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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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