Posts filed under ‘Archived Series’
Google Health Launch: Furthering Health 2.0? You Decide
I will come out and say that I am excited about the Health 2.0 movement….but I do not want to overlook serious issues of privacy and security for personal information. Simply defined, Health 2.0 = the merging of social media into healthcare.
Today, the beta for Google Health officially launched. With my blog, I try to bring up points on both sides, and pose questions for discussion, and here I definitely may need your help seeing more of the positives…or educating me on how the danger of the drawbacks is being decreased. With Google Health allowing the option of importing of medical records and information, tracking medical histories and all being added into the giant that is Google, I feel there are reasons for concern.
According to the site, Google Health can
- Organize your health information all in one place
- Gather your medical records from doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies
- Keep your doctors up to date about your health
- Be more informed about important health issues
Automatically, upon reading this, I see a big challenge Google will face in launching this service: getting people to provide their medical records. I already am hesitant. Just how secure of a network will this be? I like to aim for objectivity, but with this new product, I will need your help as I see a few benefits, but many more drawbacks.
Benefits
- Makes juggling you and/or your family’s health records, coverage, medications, etc. easier as it allows for people to set up accounts for others, importing of medical records from medical, dentistry or eye care.
- Allows for self-management in a central location and for one to be more informed and educated about health choices and decisions…as well as better following finances for your health coverage.
- Users of Google Health can import medical records from U.S. pharmacies and medical facilities that include Longs Drug Stores, Walgreens Pharmacy, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and several others.
Drawbacks
- Google says there is no financial incentives for its partners and has a Google Health Advisory Board, but I’m not yet convinced…especially when this service is still in Beta format.
- Privacy and Security Concerns: Who at Google will see this information? What will be done with it? Why does Google want to get into the Healthcare field….beyond wanting a competitive edge with Microsoft.
- In particular, this question in Google Health’s FAQs makes me raise a brow:
Does the data I store in Google Health get used for other Google products, like Search?
Yes, we share information between Google products to enable joint feautres. But no personal or medical information in your Google Health profile is used to customize your Google.com search results or used for advertising. For example, you could not search for your personal medical records on Google.com search.
Seems like we have to now with Facebook, continue to possibly update our security settings to secure our information.
How It Works
Google lists 7 Steps to Easy Use of Google Health
- Sign Up: For you and Google’s Health Partners, the service is free. (Must be 18 or older to create a profile.)
- Start tracking your medical history and learn about your conditions
- Import Your Medical Records from your doctor’s office or pharmacy. (Walgreens is already a partner.)
- View Your Medical History
- Discover and learn how your different medications interact
- Use Google Health to your own advantage: get second opinions, request prescription refills
- Search for doctors and hospitals
Survey Says…
- Dave, at Insomniac Dreams, is optimistic about Google Health and looks forward to having a central place for health information management.
- James Niccolai, at PC World, did a nice write up about the Google Health Service, recognizing its underlying mission, but also hinting that tweaks still may be needed.
- In late 2007, people may remember Microsoft launching HealthVault…some allude that the long-delayed launch of Google Health is a fighting match for Google to get some more competitive edge. In March, The Washington Post gave a view on Microsoft’s HealthVault versus Google Health here…concluding that perhaps the motivation isn’t 100% to aide those with their medical management, but perhaps to cash in on a growing ‘cash cow.’
- Be sure to update me, let me know your thoughts or if you posted on Google’s Heath Beta…it may be too early to draw conclusions, but I’m curious what other people’s first impressions may be…. =)
The Jury is still out…
Is Everything Going 2.0?
Is everything going 2.0?
Health, Science, Museum, Birding, Philanthropy, Reputation, Enterprise, Food and more! Feel free to add to the list.
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- Museum 2.0 is a blog itself by Nina Simon that talks about how Web 2.0 can be applied in museum design. Nina paints her vision for the revitlization for museums and future possibilities here, and in her video.
- Health 2.0: SocialButterfly’s own post sparked by recently released research studies, regarding the developments in the growing Health 2.0 field, offering numerous examples and resources.
- Science 2.0: SocialButterfly’s own post on Science 2.0, including a mini-case study on the OpenWetWare project, voicing both concerns and future possibilities.
- Birding 2.0: Michelle Riggen-Ransom as Social Media for Social Change wrote a great piece on Birding 2.0, about how Science 2.0 and technological developments are advancing great hobbies such as bird watching in the bird watching community.
- Phianthropy 2.0: New Voices on Philanthropy shares a quick observation while live blogging at a Philanthropy 2.0 event sponsored by the Case Foundation, EPIP and 3rd Wave.
- Reputation 2.0: Jeff McCord looks at the importance of one’s online reputation when entering the trenches of the job search in his post titled, Reputation 2.0.
- Enterprise 2.0: Business Technology Leadership looked at Enterprise 2.0 – What Good is it? the other day by offering a 12-step guide on how to get the most out of web 2.0 tools.
- Food 2.0: The LA Times posted an online book review on Charlie Ayers’ book Food 2.0, Secrets From the Chef Who Fed Google.
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Other topics I Googled with a ’2.0′ added that found results include Love 2.0, Crafts 2.0, Education 2.0, Music 2.0, Church 2.0 …What others can you find?
Creative, Relevant, Modern, Insightful, Targeted Ads from…the Library of Congress?!?
Yes, it’s true.
If you are a resident of the Washington D.C. area and frequent the GalleryPlace-Chinatown Metro stop, you can’t help but notice the new ads for the Library of Congress…at every turn, corner and wall.
According to the Library of Congress blog, the ads support the new Library of Congress Experience, opening April 12 by purchasing ads through private funding and placing the ads in the DC Metro System:
“We know that once people are in DC and they learn about what we’re all about, they are much more prone to visit,” excerpt from the Library of Congress blog.
The ads illustrate what the library offers ‘At Your fingertips‘ through four distinct ads, each featuring one of four historically famous people who represent a common good. ‘Imagination‘ for Thomas Jefferson, ‘Integrity‘ for Abraham Lincoln, ‘Fame‘ for Marilyn Monroe and ‘Courage‘ for Jackie Robinson. The tagline featured on each advertisement is ‘Explore. Discover. Be Inspired.” And inspired we are! The Washington Post also recently featured the campaign as a larger story found here
Images from Washington Post.com
9 Useful [& free] Web Analytic Time Killers
From searching for web analytic tools and social media that encourage evaluation tools lately, I have been able to generate a fun list of sites that you could easily kill time with….while also having fun and learning technical insights into web analytics. Enjoy, =)
1. SEO Website Grader (Thank you Dr. Stephen Dann for this amazing tool!)
This site allows you to receive a monthly report providing helpful and useful SEO information on any site of your choice, AND to compare it against competing sites. A great resource for any search engine optimization or interactive marketing plans. Warning: Hours of time will go by before you realize it!
2. Is your website Hott or Not….err, ok or ko?
Ok, we’re not in high school anymore, but don’t act like you’ve never checked out the infamous Hott or Not website or uploaded your friend’s picture to the site as a joke…
Well, now you can rate websites based on the design of their homepage with a 1-10 ranking and see the average rating other websites have received. To become a repeat visitor, register your website into the bank and see what other users rate it!
3. Blogpulse
Blogpulse is a Nielsen Buzzmetrics tool that allows one to create customized graphs based on keyword trends for chosen keywords. Other tools include featured keyword graphs based on popular keywords, conversation tracker which follows trackbacks and permalinks between blogs and blogger profiles that show the most recent posts, the sources used, numbers of times the bloggers is cited by fellow bloggers and a list of 10 related blogs. This is great for monitoring how the blogosphere views your brand, topic or organization and helps identify blog networks.
4. Ice Rocket
Ice Rocket is like a smaller version of Blogpulse and allows you to make keyword trend graphs, but only for the most recent three months, while Blogpulse lets you make a graph for the last 6 months.
5. Popular Viral Video Aggregate
Like PopURLS, only for videos, this site shows the most popular videos for YouTube, Metacafe, MySpace, Yahoo, ifilm, Break.com, Grounder and Google.
6. See Google’s top sites based on non-keyword metrics
This link takes out all the keyword data in Google and shows you what sites Google sees as the best ranked with the most traffic.
Alltop is a blog aggregate that provides the most recent 5 posts from the top 40 blogs, sorted by topic. Topics include social media, nonprofit, moms, life, dads, career, celebrities, games, SEO, Macintosh, Windows, Journalism, world news, photography and more!
8. PopURLs
PopURLS is an aggregate that provides the most popular links across the web including digg, del.icio.us, flickr, reddit, Truemors, YouTube, Google and Yahoo news, AOL Video, Mahalo, Twitter and more!
9. Hits Log
Hits Log is an SEO tool that allows you to discover your site’s Google Pank Rank and search engine rank. Though not as useful as Website grader, it may be easier for some to use.
- Feel free to add to the list.
9 Useful [& free] Web Analytic Time Killers
From searching for web analytic tools and social media that encourage evaluation tools lately, I have been able to generate a fun list of sites that you could easily kill time with….while also having fun and learning technical insights into web analytics. Enjoy, =)
1. SEO Website Grader (Thank you Dr. Stephen Dann for this amazing tool!)
This site allows you to receive a monthly report providing helpful and useful SEO information on any site of your choice, AND to compare it against competing sites. A great resource for any search engine optimization or interactive marketing plans. Warning: Hours of time will go by before you realize it!
2. Is your website Hott or Not….err, ok or ko?
Ok, we’re not in high school anymore, but don’t act like you’ve never checked out the infamous Hott or Not website or uploaded your friend’s picture to the site as a joke…
Well, now you can rate websites based on the design of their homepage with a 1-10 ranking and see the average rating other websites have received. To become a repeat visitor, register your website into the bank and see what other users rate it!
3. Blogpulse
Blogpulse is a Nielsen Buzzmetrics tool that allows one to create customized graphs based on keyword trends for chosen keywords. Other tools include featured keyword graphs based on popular keywords, conversation tracker which follows trackbacks and permalinks between blogs and blogger profiles that show the most recent posts, the sources used, numbers of times the bloggers is cited by fellow bloggers and a list of 10 related blogs. This is great for monitoring how the blogosphere views your brand, topic or organization and helps identify blog networks.
4. Ice Rocket
Ice Rocket is like a smaller version of Blogpulse and allows you to make keyword trend graphs, but only for the most recent three months, while Blogpulse lets you make a graph for the last 6 months.
5. Popular Viral Video Aggregate
Like PopURLS, only for videos, this site shows the most popular videos for YouTube, Metacafe, MySpace, Yahoo, ifilm, Break.com, Grounder and Google.
6. See Google’s top sites based on non-keyword metrics
This link takes out all the keyword data in Google and shows you what sites Google sees as the best ranked with the most traffic.
Alltop is a blog aggregate that provides the most recent 5 posts from the top 40 blogs, sorted by topic. Topics include social media, nonprofit, moms, life, dads, career, celebrities, games, SEO, Macintosh, Windows, Journalism, world news, photography and more!
8. PopURLs
PopURLS is an aggregate that provides the most popular links across the web including digg, del.icio.us, flickr, reddit, Truemors, YouTube, Google and Yahoo news, AOL Video, Mahalo, Twitter and more!
9. Hits Log
Hits Log is an SEO tool that allows you to discover your site’s Google Pank Rank and search engine rank. Though not as useful as Website grader, it may be easier for some to use.
- Feel free to add to the list.
Web 2.0 Wednesday – Super Tuesday Super Cool: When Google Met Twitter
So, I’ll leave the political analysis to those more qualified, but I will point out a super cool social media event that also took place on Super Tuesday: Google Met Twitter.
Google teamed up with Twitter and Twittervision to show on Google maps, people’s comments through Twitter about the elections and Super Tuesday. and, it was live! Every few seconds the map would change and take you halfway across the world to a person’s comment in Malta, then to Australia, then to Southern California. This continued throughout the day. Then, as the night continued, reported live results too.
Talk about relevance!
This is what social media is all about…and can be about when used and optimized to full potential. Many social marketing clients may get nervous when venturing into new territory, and then again, nowadays, anyone can make a MySpace or a Facebook. But, taking the risks, venturing outside the box, adding to the tools in your belt, and you can come up with fun, interactive, attention-getting technology and marketing.
Wanted to share the tidbit.
Click here to check it out. Not sure how long Google and Twitter plan on keeping the application live however.
B2School Monday Minute: What is a ‘non-profit’
I recently overheard a conversation that got me thinking. Here’s a clip from the conversation:
Person 1: With the rise of a third sector, defined as the non-profit sector, how will this affect both the private and public sectors? And, what are the relationships between the three and what will that mean for the future?
Person 2: Well, what is non-profit? Non-profit means merely a tax break. You have two kinds of non profits. Those that are genuinely good and advocate for their cause efficiently and effectively, but then you have those that don’t. So, when you say non-profit, you’re merely talking about a tax break.
Needless to say, this conversation got me wondering, and I’m still pondering. What is a non-profit? And, say the word ‘non-profit’ is a brand….how do current consumers perceive this brand?
I feel these questions are important because whether you are a political organization, grassroots, religions, a charity, professional organization, foundation, community oriented, advocacy organization, special interest group, etc… how the broad term non-profit is ‘branded’ and perceived could have large implications for your success.
Graduate student from Case Western Reserve University, Kate Luckert, provides a great outline on the definition of non-profits and various examples, including why they may/are important.
About. com‘s definition tends to support Person 2′s definition of a nonprofit:
A nonprofit organization is one that has committed legally not to distribute any net earnings (profits) to individuals with control over it such as members, officers, directors, or trustees. It may pay them for services rendered and goods provided.
The European research Network states that there is no universally accepted definition to the term: non-profit sector. There is also no universally accepted social marketing definition. My view though is…. if the term non-profit lacks in credibility and reputation, the term social marketing should be used more often to describe certain effots.
Many organizations practice social marketing, but they don’t know it or realize it. Some people say that the term social marketing is too limiting, however, I see it more as an umbrella term backed with credible research.
Thoughts?
- nonprofit.
- social marketing.
- private sector.
- public sector.
How do they relate?
A Little Known Idea for Evaluation: User Interface Test
…does the concept User Interface ring a bell? What a User-Interface test?
As I hinted to in my last post, I think the evaluation step is maybe one of the most important steps a marketing plan can include, yet many lack. Doing evaluation, allows one to:
- Reflect on the strengths of the campaigns
- Document the process so there’s no reinventing the wheel for next time
- Identify areas for improvement
- Lets you gain and track client feedback
- Find ‘lessons to learn from’
- Calculate ROI and compare to previous years/cases
For best evaluation results, one should meet with a team, get outside feedback, talk to the client(s), key associates or other employees who had a hand in the project. Now, it the fun part. I want to introduce to you a great, but commonly unknown tool to add to your evaluation methods: the User Interface Test.
User Interface is a concept that describes how users interact with a website. If you’ve ever had any of the following questions, then conducting a User Interface test might be right up your alley:
- What should be on the homepage?
- Should the main graphic be video, a slideshow, a moving graphic, etc.?
- Where should the ‘search’ button go?
- Is our website easy to use?
- How functional is our website?
- What’s the message our users are getting?
- What would make our website easier to use?
- When someone first comes to our site, what’s the first thing they see?
- What would get users to spend more time on our pages?
- Does everything on our site communicate our message?
- Does our content engage the reader?
- What is someone expecting when they come to our site?
- Is the site easy to use?
- Is our site customize-able?
- Does our site have a professional tone? or an appropriate tone?
- Does our site speak relevance to those trafficking the site?
- Does the design capture attention?
- How do our users interact with our site?
If you find yourselves asking these questions and similar others, then a User Interface test could be right up your alley! To test your User Interface, you can use either quantitative or qualitative approaches. Four qualitative approaches are outlined below.
- Time to Task: Tests ability for tester to complete an action to user’s satisfaction in a decent time.
- Accuracy: Tests the accuracy of the website and the information found.
- Emotional Response: Tests how the testee responds to their overall experience on the site or in conducting their tasks.
- Recall/Repetition: Tests ability to recall the process it takes to find desired information. Also looks as how the testee’s ability to recall where he or she is on the website and how he or she arrived there.
To create quantitative results, one can have testee fill out forms measuring various categories on a scale of 1-5 (customization, professionalism or tone, design, organization, usefulness, relevance, and interactivity.)
Hope this little research tidbit, and way of evaluating your website comes in hand. =)
Future Social Marketers Unite
As the debate on the creation of a National Social Marketing Association continues, future social marketing and SM-related students/practitioners should check out FLiP (Future Leaders in Philanthropy). It is another online community that offers many great resources and connections for those exploring philanthropic related fields. According to the its homepage, FLiP’s mission statement includes:
We are the future leaders in philanthropy. By working together, we will further our careers, serve our organizations’ mission, and change the world. FLiP is dedicated to creating a community and a network where other future leaders can meet, learn, exchange ideas, and contribute to each other’s success.
They offer interviews with young professionals in a variety of social change/philanthropy related careers. They offers resources for further education, career guides, views from fellow interns, opportunities to network, online presence on Facebook, MySpace and AOL and much more.
This community is great for making connections with those who have related interests and goals. In the meantime, there is a Massachusetts Social Marketing Association and WOMMA (Word-of-Mouth-Marketing Association). However, a national social marketing association is still in progress. Nedra Weinreich, on her blog Spare Change, offers a better history about the creation of a professional social marketing society. Weinreich also offers her views on the status of such an organization. The big debate seems to rest on whether or not the SM Association should be underneath the AMA (American Marketing Association) or be its own separate identity.
As this blog has hinted at, I believe this relates to the ‘identity crisis’ that all of strategic communications is facing, whether commercial or not, in seeking universally accepted definitions. How do you draw the lines between what is and what is not advertising, marketing, dare I say journalism, corporate social responsibility, word of mouth marketing, social marketing, viral marketing, sponsorship, etc. I have my own ideas, of course. But, I’m more curious about learning what others think about this topic.
- Should social marketing have its own professional organization?
- How would you decide who could and could not join?
- Should it me under the AMA? If so, then should word-of-mouth-marketing also be under the AMA instead of having its own organization?
- ETC. There are much more questions than answers about this topic. Feel free to leave your own questions as comments.
