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Forget about Facebook. The hottest social media platform on the Internet these days is Twitter the real time, 140 character microblogging service. While most people have heard of Twitter, there are still many folks out there who don't know what it is or how to use it. Interestingly, a growing number of hiring managers and job seekers are turning to Twitter to search for fresh talent or learn about new job opportunities.

Using Twitter is very easy but potential users may be reluctant to use it simply because it is new and requires a little bit of practice.  To that end, my good friend the Recruiting Animal (@animal), a long time, professional recruiter and BlogTalk Radio personality who hosts the wildly popular the Recruiting Animal Show, did an excellent  television interview with ABC News describing how to use Twitter to find jobs.

For those of you who don't know Animal he is a very colorful and bombastic personality. However, despite his theatrics, he is a very knowledgeable and insightful. So, listen closely to what he has to say in his video.

Until next time

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (and Tweeting too)!!!!!!

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For the past few years, I have been warning jobseekers to be careful about what they post to Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. This is because many professional recruiters and employers routinely scour social media sites and conduct Google searches on job applicants and to vet prospective new hires. There is nothing more likely to kill a job offer than a photo of a drunken job candidate holding a bottle of Jagermeister or one that depicts a candidate in lingerie or a compromising sexual position. Unfortunately, information posted to the Web has a tendency to exist into perpetuity whether you want it to or not! In other words, once it is published it may not be possible to remove or retrieve the offending material.

While the inability to erase one’s digital past was once mainly a problem of younger and college age persons, the growing use of social media by older individuals has catapulted the problem into the mainstream. Many older adults and celebrities involved in divorces, lawsuits and sensitive business transactions are increasingly finding it difficult to escape their digital past unscathed.

It is possible for those who are haunted by unflattering tags in Facebook photos or ill-advised tweets to “clean up” their reputations themselves. However, this can be an extremely labor intensive and anxiety ridden undertaking, which in many cases —due to the sheer volume of Facebook updates, tweets, Flickr photos and blog posts—might not be successful. This has resulted in the creation of a new type of Web specialists known as reputation managers who work at companies like Reputation.com and Metal Rabbit Media. These companies offer their clients’ services designed to expunge negative blog posts, tweets and photos, bury unfavorable Google search results and monitor clients’ “virtual image.”

Unlike individual users who manually try to remove incriminating information by themselves, reputation management companies actually write code or develop algorithms to expunge or reduce the impact of potentially damaging material. Not surprisingly, these services are not free and they typically cost $120 to $600 per year for the “average person.” Celebrities, politicians and corporate executives are usually charged $5,000 to $10,000 per month (fame is expensive so be careful what you wish for).

Obviously, unfortunate digital fiascos can easily be averted if you stop and think about the content before you post it. This bit of advice is extremely important for those who are actively involved in a job search. To that end, I highly recommend that active jobseekers routinely Google themselves to get a “digital snapshot “of the information about them on the Web. However, if you determine that “genie is already out of the bottle” (and you can’t force it back in by yourself) then it may be time to call in the professionals!

For more information on digital reputation management please read the post “Erasing the Digital Past.”

Until next time..

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (be careful out there)

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ComScore, a company that tracks Internet traffic recently determined that the number of visitors to Web-based e-mail sites, like Gmail, Yahoo mail and others, declined roughly 5.9 per cent from November 2009 to November 2010. In November, 2009 160 million users used web-based e-mail platforms whereas only 153 million used those services. 

According to comScore, the decline represents the growing use of mobile e-mail devices like Blackberry and the iPhone which don’t require their users to log on to the Web to view messages. However, while the number of people who use mobile devices to check e-mail daily rose to 40 per cent, it isn’t clear whether or not the conclusions drawn by comScore are accurate. For example, I use Yahoo mail daily to check e-mail messages on my iPhone. Moreover, although Web-based e-mail use by persons aged 12 to 17 years dropped 24 percent over the past year, the number of users aged 55 years and older continues to rise. Finally, while my children aged 17, 15 and 12 prefer text and chat to e-mail they all still use web-based e-mail for formal communications with their teachers and older persons. I suspect that this is not very surprising to many BioJobBlog readers because the number of baby boomers (old fogies who are comfortable with e-mail) will continue to overshadow the number of Gen X and Gen Y persons for many years to come. Put simply, we boomers are still in control and will not relinquish it until we all die! And, once, we are gone, things are likely to change.

The point that I am trying to make is that while texting, Twitter and Facebook may be appropriate for informal communication among tweens, teenagers and young adults, e-mail is, and will continue to be, the major means of communication for business purposes. This is mainly because e-mail is much easier to monitor, capture, manage and oversee than texting, Twitter or Facebook. And, perhaps more importantly, unlike the previously mentioned “new” forms of communication, archived e-mail messages are now routinely used in American courts to adjudicate legal disputes that arise between individuals and companies. In other words, e-mail messages are now recognized as being part of the “official record” for legal and business purposes.

Coincidentally, on a college visit last week to a small liberal arts college, our undergraduate guide—a 20-something undergraduate communications and marketing major—quietly shared with me that she doesn’t get the whole Twitter, Facebook and texting “thing.” She said she regularly communicates with college administrators, her professors and most of her classmates via e-mail; mainly because the other forms of communication require immediate attention. And, if you are busy or have work to do or don’t want to talk to someone that can be troublesome. As far as she was concerned, e-mail was the best way to communicate. I am not sure whether or not she said what she did about e-mail for my sake, because during our conversation, she paused for a moment to read a text message from her friend admonishing her that she was late for a lunch date.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting.

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Ashley over at pharmacytechniciancertification.net sent me a list of the so-called top 50 twitter feeds for pharmaceutical industry news.

While the list is a solid one, @BioJobBlog @eyeonfda and @pharmalot—three outstanding feeds-- were noticeably absent from it. Further, most of the feeds that made the list are managed by marketing and advertising professionals who either run consulting businesses or work for life sciences companies or healthcare agencies—not that there is anything wrong with that!

Nevertheless, the list is comprehensive, informative and covers everything you need to know to feed your pharma industry news habit.

Best Professional Twitter Feeds for Pharma News

These Twitter feeds are from those who make pharma their business.

1. Medicine Community : Also known as Drug Info, this group is based in Westlake Village, California. They are part of The People’s Medicine Community. Visit to share your drug related questions and stories anonymously in the free community. Links to answers are also featured.

2. FDA Drug Info : Get the latest headlines on pharmaceuticals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration here. Although the FDA has several Twitter accounts, this one is specifically for pharma. Information, recalls, and more are featured.

3. Pharma TV : PharmaTelevision is the online TV channel for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. It offers insights and features interviews with industry leaders. Latest tweets are often headlines of interest.

4. Pharma Twits : Twitter and pharma combine seamlessly here. Thoughts on the industry and more are given from an anonymous user. Items of interest are often featured.

5. Café Pharma : Based in Atlanta, this Twitter user takes a more informal approach. Headlines of interest, as well as links, are most commonly shared.

6. Pharma Deals : See the deals going on behind the scenes by stopping here. It is one of the world’s most comprehensive pharmaceutical and biotechnology deals databases. Acquisitions, mergers, and the like are tweeted on.

7. eDrugSearch : This Twitter feed is from a site of the same name aiming to run a comparison shopping network for prescription drug buyers. They also offer a social network. Visit regularly for drug news and money-saving tips.

8. Fierce Pharma : Based in Washington, D.C., there are over 50,000 subscribers to this site’s newsletter. Get the latest in rulings, recalls, and much more here. Tweets come several times a day.

Best Individual Twitter Feeds for Pharma News

The below guys and gals also have something to say about the pharmaceutical business.

9. Jon M. Rich : Stop here for the Twitter feed of a former pharma guy. Jonathan now preaches the digital world to every pharma and healthcare company that will listen. You can listen by giving him a follow.

10. Pharma Guy : John Mack is the author of a popular blog on pharma marketing. He is also a pundit, credit, and publisher of pharma news. John recently got an iPad and tells all about it.

11. Steve Woodruff : His focus is pharma along with marketing, eHealth, training, and more. He also tweets about things of interest in the New Jersey area.

12. Shwen Gwee : He is the founder of sites such as Social Health and Social Pharmer. He often tweets his own opinions on pharma. Shwen also replies to follower’s tweets.

13. Pharma Expert : Click here for the Twitter feed of someone who thinks “medicine is cool.” She is a drug expert- working in the pharmaceutical industry. Tweets are often links to items of interest.

14. Sarah Morgan : Visit for the Twitter account of an official PR director for a pharma company. Sarah is also a social media “opinionista, writer, and questioner.” She often takes the time to answer questions.

15. Nat Bourne : From Toronto, Nat is in the medical, pharma, and marketing business. She is also a work at home mom with a toddler and newborn. Tweets are both on professional and personal life.

16. Why Dot Pharma : Silja is from Switzerland. She believes pharma can create better patient-focus through social media. Tweets are occasionally in English and link to items she enjoys.

17. Wendy Blackburn : She is a blogger and digital marketer who is focused on pharma. Wendy is also the EVP for IntouchSol digital marketing agency. Visit to get retweets and links.

Best Science Twitter Feeds for Pharma News

The below Twitter accounts focus on the scientific side of pharma.

18. Pharma Biotech : Get all things in biology technology with a visit. Pharma is often the focus of tweets. Several posts a day include the latest headlines.

19. Richard G. Lanzara : He is a entrepreneurial scientist and pharmacologist. Interests include how our senses and receptors work, as well as what follows. Tweets center around science and the occasional retweet.

20. Eye for Pharma : The site exists to assist the pharma industry in creating real patient value, care, and service. It is an excellent choice for those employed inside the pharma industry. Tweets are often replies to followers.

21. Pharma Info : Stop here for pharma information, comments, and trends. Science often includes reading recommendations on both pharma and health.

22. Pharma Fraud News : Want to see the ugly side of pharma? Then stop here for the Twitter feed for whistleblowers. It focuses on a million dollar reward program for those willing to report fraud.

23. Fierce Biotech : Click for one of the largest and most active biotech news readership in the world. Written by Maureen Martino, the site contains the daily monitor of the biotech industry. Tweets often link to related items.

24.Center Watch : Visit to get a global source of news, directories, proprietary market research, and analysis for clinical trials professionals and patients. Pharma patients will especially enjoy this feed for letting them be part of the scientific solution.

Best Company Twitter Feeds for Pharma News

Get pharma news straight from the companies that produce the with these Twitter feeds.

25. Pfizer News : This is the news feed for one of the most well known pharma companies in the nation. They apply science and global resources to improve health and well-being at every stage of life. Jen Kokell, GMR, of the company is your host.

26. Novartis : They provide healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies worldwide. Tweets often focus on the latest pharma news. Links to full stories are also included.

27. Boehringer : This company is based in Ingelheim, Germany. You can get international tweets here, or you can also follow just the ones for the U.S. by clicking @boehringer US.

28. Access Pharma : Stop here for the Twitter feed of an emerging pharmaceuticals company. Their focus is on oncology and diabetes. Announcements are often featured on Twitter.

29. Astra Zeneca US : Get news for this pharma company’s business in the United States here. The biopharmaceutical company produces drugs such as Nexium and others. They generally link to items of interest.

30. Pharma Ventures : This company is a global corporate finance and transactions advisory firm. They specialize in deal making within the life science and healthcare sectors. Get the latest in deal news with a follow.

31. Amgen : This is a leading human therapeutics company in the biotechnology industry. For more than 25 years, Amgen has tapped the power of scientific discovery and innovation to advance the practice of medicine. Announcements, links, and more are tweeted.

32. Pfizer : Unlike the above, this Twitter feed sticks mostly to tweets for employees. However, it is still a useful follow for those who want a behind the scenes look at pharma.

33. Bayer Health Care : This company is probably best known for its various types of aspirin. The company also combines the global activities of the divisions: animal health, Bayer Schering pharma, consumer care, and medical care. Updates and the occasional non-English tweet are featured.

34. Novartis Trials : Find out more about the pharma trials this company has available. Must follow to get unprotected tweets.

35. Vertex Pharma : Stop here for the official Twitter channel for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. Tweets are sparse, but the main site has loads more.

36. McNeil Recall : This pharma company focuses exclusively on product recalls. Lori Dilginoff, the PR rep and others, maintain this account.

Best Health Twitter Feeds for Pharma News

The below Twitter feeds focus on both health and pharma.

37. Phil Baumann : He is the founder of RN Chat. Also a blog author, he focuses on healthcare, technology, pharma, and hilarity. Retweets and answers are often featured.

38. Simple Heal : Stop here for the Twitter feed of an anonymous doctor. He believes clinical outcomes dictate the adoption of new medicine, the knowledge that could be critical to patient, doctor, researcher, investor, and regulator alike. Tweets often link to items of interest.

39. Sky Pen : This Twitter user is also known as Fabio Gratton. From California, he is the co-founder and CIO of Ignite Health. The company is passionate about health, digital, and social media. He often links to things that interest him.

40. Matthew Herper : Get the Twitter feed for this “Forbes” reporter with a click. He focuses on covering both science and medicine. Gene therapy, pharma, latest innovations, and more are discussed.

41. Safety Nurse : Barbara Olson is a nurse with an engineer’s mind. She tweets on sensitive items that strike her fancy. Recent tweets were on boxed warnings.

42. Drug Savings : Learn the science behind saving at pharma with a visit here. It is part of Canadian Online Pharmacies. You can also save up to 80% on your purchases.

43. L2 : This is the Twitter feed of a marketing think tank based in New York. Founded by Scott Galloway, they bring together academics and pharma industry leaders to create innovative formulas for marketing success. Links are often featured.

Other Best Twitter Feeds for Pharma News

These users don’t tweet exclusively about pharma but are still worth a look.

44. Alex DC : Also known as Alex de Carvalho, he is a social media strategist. However, he has worked in the pharma business and even presented at the EyeforPharma eMarketing Summit. He is also a teacher.

45. Laurie DesAutels : She is a headhunting professional based in Houston, TX. Laurie also decided to start her own company to follow her passion for sourcing and recruiting. See what she has to say about that and more by following her.

46. Martino Chiaviello : He is the Group Art Supervisor at Vertiyo Health in New York. Martino also is a web designer, entrepreneur, video game addict, and more. Lists include social media, design, and pharma.

47. CLIO Awards : The CLIO Awards is one of the world’s most recognized global awards competition for advertising, design, and interactive. It is also awarded to pharma companies, and you can see which by having a look.

48. Sally Church : Also known as Maverick NY, she is part of Icarus Consultants. They specialize in pharma, biotech, and other related areas. Visit to get retweets, opinions, and more.

49. Roche : This company is based in Switzerland. Their focus is to answer to medical challenges by combining strengths in pharma and diagnostics to work towards making personalized healthcare a reality.

50. Khunadd : Also known as Wannee W, this Twitter user focuses on health food, food chemistry, herbal medicine, and pharma. With thousands of followers and interesting headlines, it is worth a visit.

Please be sure to consult a physician before following any of the advice read on the above 50 best Twitter feeds for pharma news. Only he or she has examined you, knows your history, and the interactions any new drugs can have with existing ones.

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Tweeting!!!!!!!!

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Mark Senak, author of the EyeonFDA blog and “all around good guy,” has created a Twitter list that follows the tweets of all of the pharmaceutical companies that use Twitter. Because the list of companies that are currently using Twitter is so small, it is a convenient aggregation tool to monitor the musings and tweets of companies that participate! 

 Hat tip and shout out to Mark!

Until next time....

Good Luck and Happy Holidays!!!!

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The whole world is atwitter about Twitter (pun intended). One of the reasons why social media tools like Twitter are so effective is that information can reach very large audiences almost instantaneously.

While there are constitutional guarantees of free speech in the US and elsewhere, there are certain things that are safe to tweet and others that are not. This is especially true if you are corporate employee or a jobseeker looking for a new opportunity. While this ought to be intuitively obvious to most, younger and less well-experienced individuals may not know the “unwritten rules” pertaining to office workplaces and job searching.  To that end, there is a wonderful post on the Resume Bear website(@ResumeBear) that lists 20 things that jobseekers and employees should never say on Twitter.  Although some of the examples and recommendations are comical and funny, getting fired or not getting a job because of something you might have said on Twitter isn’t. 

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!

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Berci Meskó author of the Science Roll blog recently compiled a list of sites that keep track of the scientists who use Twitter. He recommends: Science Pond (real time), Sciencebase (compilation) and for those of you with a medical bent the Medical Student Blog (compilation). And, for a list of medical journals that are tweeting check out this site. While the lists aren’t comprehensive you might be able to find friends, colleagues and journal editors who use Twitter.

Hat tip to Berci!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Tweeting

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Twitter, which is currently de rigueur in social media circles, is emerging as one of the most powerful branding and marketing social media tool that has been developed to date.   While other industries are already exploiting Twitter’s powerful marketing reach (to hawk their wares), drug makers have been reluctant to adopt Twitter and most other forms of social media. Industry analysts and company insiders contend that pharma’s reluctance to adopt social media can be attributed to the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) lack of guidance on its use for promotional purposes. At present, it is anybody’s guess when this guidance may be issued, if ever.

Nevertheless, as always, there are a few daring companies willing to “boldly go where no pharma company has gone before”—in this case—Twitter! These companies include Boehringer Ingelheim (BI), Astra Zeneca, Novartis and Pfizer. According to a post on the Advance Market WoRx blog, BI is leading the way among pharma company Twitterers, with 679 following, 745 followers and 47 tweets. AstraZenecaUS has 136 following, 440 followers and 22 tweets. Pfizer has 351 following, 462 followers and 48 tweets.  Novartis has 0 following, 681 followers and 40 tweets (I guess Novartis has a thing” against following people).

Unlike its fellow pharma Twitters, BI—which began using Twitter in November 2008—actually uses it as an interactive and conversational microblogging platform (as it was intended). The other pharma company Twitters use it almost exclusively “as a one-way PR feed” says Ellen Hoenig Carlson at Advance Market WoRx. According to a post on the Pharmafocus website, "Boehringer has incorporated Twitter into its wider communications strategy and is using the site regularly to engage its stakeholders. In addition to posting press releases, BI uses Twitter to recommend web-based information about therapeutic areas and articles that its followers might find interesting or useful. To keep its finger on the pulse of the Twitterverse, BI uses media scanning programs to help monitor online conversations and responds quickly to join in or start up Twitter conversations.”

Kudos to Boehringer for recognizing Twitter’s potential to communicate with patients, physicians and other interested parties. I hope that more pharmaceutical companies begin to use Twitter and other forms of social media to engage and improve communications with their stakeholders.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Twittering (or should it be Tweeting?) 

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I finally started using Twitter a couple of months ago and I think it is pretty cool. That said, I am still a neophyte and I have yet to master the intricacies and nuances of Twitter speak (why are tweets not called twits?—it was a rhetorical question).

I found an informative post entitled 'My Twittonary-Every Twitter Term and Tool I Can Find' on the Sitemasher blog that helps to clarify the Twitter lexicon and provides insights in the latest twittering tools.

BTW, you can follow me on Twitter at BioJobBlog and BioCrowd.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Twittering (or should that be tweeting?????)

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 Because I am trying to become a social network maven (and I wanted to be cool), joining Twitter was a no- brainer.  I have used Twitter for over two months now and I still haven’t figured out why people use it. I frequently post Twits or Tweets (whatever they are called) and I rarely get any responses, even when I direct the questions to some of my followers. Would somebody out there be so kind as to tell me what I am doing wrong or how to use Twitter correctly?

BTW, my new Twitter nick is: BioJobBlog—please follow me and make a social networking neophyte very happy!

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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