Technological teaching : social networking for natural medicine practitioners and a study update

I’ve been working with Saturday features these last few months.  I like the idea of a links post, but they don’t get much traffic and they’re sort of boring to write.  I figure it makes more sense to offer something of real value while enjoying the process myself.  So, on this cloudy Oregon summer morning, I’d like to try something new.  On Saturdays, until I find something that works even better, I’ll offer a technological teaching geared toward the natural medicine crowd.  Remember when I wrote about why every healthcare provider should have a blog and the ensuing discussion about the apparent misgivings most natural medicine practitioners seem to have about technology?  Well, I have a passion for bringing our profession up to speed – we belong on the Internet – people need us!  Every week, I’ll try to think of something new to point out.  It will still be links-based, but the links won’t just be stuff I think is interesting.  Instead, the links will be part of the teaching.

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Before I continue with the technological teaching, I wanted to refer back to another post I made recently about studying Chinese medicine.  As school approaches (my last year!) I find myself being forced to think increasingly of how to get myself back into the mindset for institutional education.  I’ve also continued to notice my knowledge deficiencies while in clinic.  Not to mention, I’m supposed to be working on the thesis required for my Classical Chinese Medicine degree at NCNM.  I find that in the summer, I naturally turn away from intense study and towards other things (like blogging) but now it’s time to turn back.  In the article referenced above, I decided to try a new method of studying that would allow me to cycle through topics each day.  As usual, I bit off a little more than I could chew.  In this case, I simply picked too many topics.  I found that it was too difficult to keep the categories discreet, and often because of the natural flow of my weeks I was “into” particular topics on particular days.

To refine the process, I will suggest the following topics be studied each day – with the complete group to be studied at least every two weeks.  This allows for a more natural decision making process when I sit down to study, yet still ensures that I actually work on each topic.  This last part is important, because I find that sometimes I get a little too obsessed with one topic and my knowledge and skill in the other crucial areas suffers.

Topics:

1. Formulas : names, dosages, signs/symptoms (especially pulses) and all associated information
2. Points : mostly just location and categories for now
3. Diagnostics : working more closely with pulses, tongues and other diagnostic information
4. Pathology : six conformations/shang han, 19 lines/5 evils, Zangfu/TCM and Western when desired
5. Physiology : working with the information I have to keep diving deeper into the physiology of Chinese medicine organ systems and their interrelationships
6. Symbolism : working more explicitly with the information I’ve gleaned from Classical texts and my professors at NCNM

If this succeeds, I’d like to see how it works to share something I’ve learned from each topic each week.  I know that some of you students out there have been missing the more basic posts I used to write, and my explicit study in these various areas might bear some fruit as far as sharable content is concerned.  Stay tuned.

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Now, what about technology? To keep this post as short as possible, I won’t launch into any diatribes.  I hope to just show people how valuable the Internet can be and how crucial it is that we, as healthcare providers, link into this rapidly growing method of connection and communication.  Today, I’d like to talk a little bit about…

**Social networking**

Human beings are social animals.  Some have lamented the invention of the computer, and then the Internet, claiming that it negatively impacts social relationships between people.  Now, of course, I think this is a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg question since for our society to accept such a technology implies that we had already gone far afield.  That is, of course, if this lamentation has any basis.  I’m not ready to deliver a proclamation on that just yet, but I do believe that any such insinuation is probably overstated.  Anyway, the thing has doubtless been improved by the invention of blogging and, most recently, the flourishing of social networking tools.

Both blogging and social networking tools share something in common – they encourage conversation among people. You are all mostly familiar with blogging, I assume.  You may be less familiar with the various social networking tools.  There are quite a few types, and those who are more detail oriented than myself could probably explain them in encyclopedic fashion.  But, to keep it real, I offer these simple categories and definitions:

1. Social networking sites that are more about keeping people updated and sharing more static information:  These sites are usually larger and more feature-rich.  They invite people to develop a very full profile, often include advertising and other monetization, and frequently connect with other types of content (like static websites containing large amounts of information).  Most of these do include aspects of the second type, but most people don’t use them that way.  I’m thinking here of sites like Facebook, Linkedin, Myspace, Gaia.com and Rootdown.us (links to these sites that allow you to add me easily as a friend are below).

These sites require some set up to be most functional.  You go in, set up a profile and add a picture, add groups and interests, find your friends and colleagues and gradually over time will build a group of people (a network) that is easy to connect with.  In my experience, the social aspects of these sites are relatively deemphasized.  What I mean is that there’s not much conversation going on and often, particularly among the over-25 set, updates are infrequent.  They are still very valuable, however.  I have found lots of long-lost friends using these tools, plus the integration of microblogging tools (see below) allow for more conversational interaction.  The more robust nature of these tools allows for a wider range of functionality as well.  For instance, on Gaia.com – a social networking site for “conscious living” – you can write blog entries, list your favorite books, search for information on a variety of alternative lifestyle topics and be informed of upcoming events you may be interested in.

2.  Social networking sites that are more about conversing and sharing developing information : These tools are often grouped under the word “microblogging.”  Microblogging is a way of sharing short bits of information (under 150 characters) frequently.  Using these sites, you set up a small profile and add friends.  You can easily update the services (eventually even using your mobile phone) and read others’ updates and in doing so, you have a good sense for what your contacts are doing in any given day.  Lots of news bytes are shared using this service – it can be interesting to watch the unfolding of a given story as percieved by people all over the world in all different socio-political circumstances.  It’s also an easy way to share links to your latest blog content or ask people for support for charity causes or for promoting your content on sites like Digg and Stumbleupon (which are also, technically, social media sites – but are very different so I won’t cover them here).  Twitter and Plurk are the two most popular microblogging services.  See links below.

Why should you get involved?

These sites are a great way to start establishing yourself as a presence on the Internet.  The conversations you have with others will gradually introduce you into the online flow – which can be very helpful if you ever plan to promote yourself or your clinic online.  It’s also a fantastic way to meet people from all over the world and to begin to see things through eyes other than your own.  I also find it a very helpful way to keep up with friends, family and colleagues that I otherwise would need to have an hour-long “catching up” conversation with each time I met up with them.  Some may say that this is degrading normal human interaction, but I’ve found it only to enrich the relationships I have with people “in real life.”

Join me in the social media revolution – add me as a friend!

Here are my links for the various social media sites.  You can click here to add me to your profile and we will be able to see one another’s updates.  If you have any questions or anything to share about social media, go ahead and leave a comment at the end of this post and I’ll answer any and all questions as well as participating in any ensuing conversation.  I look forward to seeing you all there.  :)  Note: Some of these links are not going to lead you to my profile, but to the page where you can sign up for an account.  Once you do that, you can add me – sometimes using the links below or just by searching for me by my username or password.

• Facebook (I think I’m found as Eric Grey in this service)
• Myspace (I should note that I don’t use this service as much as the others, I’m pylonian here)
• Gaia.com (I’m pylonian on this service)
  
• Rootdown.us (I’m deepesthealth on this service)
• Linkedin (I believe I’m just Eric Grey on this service)
  
• Twitter (I’m pylonian here)
• Plurk (I’m deepesthealth here)

It’s worth noting that there are a variety of social networking sites that are specifically aimed at particular groups of people or particular kinds of content.  For instance, there is a social networking site for Muslims, as well as one just for sharing information about Travel.  There are also photosharing social networks like Flickr.  Rootdown.us (listed above) is one such type of site – geared particularly towards people interested in Chinese medicine.  I should note that Rootdown isn’t a social networking site as such, but incorporates some of those elements – a practice becoming increasingly common on the Internet.

If you’re interested, here’s a Wikipedia list of most of the popular social networking websites.

Thanks for reading,

Eric

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