I’m not surprised that Guy Kawasaki’s 10^th book is called Enchantment: How to Woo, Influence, and Persuade. It takes some chutzpah to assume near–zero knowledge of social media at a scholarly publishing conference but Kawasaki, a former “software evangelist” (I kid you not!) for Apple, pulls it off with an idiot’s guide to curation, tweeting, and why Google+ will ultimately succeed. more…

It’s easy to dismiss Twitter, a network that links people using messages of 140 characters or less, but it fills a genuine social gap. If Facebook is an archipelago of islands held together by social ties, Twitter is the shifting current that bathes them. Where Facebook is faithful, Twitter is promiscuous.

Teaching thinking skills to young researchers is hard, especially when their brains are busy multitasking with Twitter, Facebook, and their lab book all at the same time, and when they demand information in tiny bites, not lengthy academic excursion. more…

In the UK, we usually do it in groups – that is teaching patients with diabetes and other chronic disease how to self manage their condition. For example, a group approach is now used commonly for teaching patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, for those moving from oral hypoglycemic agents to insulin or when individuals need to start insulin pump therapy. One of the attractions of group teaching is that it is more cost effective for healthcare providers compared to a one on one approach.  more…

In his BMJ blog last week, David Kerr asked whether Twitter would ever be used for healthcare.  As soon as this blog was posted, the Twitter healthcare community was buzzing with responses including: “It already is [being used for healthcare]: we are developing healthcare through our discussions,” “Does he mean the same Twitter that is currently being used to drive discussion and debate in healthcare?” and “Yes! It will be as normal as phones.” more…

The NHS is in love with the airline industry. The idea of checklists before operations has really caught on, and increasingly ex-airline people are being placed in advisory roles for a variety of NHS organizations. Hospitals are especially envious of the ability of the airlines to develop and use technology that allows hundreds of random individuals to be safely transferred over thousands of miles with the minimum of fuss and at relatively specific times. more…

Although I bemoan prepublication peer review, I do a fair bit of reviewing. I’m never quite sure why, but it’s probably that I’m still insufficiently practised at saying no. I reviewed for the BMJ Jerry Kassirer’s article published last week in which he regrets that young doctors don’t browse more. I wasn’t greatly impressed, and one of my arguments was that the world of Twitter and other social media means that there is more browsing than ever. more…

Last Sunday it seemed like the whole of Silicon Valley stopped work to watch the Oscars (on-line of course) otherwise known as the 83rd Academy Awards. Overall, the impression was that it was a pretty limp affair with only one F-word, robotic presenters, and bland acceptance speeches. The botoxed fashionistas were particularly scathing about the stars’ couture on the red carpet and once the ceremony was over interest rapidly switched to following the dalliances of Charlie Sheen and his eclectic “friends.”  However, the most interesting and hilarious comments during the Oscars were on the live stream from Twitter. Comments came fast and furious throughout the ceremony and have continued ever since. Isn’t modern technology wonderful? more…

Should information be free? Does any good come from restricting access to it? These questions were the topic of conversation at a talk hosted by IQ2 at the Dana Centre, on Tuesday 22 February.

The discussion opened with Daniel Glaser from the Wellcome Trust asking whether scientists should make their research data free. The Lancet published a letter on 11 January 2011, which is signed by many of the world’s leading research funders. It commits them to improving data sharing in the public health community. Glaser argued that scientists should share their data to help progress research. But as a scientist himself he admitted that he would find it upsetting to see someone else publish research based on his data, which took him years of effort and hard work to obtain. more…

An interesting article in Nature gives what may be a glimpse of the future of scientific discourse by telling stories of how social media have done a much better and faster job than traditional prepublication review. Science recently published a paper in which researchers claimed to be able to predict human longevity with 77% accuracy. The paper gathered huge coverage in the media, but almost immediately bloggers and Tweeters recognised major errors. Researchers who regularly used the techniques of the study saw a common pitfall, which was why they reacted so fast. One week after the paper was published the authors acknowledged that they had made a technical error, and shortly afterwards Science issued an “expression of concern,” meaning ignore this paper. more…

Carl Heneghan

The last few days has been hectic since the publication of our systematic review in the BMJ on the use of  antivirals in children.  By now, you are probably aware of the findings given the media interest. Basically, our study raised questions about the usefulness of antiviral flu drugs in preventing and treating flu in children, indicating the harmful effects may not be justified by the limited benefits provided. This puts us in direct conflict with the DOH policy of antivirals for all. I think what is important in the present pandemic is to remember how we spent a number of years preventing a similar strategy with the use of antibiotics in sore throat; especially when the published research showed limited benefits in mild disease and the emergence of resistance became a real issue.    more…