Twitter is a combination of two concepts, social networking and micro-blogging. When combined, they create a fascinating way for people to communicate and keep in touch.  Let’s explore social networking and micro-blogging individually first.

Social Networking

This is the Myspace, and Facebook you’ve heard so much about.  You already know what networking is - you create, build, and maintain personal and professional relationships to meet people, find opportunities, and learn new things.  Successful practice managers are constantly networking to be in the know and stay ahead of the curve.  Now add the social aspect of it to the equation.  Social networking means starting with people you already know, and using that as a jumping off point. Take your existing network of contacts and digitize them to build an on-line community.

Think about your contact list in your address book, email, phone, or Blackberry.  You have everyone in there: colleagues, friends, family.  What if you also had access to the contact lists of everyone in their contact lists?  There would be duplicate entries but there would also be a lot of people in this “friends of friends” list that you didn’t know before.  You would probably see a lot of new names and faces, some of whom you might want to talk to about your organization, their organization, your product, their service, their hobbies, even ask out on a date!

When you walk into a room and see a friend talking to someone you don’t know, you go and say hello to your friend, and introduce yourself to the stranger- you are building your network by social networking!

The differences between various social networking sites (see the MMP post on LinkedIn) will be explored in a later article, but all social networking sites have one thing in common - they are designed to help you meet new people through common friends, interests, pasts, and goals.

Micro-blogging

It’s blogging, but smaller.  But what’s blogging?  ”Blog” is short for “web log”, and it is keeping an online journal of writings, pictures, and other multimedia, as well as news items and content found on the web.  Some blogs are just places where people write about their feelings and activities so other people can read them.  Some blogs are focused on a topic- like ManageMyPractice.com focuses on health care administration.  But all blogs are simply websites that are updated by their authors fairly frequently, around some common theme.

How does blogging become “micro”?  By shrinking it down to its bare essence and relaying the heart of the message, communicating the necessary.  How could this be of use to you?  What if you set up a system where your kids received updates when you were going to be home later than usual from work, telling them they were allowed to have a soda with their homework before TV, and what would be for dinner when you arrived?  Or maybe your kids need to update you when their plans change.  What if all your colleagues were updating each other about the goings-on at a professional conference so they could decide on the fly which events to attend, and share their experiences, and decide where everyone would be meeting afterwards.

Anything that could be helped by contacting an entire group of people quickly with short message could benefit from micro-blogging.

Twitter puts it all together

Twitter takes these two concepts, and merges the whole shebang with your mobile device.  Twitter lets you easily microblog to your social network over your mobile device.  You don’t have to use a cell phone or a Blackberry to use Twitter- you can send and receive updates over the web, and through a variety of third party providers.

If you want to get started, go to the Twitter homepage at www.twitter.com, and click the green button that says “JOIN THE CONVERSATION”.  You will create a username and password, and get you started adding contacts and you’ll soon be able to make your first micro-blog post (they call them “tweets”).

On Twitter, anyone you want to receive updates from is someone you are “following”, and anyone who is receiving your messages is one of your “followers”.  You can also send messages directly to just one user, or set up groups of people to receive certain updates- your co-workers don’t have to see your notes to your kids, and vice-versa. You can also do fun things, like upload a little picture of yourself to be your icon that people wil see when they are on Twitter’s website.

Now it’s time to supercharge your cell phone

But you don’t have to ever go to the site if you don’t want to!  The real power of Twitter is that it can let you do all these short internet communications (micro-blogging) right from your cell phone.  Basic text messages that you may already use on your cell phone (called “SMS messages“) can be used to send and receive messages from Twitter.   Just link your Twitter account to a mobile phone in your Twitter settings, and then you can send your updates as text messages to 40404.  Incoming Twitter messages from the users you follow will show up as incoming texts from Twitter, but with labels to show you which user the update is from.  You can also customize your mobile updates, so you only get messages from certain users. If you follow some people who are heavy updaters, you might get tired of constant alerts of new text messages.  Also be sure you understand your cell phone’s text messaging plan - Twitter is free to use, but if you don’t have unlimited messaging on your phone, it could be easy to run up a big bill.

Once you have your Twitter up and running on your mobile phone things get really interesting, as now you’ve basically turned your cell phone service into an internet chat room. And in terms of business, that gives you near constant connection.  Twitter users are often the first people to know the newest information, and love to post updates about it online.  It’s an interesting way to see what’s new in the world - finding out what people are talking about literally “right then”.  Plus it creates an interesting crowd of which to ask questions: What’s going on tonight?  Can anyone recommend good seafood on the north side of town?  Is anyone getting anything out of this conference?

The brilliance of Twitter is that it so easily connects people on all different types of computers and cell phone platforms.  Twitter can seemlessly create networks of people communicating for mutual benefit, and provides an interesting new way to keep on top and keep in touch.

To Recap:

1. Social Networking = networking with your friends’ friends
2. Micro-blogging = little missives without all the niceties and all the heart
3. Twitter = #1 + #2 (little missives to your friends’ friends’ friends)
4. How can you leverage this technology to make your practice more efficient and productive?

Note from Mary Pat: How can Twitter be used in a medical practice setting?  Here are a few ways - I’m sure you can think of others.  If your doctor is running late, use direct messages to Twitter patients to let them know right away that they can arrive later or reschedule their appointment.  Likewise, when an earlier opening is available, Twitter a patient to see if they could fill your appointment time.  Twitter your doc to let him/her know about schedule changes that would affect what s/he is doing right now.

And to get you started on Twitter, my Twitter name is “mpwhaley.”

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Readers: how are you coping with the onslaught of information?  Emails, news stories, professional reading, listservs, blogs - it goes on and on. Here’s one technology you should take advantage of to ease the information load, whether you use it for your own knowledge, use it for your practice website to update patients, or use it to see what updates your competitors are making to their websites.  Abraham has written a great guide to RSS, what it is and how to get started using it.  If you have follow-up questions for Abe, please leave a comment by clicking at the end of this article.

By the way, if you’re wondering where the little orange square is on this site, it’s in the coffee cup in the upper-left hand side of the page!

RSS - Making the Web Work for You

In the past year, I have radically changed the way I surf my favorite web sites.  For my writing, information, and entertainment, I check for updates and new info on over 200 websites a day.  I like to stay informed, and that’s what it takes. Of course, I don’t read every word of every page - I could never get that done!  I skim, I browse, and most importantly, I get the web to do the work for me.

I never type in any of the sites’ addresses or click on a saved bookmark in my web browser.  In fact, I don’t even have to check if anything is new.  Any time one of my favorite websites adds an update, they notify me automatically, and I can read it, or ignore it and move on.  There is a huge volume of potentially valuable information on the Internet, but the savvy consumer has to be able to parse, filter, and mine this info for things that can actually benefit them.  I use a simple, free, and easy to use technology to do all of this - and I’m going to teach you to do the same.

The secret is called “RSS”, and these three letters can dramatically change how you use the web.  RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”, and like so many of our new technologies, it’s a powerful tool that’s harder to understand than it is to start using.  Once people start using RSS, they love it, but have a tough time telling other people what exactly it is. So here’s my best crack at it:

RSS software (or a RSS web application) is a technology that will notify you every time one of your favorite websites has an update, and will automatically deliver the update to you.

Since the website tells me what’s new every 15 minutes, I can very quickly get a grasp on what I do and don’t want, and don’t spend nearly as much time reading things I don’t care about.

What do I need?

You need a way to read RSS feeds.  There are several options with pros and cons, but they all work on the same principle, and they will all save you time, and make you better informed.

One of the simplest ways to use RSS is to just read the updates in your web browser.  In Firefox 3, when you click on a link to an RSS feed, you are given the option to subscribe to the feed using “Live Bookmarks”, and if you accept, a folder with the name of the RSS feed will go on your “Bookmark Toolbar”.  When you click this folder, a menu drops down displaying recent updates for the feed.  Microsoft Internet Explorer as has a similar system, where you pull open a separate sidebar to look at the feeds you subscribed to.  For users who simply have a few feeds they want to keep track of, these are great ways to start using RSS as soon as you finish reading ManageMyPractice.com.

For users wanting a more customizable and in-depth experience, you might want to try one of several web-based RSS services.  One of the biggest and most popular is Google Reader.  Google has a lot of practice in making things easy to use and understand on the web, and they do a good job with reading RSS feeds too.  It’s all web-based, so you read your feeds on the Google Reader website, and as long as you can remember your password, you can read them on any computer with an Internet connection.  Also, on the homepage for new Google Reader accounts, they have a great YouTube video about the service, and what it can do.

What feeds should I read?

You can read whatever you like!  See Part Two of this Monday Special for some feeds Mary Pat reads.  I like to group my feeds into categories, and read groups of them all at once!  I have a category for local news, with happenings and goings on around my city in it.  Another folder has national news from the New York Times and Washington Post. Another is for sports feeds, with ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and other sources for info. Another is just interesting feeds that often have thought-provoking stories and pictures…you get the idea.  If there’s a website about a topic, chances are great that there are RSS feeds about it as well.  Most web pages that have RSS feeds will say so somewhere on the site.  Also, newer web browsers will have features to tell you automatically if a web page offers an RSS feed.  In Firefox 3 for example, a little orange RSS icon shows up in the address bar when a feed is detected, and clicking on it will give you options to subscribe.  And in FeedDemon, you can just type in a site’s address, and it will give you a list of feeds the site offers.

It is becoming increasingly rare for almost any website or blog to not have an RSS feed, so if you read it, you can probably read its feed instead.

Get out there!

This should give you a great start to reading RSS feeds from your favorite website, and more quickly and efficiently digesting the daily Internet flood of info.  And remember, if you’re having a hard time explaining to your friends and family what this powerful technology can do, you know where to send them! 

To Recap:

1. Information can be overwhelming. 
2. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a way to aggregate or gather the sites you care about and have them “push” their updates to you, instead of you having to go pull the information from them.
3. Download news reader software.  See some suggestions above. 
4. Start looking for the orange RSS box on websites, click on the box, adding the site to your reader.
5. Don’t let your RSS feeds overwhelm you; delete feeds that don’t consistently meet your information and relevance criteria.
6. Let us know what feeds you find that you rate as high-quality. 

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This is the first of what I hope will be many posts from my talented technical consultant, Abraham Whaley.  I’ve asked Abe to demystify the technology that is intuitive if you’re under age 30, but Greek to those of us slightly over that age.  I can’t repeat enough that I think it’s important for managers to stay current on technology to stay fresh, stay marketable, and be able to translate world technology into technology for your practice.

Abraham welcomes your questions and comments.

Do you like good music?

How do you listen to it?

It seems every few years the electronics companies come up with a faster, cheaper, better-sounding something, and they begin anew the job of convincing us that it’s the ultimate in sonic enjoyment.

But seriously, what is all the MP3 fuss about?

MP3 is a file format. MP3 files have “.mp3″ at the end, so your favorite song looks like “yourfavoritesong.mp3″ on your computer. Just like “.doc” means a Microsoft Word document, and “.exe” is an executable program file, “.mp3″ is a sound file- i.e. music. MP3 files are a way to “compress” sound files. Compression is a common computer technique, where something is packed into a smaller space than in originally fit into in order to make it easier to use, and send to other people. Maybe you’ve downloaded or created “.zip” or “.rar” files for sending over the Internet. MP3 is just a way to make it easier and faster to send sounds to each other.

In order to make the sound file smaller, the programs that compress them find pieces of the sound data that people never hear, or can barely notice, and removes them. For the most part, this doesn’t affect the sound quality- although some sound mavens people heartily disagree!  And since most MP3 files tend to be between 5 and 10 megabytes, they’re pretty quick and easy to send in emails, download, and transfer from a computer to a music player.

What can I do with MP3s?

Listen to them! Any part of your life that would be enhanced with a little music can be enhanced with MP3s. First you’ll need something to play your MP3 files. That means either a piece of software that can turn the MP3 file into sound, or a hardware device with that software already on it (ie. an iPod).

The most popular choices for MP3 listening software are iTunes and Winamp.  iTunes is the Apple software that comes with the purchase of an iPod- but you can download it regardless and use it for free anyways. Since so many iPods have been sold (more than 150,000,000 as of this March, FYI), iTunes has become the standard in MP3 software for many people. If you’re thinking about buying an iPod, downloading and trying out iTunes is a great way to try the software before you buy the hardware that goes with it. iTunes also allows you easy access to the iTunes Store, where you can buy MP3s of music, audiobooks, and free, Internet radio shows that update and download automatically. Winamp has been around longer, and is a smaller, lighter program- but is still packed with a ton of features.

Also, both software programs allow you to “burn” CDs. Since every song is an individual .mp3 file, you can very easily make custom CDs that have only the songs you want, in the order you want. This was perhaps the most exciting development for me when I discovered MP3s- that I could make my own CDs to listen to in the car or at friends’ houses.

Where can I get MP3s?

First of all, you can make them! Both iTunes and Winamp allow you to (cool slang alert!) “rip” CDs to MP3. “Ripping” is just taking music on a CD and having the computer compress the sounds into MP3 files. Once this is done, the music stays on your computer and you can now play the music on your computer without the CD. You’ve probably just realized another pretty nice use for MP3 files- they can be used to back up your music collection. “Ripping” CDs is completely legal if you own the CD already, or are ripping music that is in the public domain.

Amazon has pricing comparable to the iTunes store, but made headlines by offering “DRM free” MP3 files. DRM (Digital Rights Management) is a way to stop people from sharing MP3s with each other by making them so they only play on certain devices, at certain times etc…But since Amazon offered files without the restrictions, their downloads can be a lot easier to use and enjoy. Apple does offer some, but not all downloads are DRM-free. Buying my first MP3 from Amazon was a delightfully quick experience. I didn’t even have an account with Amazon and in less than five minutes I was enjoying “Wily” by the British reggae band “Greyhound”. Amazon recommends you use their small download manager program, but once you download the program, it’s easy to keep track of the songs you downloaded.

Other services, like Rhapsody and the infamous, but now totally legal and legitimate Napster offer subscription-based programs. For a monthly fee, you can access and download music on your computer, on other people’s computers over the Internet, and onto some, but not all portable music players. The catch is that you aren’t buying the music, you’re paying for the right to access it. So if you decide to cancel your subscription, the music you downloaded doesn’t work anymore.

Additionally, many websites offer free, legal MP3s to download. iTunes usually has a free MP3 of the week, and websites like CNET’s Music.Download.com have plenty of free music that aspiring artists and hopeful record labels have released to get you excited about new songs and albums.

What if I want to take my music wherever I go?

So, you’ve downloaded an MP3 software program, ripped a few CDs (making sure to use the word “rip” to impress your kids), and even found some free MP3s online that you really like. Maybe you even organized some songs you like to regularly listen to into a “playlist” so you can hear your James Brown in the morning to get going and your Jackson Browne in the afternoon to relax. Sadly, you can’t take your laptop on a nice jog and shouldn’t browse the web while driving to work.

It’s time we liberated those MP3s from your computer! This is where a portable, hardware MP3 player comes in. There are a lot of choices to be made for those in the market, so here’s how to cut through the mumbo-jumbo.

First, the numbers. The two main things that a portable MP3 has that set it apart are its storage capacity and its extra features. Most everything else is negligible. Storage capacity is just that- how much music and sound you can store on the player.  Storage on players is measured in gigabytes. Now, if we assume for simplicity that most MP3 files are about 5mb (megabytes), we can get a picture of how much storage you need. A gigabyte of storage is roughly 200 songs. So, how many songs do you think you’ll put on a portable player? Are you going to listen to the same music over and over? Probably not. If you have 20 albums that you like to hear, and that’s it, a few gigabytes will be just fine. But if you are always on the hunt for new sounds, you’re going to want a lot more storage. Also keep in mind what else will be on the player- if you want to download movies, then those are much larger files. How about keeping photos on your player? Do you subscribe to any podcasts? The best way to figure out how much storage you need in a player is to start downloading and listening to MP3s so you can get a feel for how you’ll use one, and what you need.

Then there are the extra features. MP3 players are almost like digital pocketknives these days, and you should know ahead of time which tools you want if you’re looking to buy. For example, Apple now makes an iPod that is also a cellular phone (the ubiquitous iPhone), as well as an iPod that can surf the web, and send email but isn’t a cellphone (the iPod Touch). Microsoft’s entry into the market is called the Zune. The Zune has a larger screen, with a more detailed user interface, and some interesting features like the ability to share MP3s between Zune users. If you have a song on your Zune, you can “beam” it to another Zune close by so they can play it too. This feature has a major drawback though- beamed Zune songs are only good for three plays over three days. My neighbor has a Zune, and he loves it. Also, some MP3 players are really more like portable televisions that can also play albums. Examples of these are the Archos 5, and the Cowan O2.

Lastly, if you’re a little overwhelmed by all these choices, I would suggest CNET’s MP3 Player Finder. CNET’s site will ask you some questions, and make some suggestions as to what might suit your needs.

There’s more out there than MP3s!

Don’t limit yourself to just MP3 downloads either. There are a ton of ways to listen to music online, and a ton of different startups trying to “solve” online music. Although I own an iPod, and love finding new MP3s, I also regularly listen to custom radio stations on Pandora, search for songs on Songza and Seeqpod, and I’ve heard great things about MOG, Imeem, and Last.FM.  Plus, almost every new college-rock band and aspiring singer has a Myspace page, usually with music to listen to.

On a cautionary note: beware of getting something for nothing. One doesn’t have to look very hard to find illegal MP3s for download. The ethics of copyright law in the digital age entail more discussion than this column has room for, but suffice it to say, the laws regarding copyright are quite real. Do you know anyone whom has had the FBI knock on their door for stealing music? I do. It wasn’t fun for him.

Also, many of the websites that offer these illegal MP3s also offer other things - viruses, spyware, and things your mother wouldn’t approve of on a healthy computer. Be careful, use common sense, and if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Except of course, the goodies at ManageMyPractice.com =).

To Recap:

1. Music is good.
2. Download free MP3 software.
3. Download free or not-free MP3s or load your own CDs onto your computer using the software.
4. Make your own CDs or playlists with your favorite songs. (Great holiday gifts!)
5. To take it with you, purchase a MP3 player after assessing your style and your needs, and load your music onto the player. 1 gig storage = 200 songs.
6. Don’t steal.  Your Mama would know.

Have fun out there!

- ACW

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