Summary: Learn how to leverage Twitter to network with healthcare recruiters, hiring managers and other physicians.
DAVID: Welcome to the MDsearch.com Physician Podcast. I'm David Pearson here with Robyn Melhuish and today we're continuing your social media tutorial with a conversation about Twitter.
ROBYN: Celebrities are doing it, journalists are doing it, CEOs are doing it, even your local news anchor is doing it...
DAVID: Well we already know that! Everybody's talking about Twitter, but why don't you tell us exactly what it is.
ROBYN: Twitter is a self described "real-time short messaging system that works over multiple networks and devices." Essentially, it's an Instant Message service that allows you to send a short message to anyone who subscribes to your updates, that is, anyone who follows you.
DAVID: But why would people follow you?
ROBYN: Thanks David!
DAVID: No, I just mean why does anyone follow anyone? What's the point? Don't take it personally, but I don't need to know your "status" every five minutes. Okay, Robyn's doing laundry...now she's at Starbucks...now she's recording a podcast...
ROBYN: It's not like that! I mean, it can be, but that's not the best way
to use it. That's not why everyone is talking about it.
DAVID: So tell us why everyone is talking about it.
ROBYN: Well, unlike your typical social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, Twitter, allows users to actively engage with people they may never meet outside of cyberspace. There's no friend requests that have to be approved, you can just follow whoever you choose.
DAVID: So if you can follow anyone, anyone can follow you.
ROBYN: Right…well, you can block a follower or change the privacy settings, but most users don't. The open format encourages users to follow anyone they find interesting
DAVID: And a million people find Ashton Kutcher interesting...
ROBYN: I guess so.
DAVID: Now the prompt question on the Twitter homepage is "What are you doing?" which is like the old Facebook status update, but you said that's not really what Twitter's all about.
ROBYN: Well you can use it as merely a status update, and certainly there are people who do, but the value of Twitter is in the sharing of useful information. A tweet might include a link to an interesting website or article, it could ask a question, or it might announce breaking news to your followers.
DAVID: Okay wait a second, did you say "tweet"?
ROBYN: Yes. Each message is called a tweet.
DAVID: Right…so in your "tweet," so you might copy and paste a link to an article you find useful.
ROBYN: Exactly, but the tweet can only be 140 characters – including spaces – so you first have to shorten the link with an application like tinyurl or tweetburner.
DAVID: Okay, so you're sharing links and asking questions, but is anyone responding?
ROBYN: Sure. You can have complete conversations on Twitter, either publicly – with every reply posted in your Twitter feed for all your subscribers to see – or privately – through direct messages to another user.
DAVID: So how can Twitter benefit physicians?
ROBYN: I think the value is in the connections you can make, the way it expands your network to include whoever you want.
DAVID: It seems like physicians would probably want to follow other physicians.
ROBYN: Definitely. By following other physicians you can get a feel for what's happening within the profession. What are your colleagues talking about? What are they looking at online? How are they reacting to issues that come up in the news? What challenges are they experiencing? Here is this huge pool of people in your industry, and Twitter allows you to ask them a question and get responses in seconds.
DAVID: So how would they go about finding other physicians?
ROBYN: There are a number of ways. Twitter directories like Wefollow or Twellow allow you to find other Twitter users based on keywords. You can also use Twitter's Find People tool to look up users with MD or Dr. in their username, though obviously not every physician on Twitter will put their title in their username. Additionally, you can link to a list of physicians on Twitter from the MDsearch career resources page.
DAVID: But aren't physicians hesitant to engage in this very public forum?
ROBYN: I'm sure many of them are, and while it's certainly not the place to discuss details of a case, it can be a useful tool. Twitter allows physicians to seek advice and interact with thousands of other medical professionals.
DAVID: It seems like it might be a good way to interact with the public too. A doctor could use Twitter to educate people about health issues and prevention.
ROBYN: Exactly, and the more useful information you share, the more your number of followers will grow.
DAVID: A doctor could even become a bit of a celebrity huh?
ROBYN: You never know.
DAVID: But of course, we also want to tell our listening physicians to follow MDsearch on Twitter.
ROBYN: That's right. We'll make sure you're the first to know about new articles and podcasts on MDsearch, and of course, we'll also provide you with links to other interesting career and healthcare related information on the web.
DAVID: It sounds interesting, but I'm still skeptical.
ROBYN: Well, check it out for yourself. You know you're curious.
DAVID: Maybe a little.
ROBYN: Then you have to sign up and give it a chance. But you can't just create a login and sit back and wait for something to happen. You need to experiment with Twitter search and hashtags. Check out some of the more popular Twitter applications like Tweetdeck and Tweetag and Twitpic. And most importantly, you have to seek out interesting people and follow them. And of course, you definitely have to join the conversation yourself.
DAVID: Slow down! One step at a time...
ROBYN: Maybe, but if you take it too slow, pretty soon you'll be the only one in the office not Tweeting!
DAVID: Oh, no!
ROBYN: Don't worry David. I'll keep you in the loop. But hey, at least you're on Facebook right?
DAVID: Yes, I am on Facebook.
ROBYN: Excellent, then next time, you can lead the discussion about Facebook and how physicians are using it professionally.
DAVID: I'm looking forward to it. Thank you for listening to the MDsearch.com physician podcast.
