Mashable, the pioneering digital and social media news site, has pronounced today Social Media Day. Why? “Social media has changed our lives,” they wrote in 2010, prior to launching the event. “It has not only changed the way we communicate, but the way we connect with one another, consume our news, conduct our work, organize our lives, and much more. So why not celebrate?”
Mashable is encouraging everyone who uses social media to take part in the second annual celebration. Some examples including organizing a Social Media Day get together on Meetup, posting photos from your get together on Facebook and using the hashtag “#smday” on Twitter. We would add updating your PatientsLikeMe profile and reaching out to another patient like you to this list of possible celebratory activities.
That’s because, at PatientsLikeMe, we’ve seen how social media has transformed the lives of patients. Before, there was only the information and advice provided by your doctors. Now, you have access to a wealth of real-world experiences and data from patients around the globe. As a result, you can ask smarter questions, make better decisions and take greater control of your own care.
Social media has also helped to accelerate medical research. A stellar example is ALS Untangled, a research consortium that uses social media (including Twitter, PatientsLikeMe, NING and open-access journal articles) to investigate alternative and off-label ALS treatments. There’s also the unprecedented ability to survey and learn from thousands of patients, as R&D Director Paul Wicks discusses in this recent video.
So if social media can help both patients and researchers, it’s worth celebrating, no? Share your thoughts on how social media has impacted your life in the comments section below. (And, yes, that would count as another social media activity!)
