Commentary

Paging Dr. Facebook

by Katy Thorbahn , May 13, 2011

I recently returned from a wonderful vacation in Paris. Ah, Paris ... just thinking about roaming the city streets, soaking in the atmosphere makes me smile. While I was on vacation, I was really on vacation. I barely checked email and we didn't buy a newspaper or turn on the TV once. Since I limited my iPhone use because of the exorbitant overseas rates, I was in a fairly blissful cocoon for the majority of the eight days.

I will admit that when I used my phone to find out what was going on in the world, I used it primarily to check one site: Facebook. Good thing, too, because it was via Facebook that I learned about two major events: the tornadoes that devastated the South and the killing of bin Laden. And, in looking at the time of the posts and the time of the news events, it appears I actually learned about those pretty much in real time simply by the luck of having checked my news feed while sipping a café crème.

What does it say that I learned about major news events through a site that was originally designed to enable people to stay in touch for social reasons? For one, it means I clearly have an incredibly smart and worldly group of individuals who care deeply about the world. (If only ... I don't think I can make that claim based on the number of status updates I read -- and enjoy -- that are more like this one: "Men -- let me be clear -- short sleeve button-down with tie -- NO! not even in the summer. Thank you.") What I really think is that it is simply another demonstration of how even the social channels most intended for pithiness and entertainment run the gamut from the ridiculous to the utterly important.

It also reminded me of what a powerful tool social communities can be in helping people understand and manage health and wellness issues. I have a relative who was faced with a devastating diagnosis eight years ago and the support he received through CaringBridge played an enormous role in helping him get well (and stay well!) not to mention the emotional support it lent to his wife and son.

When I had another family member diagnosed with a condition of which I was not familiar, one of the first things I did was go to Facebook and ask if anyone had any experience with it. Within minutes I had been contacted by two people within my community, both of whom offered helpful information and links to great sites it would have taken me much longer to find on my own. We are going through a spate of pregnancies in my office right now, and I'm amazed to see the conversations and content that circulates based on status updates and comments.

What will it mean for our ability as marketers to reach and motivate people if, increasingly, they get their information and insights from their friends and not by trolling the web on their own? Clearly, the challenge continues to be to figure out how to tap into that collective desire, interest and inherent trust that comes in the social space in a way that is respectful, on target and adds to the conversation versus intruding on it.

That is not an easy task and is one that will require clients and agencies to deeply understand the motivations and needs of their audience and deliver absolute value in tiny, snackable bits. As an industry, we haven't quite figured that out yet, and there is much to do to get us to be a well-integrated part of the relevant conversations for which people are searching. Anyone up for discussing how to best do this, say at a café overlooking the Seine?

facebook, health, social media

6 comments about "Paging Dr. Facebook".

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Joe Gruchacz from Goodby Silverstein & Partners, May 13, 2011 at 10:02 a.m.
I think the social space presents a learning curve that many pharma marketers have yet to take the time or summon the courage to begin climbing. The regulations in this space provide a set of challenges unlike any other and I think it will take one or more brands taking steps to work hand in hand with regulatory bodies to develop a smart and effective set of best practices for providing consumers information in and around the conversations they are already having. There must also be willingness to make the investment to push this along for not only the progress of a specific brand or company, but for the health and pharma verticals as a whole.
Reply

Katy Thorbahn from Razorfish Health, May 13, 2011 at 10:07 a.m.

Agreed, Joe!

Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, May 13, 2011 at 10:37 a.m.

A cafe overlooking the Siene ? Sign me up ! Last year I was in Paris twice, one time for 12 days and the other 9 days by myself. No computer, no phone at all. Didn't need it. There was a TV in the room for overly repititious foreign CNN - the Times Square bomber was the news. If there were an emergency which involved my attention, someone knew where to find me. Caught up on details a few days later at home.

As for FB, lovely you are putting all of your and your family medical situations on there for the world to see, your data to be mined and place yourselves in positions where your insurance rates will not just soar, but you could find yourselves out of the market. You could also find yourselves out of a future job and you will never know why that your hopeful future employers have seen they cannot afford your insurance coverage or add potential problems of absence or whatever else they perceive.

Katy Thorbahn from Razorfish Health, May 17, 2011 at 1:33 p.m.

Hi, Paula. Yes, a cafe over the Seine is a pretty compelling thought, isn't it? As is your point about putting all of your medical history out for the world to see. Some people do of course feel very comfortable doing that as we can see by spending any time in the social space. Other folks (like me) not so much. But despite not wanting to broadcast to the world all of the nuances of my or my family's health I do find that community-based information has been both trustworthy and helpful. I suspect it's the old value question...what am I willing to give up in return of having some data that I need? A compelling question that perhaps deserves another cup of cafe creme to mull over...

Maggie Hall from Legacy Health, May 20, 2011 at 5:41 p.m.

Katy, thank you for the interesting article. I do want to point out that people have been turning to family and friends way before technology was invented to consult on medical issues. That is not new. What is new is the medium only. Social communities are merely the vehicles in which the conversation between family and friends takes place. Instead of talking face-to-face or over the phone we use our social networks. Please don't make more of it than it deserves.

Katy Thorbahn from Razorfish Health, May 24, 2011 at 5:49 p.m.

Hi, Maggie. I could not agree with you more about the fact that people have been relying on information from their friends and families for generations. What digital has done in my opinion is make it simply much faster and easier to tap into those people that you trust. It's also interesting to think of how it creates communities that are much broader than back in the day before we had our digital networks. For example, one of the people who gave me great information on my family member's medical condition was a woman I went to high school with and whom I only engage via Facebook. I would certainly have never thought to call or email her (or heavens forbid, write her a letter) to see if she had any insight for me. So in that case at least my digital social network trumped anything I could have gotten through talking to my more immediate circle of friends.