By Adam Johnson, E-Communications Manager, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Over 10 years ago I picked up a pen and notepad and proceeded to dip my toe into the choppy waters of local journalism. Back then it was a novelty to have your own email, social media was picking the newspaper in a cafe and gossiping about stories with friends and mobile phones hurt a lot more if dropped on your big toe.
I made the decision to vault the fence over into the communications arena in 2007 when the newspaper industry had just about batted an eye towards the internet. We all felt printed media had a rosy red future and could link arms happily with the words of the web, but boy, five years down the line, who would have predicted how much advances in technology would impact on your traditional daily rag.
Hard copy news is almost becoming a second thought to editors out there . Their main bread and butter is keeping up with the Jones…Williams, Smiths, the millions of people connecting to the internet and social media each day thanks to growing opportunities through new smart phones and shiny PC tablets.
Papers have had to up their game and reach out to their readers through Facebook, Twitter, blogs.
Joe Bloggs reporter has gone from being an isolated face behind a keyboard, to a daily mate on your own site, giving you an update of how strong the morning coffee is or informing you of their story countdown for the day.
Its clever stuff, good relationships are solid to a journo’s daily diet for creating the news, and new news opportunities are coming at them faster than ever before.
You are more likely to snaffle up breaking news in from a reporters Twitter Post than a freshly printed paper these days, and there lies the power of social media.
Newspaper industries have worked hard to at first overcome and then adapt to the changing face of the world wide web and today, social media is an integral part of their news gathering and reporting operations.
Could this mantra be ported across to the NHS? In parts yes it can. Despite the boundaries of patient confidentiality, adapting key care advice, support and messages to reach out to Facebook friends can really make a difference to patients recovering in the community. Relationships can be built up with browsers by treating them to health information to help them lead well lives or chatting about important services to set their minds at rest before a visit to the hospital.
Newspapers have welcomed in social media as a friend and extra pair of hands for the job. For the NHS, embracing social media can create a new form of virtual health advisors, reaching far and wide to support care provided in communities…through the many tricks and tabs available.
It’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks, a decade ago hitting printed deadlines meant everything to me, now it’s getting a post to push the boundaries and beat net records for hit counts, to ultimately make a difference online to browsers surfing for health support.
Picture credit: Boston Public Library
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