I attended a conference a few years ago where participant engagement was encouraged through Twitter.\u00a0 Tweets that were sent to the conference group twitter site were simultaneously posted to screens around the conference venue.\u00a0 In keeping with the spirit of the even, I opened a Twitter account. However, after the conference, I was only minimally active. I wasn\u2019t keen on tweeting details about my life to the world.\u00a0 In addition, I didn\u2019t have an understanding of the potential of Twitter in my professional life. Although my children and their friends have Twitter accounts, most of my colleagues aren\u2019t involved in Twitter and the only time I\u2019d heard of it was through discussions about celebrities.<\/p>\n
A few months after I opened my own Twitter account I took on the role of Associate Editor at EBN where part of my work is to tweet on @EBNursingBMJ.\u00a0 I started by tweeting links to commentaries in EBN. Then I branched out to searching health and news websites for interesting articles or new research related to nursing and health.\u00a0 I started reading tweets of others and found extraordinary people with similar interests from around the globe. I retweet comments that I think are relevant and interesting to the EBN followers. Twitter allows you to reply to tweets and open a short dialogue about a topic, or switch to a hastag # symbol and open the discussion up to anyone who is interested.\u00a0 I\u2019ve watched friendships develop through Twitter. \u00a0It\u2019s amazing to me how much can be said in 140 characters.<\/p>\n
I started to understand the potential of Twitter in my professional life.\u00a0 In searching out interesting findings, I\u2019m keeping up to date in research and health policy.\u00a0 I\u2019m developing a greater understanding of the work of nurses and health care professionals in other countries.\u00a0 I\u2019ve also realized how easily links to articles and blogs, such as this, can be incorporated into a short tweet.\u00a0 As I grew into the role at EBN, I applied what I\u2019d learned to my own Twitter account.<\/p>\n
Not everything in this type of social media is positive.\u00a0 I quickly realized that Twitter is used for marketing businesses or products. Some people post inappropriate content.\u00a0 Whenever I see something I\u2019m not comfortable with, I \u2018unfollow\u2019 the account. A final note is accounts can be hacked.<\/p>\n
Despite the pitfalls, I really enjoy tweeting.\u00a0 Reading and posting tweets has become a relaxing part of my day, but I realize the addictive nature and I\u2019m careful not to spend too much time on it! I feel I\u2019ve just started to learn the potential of Twitter and other social media to my clinical practice and as an educator.<\/p>\n
My intention with this blog is not to recruit for, or to promote Twitter.\u00a0 I realize that there are many people who are not interested in social media and have concerns. My message is about what I\u2019ve experienced including the professional benefits I\u2019ve found in tweeting; in particular, the discovery of a means of searching for and disseminating evidence that is\u2026dare I say it? \u2026.fun!\u00a0 So, if you are already an avid tweeter, or simply interested in dabbling a bit,\u00a0 I would encourage you to follow us @EBNursingBMJ or me @robertaheale.<\/p>\n
Roberta Heale<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I attended a conference a few years ago where participant engagement was encouraged through Twitter.\u00a0 Tweets that were sent to the conference group twitter site were simultaneously posted to screens around the conference venue.\u00a0 In keeping with the spirit of the even, I opened a Twitter account. However, after the conference, I was only minimally […]<\/p>\n