Lessons Learned: Online Patient Communities
Susannah Fox participated in a discussion of how the maturation of online social networks, patient communities, and patient blogs affects health and health care.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The mainstream media offer the American public a divided view of how information technology influences society, according to a new PEJ study. Messages such as technology making life easier often vie with concerns about privacy and safety. How do the media portray technology? Which companies get the most coverage? Do social media and blogs treat the subject differently than traditional media? A year-long study of technology coverage answers these and other questions.
Technology topped the agenda on Twitter last week as the powerful tech troika of Twitter, Google and Facebook all generated attention. On blogs, the focus was divided between events relating to the Afghanistan war and the death of a veteran actor. And a YouTube-based host who creates his own brand of news was popular once again.
With the 2010 midterm season upon us, bloggers of various political stripes last week focused intently on politics and the state of the U.S. economy. On Twitter, technology topics again led the way. And the most popular YouTube video was a phony satirical story about a young pop idol.
A survey concluding that non-believers know more about religion than believers sparked an intense and heartfelt conversation among bloggers last week. On Twitter, a disturbing discovery in a loaf of bread was the top story. And on YouTube, a Swiss politician with the giggles became an international video star.
Conservative bloggers last week expressed outrage over a passage from Bob Woodward’s new book. Tweeters were galvanized by a security flaw on Twitter. And YouTube viewers were interested in some provocative statements a GOP Senate candidate made on television more than a decade ago.
This survey contains questions about social media use, personal connections, and social support.