies and organizations to harness the collective wisdomof the participants, and to bypass convention modes of communi-cation. This new arena is often referred to as ‘Health 2.0’, and as
biocommunications professionals, we will be integral players in thedesign and maintenance of such sites. Notable examples of Health2.0 focused companies include Revolution Health (http://jama.ama-assn.org/misc/audiocommentary.dtl), which isintended to provide consumers with more control and choice overtheir healthcare, and The Health Wisdom Blog (http://wisdom.blogs.com/health/) which compiles innovations in onlinehealth information.
All information is correct at the time of going to press. However, due to the nature of the Internet, addresses may change and sites maymove or disappear over time. Should you come across any websites that you would like to be considered for future issues of Online,please send your suggestions to Keven Siegert at [email protected].
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