Social Media for Urology: Best Practices Matt 13 April 2014

Getting started Follow meetings, even if you’re not there Follow journals, friends, thought leaders, & #urojc Use lists Tweet breaking news from meetings, and use the hashtags Use “reply” and “retweet” Twitter is integrated into phone software and many web pages

AUA SoMe Best Practices Be Professional. If you identify your affiliation with the AUA, your social media activities should be consistent with the AUA's professional Code of Ethics.Code of Ethics. Be professional even if you don’t identify with AUA/EAU/other organizations

AUA SoMe Best Practices Protect Confidentiality. Never post or disclose information that identifies a patient (implied, name on scans, faceless picture, etc.), reveals patient-protected health information or reveals other personal health information of patients, whatever the format may be. Even “vague” details may be identifiable

AUA SoMe Best Practices Allow for Interaction. Always act in a professional and constructive manner. Spirited and passionate discussions and debates are acceptable, but be respectful of others and their opinions. Emotion / tone can be hard to perceive online

AUA SoMe Best Practices Be Courteous Refrain from using threatening or discriminatory remarks, personal insults or obscenities. Again, it’s easy to be misinterpreted online

AUA SoMe Best Practices Exercise Discretion. Be mindful of copyright and plagiarism laws when publishing someone else's work. When in doubt, quote or “HT”

AUA SoMe Best Practices Support our Identity. The AUA is best represented by its members and what you publish or share may reflect on the AUA. Same applies for EAU, local departments, etc.—even if your profile includes a disclaimer

AUA SoMe Best Practices Be Thoughtful. Remember, what you publish will be public for a long time. A tweet can be deleted, but if it’s retweeted / quoted quickly, then it’s “out there”!

Personal thoughts Get started! Separate your personal life (Facebook) from professional activities (Twitter) Don’t bother with LinkedIn, Google+, etc. Never, ever post PHI (or even vague details) Follow-back as much as you want Tweet links and photos, not just text — your tweet is a 120-character editorial

Twitter really is global

Personal thoughts Get involved—Twitter can be another “front” for contentious issues The “mainstream” media are watching – This is especially true for ongoing controversies like PSA screening. SoMe buzz around articles predicts ultimate citation count / impact Be pithy – good practice for word counts! Use humor, but don’t try too hard.

SoMe for self-promotion Great way to direct traffic to a blog, website, etc. You can tweet / post about major articles and news from your research or clinical practice But don’t abuse this practice Don’t use Twitter for flagrant advertising, especially by making outlandish claims about your outcomes.

Final thoughts SoMe is here to stay (at least for now) SoMe allows for another avenue for influence (often beyond one’s traditional rank) Twitter is a great forum for academic exchange, discussion, and debate Plus, it’s “social” – have fun! Follow