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It’s no secret that pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are “not in love” with social media. However, whether life sciences company like it or not, social media is beginning to affect human clinical testing with an increasing number of patients demanding access to unapproved experimental drugs to treat life-threatening illnesses. 

In a recent article that appeared in the January 15, 2010 issue of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News entitled “Expanded Access to Investigational New Drugs”, Natalie Douglas, CEO of UK-based Idis Pharma wrote:

"...the trend toward greater transparency of drug development pipelines and the accessibility of powerful social media tools, have led us to a more informed empowered and vocal population of patients. This, in turn, has led to increased demands for access to unapproved drugs that are in various stages of human clinical testing. “Patients can easily access information about investigational drugs via the Internet and are leveraging social media tools such as YouTube, Twitter and blog to influence companies to garner access to them” Douglas added.

This can place enormous pressure on the companies that are testing investigational new drugs because the safety and efficacy of the drug candidates has yet to be determined. Understandably, companies are loath to provide patients who don’t meet clinical trial inclusion requirements access to experimental drugs with unknown safety and efficacy characteristics. Nonetheless, if requests for access to investigational drugs are denied, social media tools can easily be used to quickly and widely publicize the denial. According to Douglas, aggressive use of social media tools by patients seeking access to investigational drugs has helped their stories make national news. This can create gargantuan regulatory and public relations problems for companies with drugs in clinical development and put them at the center of an ethical and moral firestorm—despite their best intentions to develop new drugs that eventually may help millions of patients suffering from various diseases and conditions.

Many patient advocacy groups, consumers and shareholders understand the almost limitless reach of social media and its ability to influence public opinion, discussions and trends. Whether or not drug makers are willing to use social media, many have yet to understand that they are already part of the social media conversation that is taking place daily. And, as all social media enthusiasts have realized, if you are not part of the conversation then you don’t know what is being said about you on the Internet. More importantly perhaps, is that by choosing not to participate in the conversation, companies have lost all ability to influence and manage what is being said. In other words, life sciences companies that steadfastly choose not to use social media may, paradoxically, be setting themselves up for public relations and regulatory headaches that could have easily been avoided.

While the social media frenzy may be beginning to wane, there is no question that it has changed the way people interact and influenced the way business is transacted online and in real life. Companies that insist on clinging to past business practices that are exclusive, non-interactive and designed to promote opacity are likely to lose customers and market share as 21^st century technology continues to unfold.

Hat tip to Natalie!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Tweeting!

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Despite rumors of impending demise and premature death, the issues surrounding the use of social media in the life sciences industry are still alive and relevant. To that end, the Business Development Institute is sponsoring a “Healthcare Social Communications Leadership Forum Breakfasts on February 4, 2010 at New York University in Manhattan. The conference is limited to 75 attendees. While there are seats still available they are rapidly disappearing. 

Some of the topics to be discussed include:

• How to connect with consumers who are already using the internet for healthcare information?
• What are the case studies of leading brands that use internet based social strategies to achieve communications objectives?
• What are examples of social communities that demonstrate how leading healthcare brands interact, educate and provide value to consumers online?
• How to deal with regulatory and legal issues when planning and implementing social and internet based strategies
• Why real-time social media tools, such as Twitter, are gaining momentum and what's the business case to use them
• How to sell projects and prove ROI to senior management
• What are the tools, technologies, and best practices for monitoring and measuring internet based programs?

Scheduled presenters and panelists are:

1. Michael Fleming, Senior Director, Social Media, GlaxoSmithKline
2. Robert Halper, Director of Video Communication, Johnson & Johnson
3. Lance Hill, CEO, Within3
4. Ray Kerins, Vice President / Worldwide Communications, Pfizer Inc.
5. Marc Monseau, Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media, Johnson & Johnson
6. Rodney Spady, Head of Global Interactive Marketing and Web Officer, OTC Global Marketing, Novartis Consumer Health, Inc.

For more information, including registration, please click here to visit the event website. Use promo code BIOC before February 3rd for a discounted rate of $175.

See you at the meeting!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Social Networking!!!!!!

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As Jonathan Richman, author of the Dose of Digital blog focused on pharmaceutical marketing aptly put it, its time to “stop talking about social media.” “To recap, in 2009 we demanded the FDA call a hearing to discuss social media…and they did! We wrote and read hundreds, if not thousands, of articles on social media. We transformed (read: hijacked) every digital marketing conference into a social media conference. We launched a ton of social media programs even if they represent a conservative start.”

While I am still an ardent social media enthusiast and supporter, I agree with Jonathan that it may be time to sit back, relax and reflect a little bit until FDA enlightens us with their first round of guidance on social media and the life sciences industry. Having said that, I am certain that the agency’s first iteration will provide us bloggers with sufficient fodder to write about and ignite round 2 of the discussion. In the meantime, @Skypen of Ignite Health graciously created a website called Everything About the FDA, Internet & Social Media that provides updates, commentary and even tweets (#FDASM) about FDA progress or lack thereof.

I think that social media has a role to play in the life sciences industry. However, the role has yet to be defined mostly because of the lack of regulatory guidance in the area.

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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Jonathan Richman, author of the Dose of Digital Blog, got it exactly right in today’s post  entitled “Patients WILL Have the Final Say on Pharma Social Media” He was spot on with his conclusion that while social media pundits and patient advocacy groups can push FDA to attempt to provide guidance on the use of social media, in the end, it will be patients (customers) not regulators who determine whether or not pharma will incorporate social media into future business models. Recently, it has been pointed out (on Twitter of course) that patient advocacy groups were under represented at the recent public FDA hearings on social media. While this is true, it likely will have little bearing on the regulatory guidance ultimately issued by the agency. This is because public input is generally not used to fundamentally shape regulatory guidance or policies but to fine tune them! The agency generally has a regulatory framework in mind before it conducts public hearing to collect stakeholder input and comments.

As I mentioned in previous posts, FDA intentionally crafts regulations and guidelines that are subject to interpretation because they are meant to serve as the minimum regulatory requirements and standards that must be met to insure drug and device safety and efficacy. While this is not ideal for many corporate regulatory affairs professionals, it is necessary because the agency simply cannot provide specific or custom-designed guidance to the plethora of drug and device manufactures that it oversees.  In other words, the regulations that FDA crafts are meant to serve as general regulatory frameworks not clearly defined, company-specific rules and regulations. Companies that struggle with interpretation of FDA regulations are encouraged to meet with FDA regulators for guidance and clarification. More importantly, while FDA is charged with insuring the safety and efficacy of drugs and devices, the agency has very little control over how companies choose to interact with patients, customers and stakeholders. For example, companies ARE NOT required to submit direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads, marketing and advertising campaigns or other promotional materials for FDA review. This means that drug and device manufacturers have enormous flexibility in choosing how to market, advertise and promote approved products. FDA regulators only get involved when the agency is alerted to the possibility that certain ads or promotional materials may contain inappropriate, misleading or inaccurate medical information or claims. When a company is “snagged” by FDA for suspect marketing practices, the agency generally imposes mandatory regulatory review (for a defined period of time) of all subsequent DTC and promotional campaigns developed by the transgressor. To that end, the lack of patient advocacy testimony at the recent FDA hearings on social media should have little or no impact on the guidance that FDA ultimately issues.

While the much anticipated guidance ought to provide a regulatory framework for companies that choose to use social media, it can not “force” drug and device manufacturers to adopt or use it. This will be a corporate decision that will likely be made by legal, regulatory and marketing pharmaceutical executives. Finally, as Jonathan rightly points out, the needs and demands of patients will ultimately determine whether or not a drug or device manufacturer implements a social media strategy. And, not surprisingly, this decision will likely be based on drug sales and business outcomes rather than a need for patient education or public safety. Because—at the end of the day—business is business!

Hat tip to Jonathan!

Until next time...

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

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Mark Senak who writes the EyeonFDA blog has compiled a list of the life sciences companies that presently have a Twitter account and use it. While there are only 12 companies on the list, he provides a nice commentary on their use and makes some recommendations for improvement.

Although I am a staunch supporter of the use of social media in the life sciences, it appears to me that the discussion about its use has been somewhat muted since the FDA convened a public hearing on the topic last month. I suspect that many of the companies and stakeholders who participated in the discussion prior to the FDA meeting are presently in “wait and see” mode. However, don’t be surprised if the social media guidance issued by FDA is lacking and excruciatingly wanting!!!! For those of you who may not be familiar with the ways in which the agency operates, its regulators tend to craft guidance and regulation that are broad, loosely defined and open to interpretation. The agency intentionally crafts its guidance and regulations this way because it doesn’t want its rules and regulations to be “literally interpreted” by companies and other stakeholders. Generally speaking, its regulations represent the “minimum” requirements that must be met in order to insure regulatory compliance. In other words, there is no upper limit on what companies can do to insure compliance but there certainly is a minimum requirement that must be met to avoid regulatory sanctions and penalties. As one lawyer who used to work for the agency shared with me recently, “FDA crafts the regulations but it is left to the companies and courts to interpret them.”

Most of the current discussions about social media and the life sciences industry primarily focus on its use as marketing and promotional vehicle. And, as many of you may already know, FDA isn’t exactly keen or pleased with the current marketing and advertising strategies and practices utilized by a sizeable number of life sciences companies. Perhaps a shift away from marketing and advertising discussions to more regulatory-friendly and practical applications like clinical trials recruitment and public outreach may lead to a more rapid uptake of social media by FDA and life sciences companies? Just sayin’

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Tweeting!!!!

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e-Patients Connections 2009 (#epatcon) was held this past Monday and Tuesday at the Park Hyatt hotel in Philadelphia, PA. BioCrowd was one of several co-sponsors of the event. The theme of the conference, organized by Kevin Kruse a veteran medical communication and training expert, who now runs Kru Research, was to “reach, engage and educate empowered digital health consumers.” And, boy, did it deliver! While this was Kru Research’s first official conference, it was well organized, extremely interactive and the quality of the speakers was second to none! Topics that were featured included social media and the life sciences industry, technological advances in e-based healthcare delivery, the relationship between the news media and healthcare information and the continuing evolution of online and e-based healthcare communities.

Conference attendees included representatives from the life sciences industry, medical communications experts, advertising and marketing professionals and a multitude of social media enthusiasts and consultants who kept the Twitter screen humming throughout the meeting (a big shout out to the “troublemaking table”). And, surprisingly, there was a representative from the Division of Drug Marketing and Advertising and Communications (DDMAC) at the US Food and Drug Administration, who I believe, was one of the most sought after individuals at the meeting. CNN reporter Elizabeth Cohen who writes the Empowered Patient and racecar driver Charles Kimball, a type I diabetic and company spokesperson for Novo Nordisk also gave talks.

My favorite talks were those presented by online patient community organizers including Tricia Geoghegan of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals who created the Facebook ADHD Allies community, Lisa Tate of WomenHeart and Robert Schumm of Bayer Consumer Care who created Facebook Strong@ Heart and Rachel Lewinson of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Organization and Susan Harrow Rago of Novo Nordisk who created Juvenation.org a website dedicated to those with Type I diabetes. These communities are outstanding examples of how partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and advocacy groups can help to better educate the public and heighten awareness about potentially life-altering diseases. Another example of a great online community and healthcare portal is Insomnia 123.com. This website was conceived and constructed by Christine Macadams and her partners’ one of whom is a practicing physician. Unlike the other online communities, which are sponsored and mainly supported by consumer healthcare division of large pharmaceutical companies, Insomnia 123.com was exclusively created by a group of concerned individuals who wanted to better educate and improve the lives of people with insomnia—a largely unreported and self-medicated condition.

On the technical side, the talks presented by Lee Segal of Klick, Kevin Durr of Avantera , Ian Kelly of Red Nucleus and Scott Ballenger of ListenLogic were illuminating and extremely informative. Some of the innovations taking place in digital media are exciting and almost overwhelming at times (even for a social media enthusiast like me). I think the company to watch is ListenLogic which uses semantic search engines to collect real time data and “chatter” on the web. This technology may provide a cost-effective solution to assuage the concerns of many life sciences companies that claim that collecting and analyzing overwhelming amounts of data is one of the main reasons why they are reluctant to entry the social media space.

Marc Monseau of Johnson and Johnson gave an illuminating talk on his experiences as a corporate blogger and Twitter user and described some of the challenges that had to be overcome before his company was able to break the “social media barrier.” Janice McCallum, an economist by training and a healthcare communications and media expert gave an informative talk about the growing role and impact of patient-generated healthcare content on patient awareness and education.

Finally, the novel and innovative Pecha Kucha sessions were outstanding and extremely well done! While all were expertly crafted, Dr. Val’s and Jonathan Richman’s Pecha Kucha were memorable. Dr. Val’s, which was extremely powerful and moving, was performed entirely in verse and Jonathan’s was—well, one of Jonathan’s always entertaining and informative presentations.

In summary, the “e-Patient Connections 2009” was a resounding success and in my opinion reached its goal to “reach engage and educate empowered digital health consumers.” That said, I can’t wait for “e-Patient Connections 2010” meeting!!!

Hat tip to @ellenhoenig and @eileenobrien for inviting me to my first tweetup (great fun) and finally meeting @janice McCallum, @christianeTrue, @stevewoodruff and Silja aka @whydotpharma! 

Until next time...

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

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Mark Senak who runs the EyeonFDA blog reported yesterday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had launched a Twitter account. As Mark aptly points out, FDA’s unexpected leap into social media is ironic given that the agency has been steadfastly reluctant to craft any guidance whatsoever on the use of Web 2.0  technology or social media by drug and device manufacturers. Maybe, the agency was tired of being overshadowed by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA whose rapid adoption and use of social media for public health and related issues has been outstanding. 

For those of you FDA aficionados, FDA can be found on Twitter at @FDA_Drug_Info. Despite its very recent launch, the agency already has over 1,700 followers. Not surprisingly, FDA_Drug_Info is following only six individuals and is largely a one-way informational channel. Maybe somebody ought to tell the agency that social media, most notably Twitter, is suppose to be interactive and conversational? Also, couldn’t FDA staffers come up with a better Twitter handle? I mean the use of underlines to separate words in FDA_Drug_Info is so ......Web 1.0!!!! Finally, most of the information tweeted by the agency has to do with drug approvals, workshop announcements, safety warnings, etc. Maybe somebody also should tell them that most life sciences companies block Twitter and other forms of social media. Nevertheless, based on some recent tweets, it appears that the agency is targeting healthcare providers and consumers as their main audiences.

Despite FDA’s Twitter presence, I wouldn’t expect any Web 2.0 guidance or a drug and device social media policy any time soon. I say this because the agency yet to craft guidance on website design and Google Ads—two very ancient internet tools!!!! Maybe they ought to appoint a social media czar at the agency?

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Tweeting!!!!

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I have previously written several posts on the reluctance of life scientists to use social media and online social networking sites. While I realize that scientists may be somewhat socially challenged, the almost universal disdain for social media is puzzling and troubling to me. More importantly, the reluctance of life scientists to embrace social media flies in the face of some revealing new statistics on social media use by the American lay public.

According to a recent survey by Forrester Research, “half of online adults now belong to social networks like, Facebook and Linked In, a 46 percent growth rate year-over-year.” More importantly, almost a quarter of Americans are content creators who write blogs, upload video or audio or post articles online.” Interestingly, the growth of social media is being driven by adults 35 and older. The survey found that four of five adults of all ages use social media including blogs, social networks and review sites. Finally, most adults visit social networking sites, in way or another at least monthly.

Many scientists who I have talked with (mostly graduate students and postdoctoral fellows) primarily use social media to stay in touch with friends or “hook up” with others after laboratory hours are over. And, other scientists—mostly laboratory heads and principal investigators—view social media as a colossal waste of time. Unfortunately, the scientists who underutilize or shun social media don’t understand its hidden potential to advance scientific research and perhaps more importantly to interact with the lay public to demystify “science.”  In my experience social media has been a powerful way to disseminate information and quickly reach large numbers of people. Isn’t this what science is really about?    

Until next time....

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

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Twitter is arguably the hottest new platform to hit the social media scene is the past five  years. Twitter devotees are convinced that anything is possible if the microblogging platform is used correctly. In today’s economy, the most pressing need for many people is finding a job. While Twitter is effective for branding, marketing and occasionally some witty intellectual exchanges, its usefulness for jobseekers has yet to be demonstrated. To that end, there was a recent instructional case study on TwiTip—“5 Methods I Used To Get a Job Through Twitter”— that describes how Twitter can be used to find gainful employment. Although the case study focuses on non-science jobseekers, many of the suggestions and recommendations are relevant to those seeking jobs in the life sciences.

Read and learn!!!

Until next time...

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

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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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BioCrowd co-founder, Vincent Racaniello, and I were chatting the other day with Crowdvine’s Tony Stubblebine (the guy who created the BioCrowd software platform) about the reluctance of scientists to embrace social media. Both Vincent and I, both scientists ourselves, posited that scientists are simply asocial or at the very least not comfortable engaging in social activities whether they be online or IRL. Tony, a self-anointed software geek, wasn’t buying into to our argument and noted that even software geeks are social!

This prompted me to do a little research and I found a blog post written by Nachiket Vartak a blogger and doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology. While the blog post focused mainly on reasons why bioscientists won’t use Twitter, I think that many of his observations can be used to generally describe the chilly relationship between many scientists and social media. Before you read on, I must inform you that I paraphrased and embellished some of Nachiket’s original ideas on the subject. That said, here are some of the reasons why bioscientists may not use social media.

1. The reputation of social networking sites
Many scientists disdain social networks because they believe that social networking sites and microblogging platforms like Twitter are nothing more than places to waste time. Those scientists who use social media usually do it in-between experiments and when planning activities which usually involve copious quantities of alcohol, for after laboratory hours fun. In other words, social media is for fun not for work. Also, many so-called serious scientists contend that “real science discussions” only happen on closed e-mailing lists or forums and not in the “open” on social networking sites.

2. The social activation barrier
According to Nachiket, the stereotype that scientists are asocial is well.....err...true! He asserts that many scientists feel more comfortable focusing on themselves (and their research) rather than interacting with others to learn what they have to say or what they may be thinking. And, many times, unless an individual can demonstrate that they are “smart” they probably aren’t worse listening to anyway. Finally, scientists train for years to become independent investigators. Not surprisingly, there is very little emphasis and importance placed on teamwork or social interactions with others scientists or lay people for that matter. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that many scientists aren’t particularly social or inclined to participate in extracurricular social activities.

3. Privacy aka “secrecy”
Science is a highly competitive endeavor and, in many cases, the discoveries that are made represent many years of sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears. With this in mind, nobody wants to be scooped or beat out by their competitors. Consequently, scientists are generally instructed to be very hush-hush when it comes to sharing any information or data that might give the competition a “leg up” in the competition. Any leak, large or small, could mean the difference between fame and failure and, perhaps more importantly, a successful career as a scientist.

In marked contrast, the success of social media is contingent upon its openness, sharing and transparency. Thus, as Nachiket aptly pointed out social media is antithetical to the very nature of science and scientists.

4. Legitimate channels of communication
The only acceptable and legitimate means of scientific communications are presentations at meetings and publications in peer reviewed journals. These forms of communication are the lifeblood of scientific community and critical to the success of all scientists. If you aren’t published, you have no credibility as a scientist. The scientific publishing and communication industry is big business and “the rules of engagement” in the industry have been well established and institutionalized. Unfortunately, social media threatens to destabilize the science publishing world both financially and philosophically and possibly change the way science information is communicated. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that there is little support for social media in scientific publishing world and the science community in general.

While the number of science blogs and podcasts continue to increase daily, scientific social networking sites continue to struggle. This is because the information flow in blogs and similar forms of social media can be easily monitored and controlled. This is not the case for social networking sites like BioCrowd and microblogging platforms like Twitter.
However, if scientists are truly asocial beings then none of the existing science social networking sites will gain traction and be successful. Call me crazy, but I think social networking is an ideal medium for scientists to exchange information, ideas and develop relationships that can help them jumpstart their careers!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Networking!!!!!!!!!!

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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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During my recent trip to Vermont and Woodstock, NY I had several conversations about Twitter. Surprisingly, I was being asked to explain Twitter to my nephews, both of whom are in their early 20s and to family friends who are in their late 40s and beyond. Also, at several recent science career fairs that I attended many graduate students and postdocs had never heard of Twitter or it they had, they don’t use it. Initially, this was puzzling but after considering the most recent Twitterverse demographics –I think the average age of Twitter users is around 35 to 40—it made more sense to me.

Anyhow, I have found that it is time consuming to explain Twitter to people who have heard about it but don’t quite understand how it works. To that end, several people— who I follow on Twitter— (@ LaurieDesAutels and @Recruiting Animal) tweeted about an article by John C. Dvorak that offers an excellent review of Twitter and several practical ways to use it.

I hope that the article provides some insights into Twitter and how scientists might be able to harness its incredible power and reach. You can follow me on Twitter @biojobblog!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Tweeting!!!

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Reuters reports that French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis (S-A) beat analysts second-quarter earning forecasts and that next year’s earnings will likely benefit from increased demand for its new H1NI swine flu vaccine. The company is the largest flu vaccine manufacturer in the world. Yet, despite surging profits, S-A continues to restructure and cut jobs in an effort maintain its stock share price. —and an “impeccable source”— that US managers are in France discussing cuts to American operations. The cuts are expected to be announced during the first week of August. More bad news for the US economy and  tens of thousands of American pharmaceutical employees who have already lost their jobs.

Until next time

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting????????

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I met Jonathan Richman,the author of the Dose of Digital blog, last week at the BDI Conference (#BDI) on Social Communication and Healthcare in NYC. BTW, for those of you who were unable to attend, you missed an informative and compelling meeting on the status of social media in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Anyway back to Jonathan. He gave a great talk on pharma and social media which prompted me to visit his blog. While perusing Dose of Digital, I came upon a wiki that Jonathan maintains called --what else-- the Pharma and Healthcare Social Media Wiki.” 

It’s a comprehensive, cataloged list of social media initiatives underway at pharma, biotech and healthcare industries. Noticeably absent from the wiki, are social networking sites like BioCrowd that were specifically created for life scientists and other bioprofessionals. Hey, wait a minute, aren’t scientists the lifeblood of the life sciences industry? Would there be a life sciences industry without scientists? Hmmmm....I will have to talk to Jonathan about this!

I highly recommend you check out the wiki if you are a life sciences social media enthusiast!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Social Media Hunting!!!!!  

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Amber Johnson at Job Profiles suggested that BioJobBlog readers might be interested in this post about Twitter and job searches. While I can’t personally speak to the utility of using Twitter as a job search tool, it certainly can’t hurt to give it a try in today’s challenging economy. 

100 Useful Twitter Tools and Feeds for Your Job Search

If you're searching for a job, surely you've learned about the extensive amount of tools available online to help you land your perfect position. But did you know that Twitter is the hottest job search tool out there today? It's true -- employers, recruiters, and job search sites are flocking to the service. Check out this list to find tools and feeds on Twitter that can be a great help to your job search.

Search

Use these tools to search for the jobs being posted on Twitter.

1. TwitterJobSearch: With TwitterJobSearch, you'll be able to find tweets about jobs posted on Twitter.
2. TwitterTroll: TwitterTroll is a really useful real-time Twitter search engine.
3. Twitter Job Finder: Find fresh jobs on Twitter from the last 7 days on Twitter Job Finder.
4. Tweet Scan: Perform searches and register for email alerts using Tweet Scan.
5. TwitterJobCast: TwitterJobCasts' local job search will help you see who is hiring on Twitter in your area.
6. NearByTweets: You can search Twitter by keyword and location with NearByTweets.
7. TwitHire: This Twitter-based job board broadcasts a variety of listings.
8. JobMotel: Search for Twitter web developer jobs on this site.

Connections

With these tools, you'll be able to find and manage connections with others on Twitter.

9. TwitterMind: With TwitterMind, you can seek out Twitter users from the companies you'd like to work for and ask them for referrals.
10. Twellow: Use Twellow to identify the leaders you should connect with in your industry or community.
11. Workhound: Find a directory of the best Twitter job feeds on Workhound.
12. Just Tweet It: Find other Twitter users with similar interests on Just Tweet It.
13. TwitDir: Find some of the top Twitter users in this Twitter directory.
14. Twubble: Twubble will help you find more people to follow, reflecting on who your followers are following.
15. Twollo: With Twollo, you'll be able to automatically follow users with similar interests to yours.
16. FriendOrFollow: Find people you need to ditch, or followers you've overlooked with FriendOrFollow.
17. Find People: With Twitter's Find People tool, you can find or invite the people in your email address books to join you on Twitter.
18. Tweepsearch: Search Twitter bios and find recruiters using this tool.

Organization

Stay organized in your Twitter job search with these tools.

19. TweetDeck: Use TweetDeck to categorize your Twitter feeds, separating contacts with job listing feeds, and more.
20. Twuffer: Use Twuffer to compose and schedule future tweets.

19. Flock O'Tweets: This Twitter tool allows you to get feeds of multiple Twitter users sent to you by RSS.
20. Tweepler: Organize your followers and friends with the help of this app.
21. Splitweet: If you're using separate Twitter accounts for different functions, Splitweet can help you out.
22. Twit.io: Twit.io offers a social micro database that works as a solution to list jobs and more.
23. twtjobs: twtjobs is a simple career manager Twitter app.

Monitoring & Research

Stay on top of job alerts with the help of these tools.

26. TweetBeep: Set up alerts to find out about jobs as soon as they're tweeted with the help of TweetBeep.
27. TweetMyJobs: Subscribe to Twitter channels for jobs types and major cities, then get instant notification of new jobs on Twitter from TweetMyJobs.
28. TwitterHawk: Find people talking on Twitter about your chosen topic and location using TwitterHawk.
29. Twilert: Use this Twitter application to get regular email updates about tweets containing your brand, name, keyword, and more.
30. Twitter Job Alerts: Get direct messages sent to your Twitter account that match your CareerBuilder searches by setting up alerts with Twitter Job Alerts.
31. ConnectTweet: Learn about what's going on inside companies using ConnectTweet.
32. Monitter: Monitter can be used to find information about companies and find conversations about them.
33. Tweet Tag: Browse popular topics on Twitter and join in the conversation with Tweet Tag.

Your Message

Make the most of your Tweets by using these tools.

34. VisualCV: Link your online resume created on VisualCV on your Twitter bio.
35. PingVine: Use PingVine's service to automatically post an RSS feed from your blog to Twitter.
36. HashDictionary: Become a part of a group by using their hashtag. You can find the most popular and usable ones on HashDictionary.
37. HelloTXT: Make the most of your tweets by simulcasting them to Facebook, LinkedIn, and more.

Advice & Professionals

Learn all about job searching on Twitter and beyond from these professionals and advice feeds.

38. @exectweets: @exectweets will help you find and follow business executives on Twitter.
39. @cbsalary: @cbsalary shares news and tools for job seekers who want to learn about salaries.
40. @jobsearchnews: Here you'll find tweets full of the latest job search news.
41. @JobAngels: The guardian angels on @jobangels can help you find a job, and assist you when you help others find a job as well.
42. @PinkSlipParty09: Network with Pink Slip Party to help others find jobs, and find one for yourself as well.
43. @theonlinebeat: Use @theonlinebeat as a meta-engine for finding a job on Twitter.
44. @careertips: Get tips on your career with the help of Career Opportunities Broadcast.
45. @workerswork: @workerswork shares career, job, and work related news.
46. @JobHuntOrg: Susan Joyce is the owner of an award winning employment portal, Job-Hunt.org.
47. @jobwisdom: Get tips and advice for job hunting on @jobwisdom.
48. @PRjobs: Learn about Public Relations recruiting from Lindsay Olson.
49. @MonsterCareers: Get career advice and discussions from Monster.com.
50. @SimplyHired: Simply Hired works to make your job search simple and effective.
51. @CAREERALISM: Get advice from top career experts and be alerted about opportunities through @CAREEREALISM.
52. @snagajob: Get help with your part time or hourly job search from @snagajob.
53. @jobhunting: Jim Stroud shares happy news from the job market.
54. @ResumeBear: Follow @ResumeBear to learn how you can advance your career and improve your resume.
55. @jobnob: Learn about real salaries and find a job with Jobnob.
56. @jobshouts: Jobshouts is a great tool for finding a job through social media.
57. @workhappynow: @workhappynow encourages people to be happier with their work.
58. @BrazenCareerist: Get inspired to define your career and control your life by @BrazenCareerist.
59. @microjobs: @microjobs works to connect people with new opportunities on Twitter.
60. @applicants: @applicants shares information about jobs, freelancing, and more.
61. @cheezhead: Joel Cheesman stays on top of Internet recruiting here.
62. @tferriss: Tim Ferriss can teach you about loving your work more.
63. @twtjobs: Use @twtjobs, a simple Twitter career management app.
64. @CBforJobSeekers: Follow CareerBuilder's top job search experts here.

Job Listing Feeds

These feeds offer a direct line to job postings on Twitter.

65. @Elance_Jobs: Find out about the latest featured jobs on Elance.com here.
66. @freelance_jobs: Learn about fresh freelance jobs straight from @freelance_jobs.
67. @doscareers: @doscareers lists careers in Foreign Affairs.
68. @rocketjobs: Follow @rocketjobs to get updates about the best jobs in Ireland.
69. @thejobsguy: Ken Horst shares online recruiting and job search resources as well as new postings every day.
70. @hiremymom: @hiremymom works to connect at-home professionals with jobs and projects.
71. @RecruitDirect: Find direct jobs in Ireland on this Twitter account.
72. @HRCrossing: Check out @HRCrossing for the latest in HR jobs.
73. @media_pros: Find out about jobs for media professionals through @media_pros.
74. @joblister: Find work throughout the US and Canada from @joblister.
75. @myfirstpaycheck: Check out @myfirstpaycheck to find listings, resources, and more for teen job seekers.
76. @jobsitejobs: @jobsitejobs will send you personal job tweets to help you find work.
77. @travelnursejob: Follow @travelnursejob to learn about travel nursing opportunities throughout the US.
78. @37jobs: Get listings from the 37signals job board on @37jobs.
79. @elance: Learn about freelance opportunities through @elance.
80. @web20jobs: Check out @web20jobs for a real time tracker of Web 2.0 jobs.
81. @authenticjobs: Learn about savvy, authentic jobs available through @authenticjobs.
82. @journalism_jobs: @journalism_jobs will alert you to jobs in journalism, editorial, PR, and media sales.
83. @twitjobsearch: @twitjobsearch is the first semantic job search engine for Twitter.
84. @euractivjobsite: Follow the EurActiv JobSite to get an EU job of the day.
85. @execSearches: @execSearches connects talent with perfect positions.
86. @odesk: Follow @oDesk to be a part of the marketplace for online workteams.
87. @socialmediajob: Find your social media job on social media through @socialmediajob.
88. @newretailjobs: Get the hottest retail job opening leads every 30 minutes from major cities through @newretailjobs.
89. @juicyjobs: With @juicyjobs, you'll learn about green jobs in the UK.
90. @execjobs: ExecJobs finds six figure jobs for executives on Twitter.
91. @indeed: @indeed is a job search engine that aggregates all of the most important job sites.
92. @jobsearch: Emurse's Twitter feed offers listings, advice, and more.
93. @manpower: Find out what Manpower is recruiting for on this feed.
94. @Joblighted: @Joblighted offers a feed of Twitter tech jobs.
95. @publishingjobs: This feed will alert you to jobs in publishing available on Twitter.
96. @startuphire: @StartUpHire will alert you to jobs available at startups backed with venture capital.
97. @seojobs: Check out @seojobs to learn about SEO/SEM jobs available in the US.
98. @WorkInSports: Make your passion your career by finding a job through @WorkInSports.
99. @JobWire: Follow @JobWire to learn about the best jobs in Australia.
100. @krop_jobs: @krop_jobs updates on the latest creative and tech jobs.

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While life sciences companies are still reluctant to take the “social media plunge,” many other companies (with active social media programs) frequently hire employees known as social media managers who oversee and run their social networks.  This is because successful social media websites require daily attention and are extremely time consuming and labor intensive. In general, employees who are hired for these jobs have strong backgrounds in social media and technology but frequently possess little expertise in the industry that they are working in. Because social media is so new, many hiring managers believe that the social media and technology skills of these managers are more important than an understanding of the industry that they work in. However, while this practice may be acceptable in other industries, it won’t be the case for the social media managers who oversee pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices and diagnostics social media websites. These managers will likely be required to have a firm understanding of current rules and regulations guiding drug development and marketing and advertising of approved life sciences products. This will be necessary if the drug makers who hire these managers want to steer clear of regulatory scrutiny by the US Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies.

Based on my experiences as an industrial scientist and more recently as a social media manager, a person with a PhD degree with at least one course in regulatory affairs, good oral and written communication skills and an interest in social media ought to be an ideal candidate for these positions. To that end, those of you who may be interested in this newly, emerging career path option ought to begin training as soon as possible—these jobs will be in high demand at life sciences companies, medical communications agencies and conference organizers in the next year or so!

Until next time....

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

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I just learned from Diego Pineda who runs the Medical Writer Blog and Medical Writing social network about an interesting internship possibility at Science magazine. For those of you social media enthusiasts interested in the opportunity, here is a job description.

“Science, the world's leading journal of original scientific research and global news, seeks a three-month intern to help implement and manage social media projects for its news department. The candidate should be very familiar with Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking platforms, and should have experience creating content for these platforms. Other duties will include promoting news content on the internet, moderating comments on our daily news site, and repurposing news content for multimedia projects. Some writing and research assistance for our online news site is possible. The ideal intern will have a science background-or at least a strong interest in science-and some journalism experience. The internship will be at our Washington, D.C. headquarters.”

For consideration, send a resume and cover letter to AAAS, Human Resources Department, 1200 New York Ave., NW, Suite #101, Washington, DC 20005.  (Attn:  Requisition #1763) You may also reach us by Fax at 202-682-1630 and e-mail at jobs@aaas.org.

It appears that Science is finally getting into the social networking.  For those of you, who can’t wait for the Science network, please check out BioCrowd, a social networking community focused on career development for bioprofessionals.

Until next time....

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

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The debate, if you can call it that, over whether or not interactive social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can be used in the life science industry is moving forward at glacial speed. I decided that it was time to propose some ideas rather than continue to admonish the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a lack of guidance.

There are several reasons which may explain the inertia surrounding the adoption of social media by pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices and diagnostics companies. First, and perhaps foremost, FDA has been consistently reluctant to craft any useful guidance on the use of Web 2.0 technologies for research, clinical or promotional purposes. The FDA’s Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications (DDMAC) is still trying to figure out how to regulate website content. Is it any wonder that FDA is reluctant to tackle the regulatory implications and issues associated with social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter? Second, a majority of social media advocates— who are leading the charge at many life sciences companies—are marketing and advertising executives who tend to look at social media strictly as a promotional tool. Finally, much of what takes place at life sciences companies is proprietary and confidential—information flow between the company and its employees and the public is fastidiously monitored and tightly regulated. Because of this, the life sciences industry’s “process” is intentionally opaque—which is contrary to the goals of social media which is to promote transparency (or the illusion of it).

There is no doubt that the life sciences industry is the most highly regulated industry on the planet. While this represents a formidable challenge for adoption of social media, it is by no means insurmountable—especially if social media is used for purposes other than branding, marketing and advertising. For example, the most straight forward application of social media at life sciences companies would be in the areas of corporate recruitment and employee retention. Many Fortune 500 companies outside of the life sciences industry have been using Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn for years for recruiting purposes. While not commonly acknowledged, life sciences companies have quietly begun to use Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace to recruit prospective employees. Interestingly, the new kid on the block—Twitter—looks to potentially be a more powerful recruiting tool than any of its predecessors. Unfortunately, employee retention is no longer a priority at many companies. However, before the economic meltdown a number of companies, most notably Best Buy, were experimenting with social media to retain talented employees.

Another potential use of social media is for pharmacovigilance and adverse events reporting. Companies with approved products on the market are required by FDA (and other regulatory agencies that approved their products) to set up post marketing surveillance programs for adverse events reporting. By law, companies that receive adverse events reports from consumers, physicians or other entities must report them to the regulatory agencies that approved the product. Regulatory agencies maintain adverse events databases for all approved drugs and devices to monitor drug safety.  If designed and implemented correctly, interactive social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter (which operates in real-time) would make excellent pharmacovigilance and adverse reporting tools. Quite coincidentally, John Mack, who runs the Pharma Marketing Blog, reported a partnership between UCB and PatientsLikeMe.com to create a pharmacovigilance reporting platform for UCB products.

Recruiting patients for participation in clinical trials (to assess efficacy and safety of prospective new drugs) has become extremely challenging over the past few years.Traditional patient recruitment strategies include print, television and radio ads and in some instances, websites. All of these recruitment methods are costly, labor intensive and limited in their effectiveness because they only reach small number of prospective clinical trial participants. I contend that Facebook with over 200 million users, LinkedIn with members in over 140 different countries and Twitter which is growing rapidly would be ideal for clinical trial recruitment and retention purposes. Others have also proposed this idea.

Finally, while the use of social media to promote approved drugs and devices may be difficult because of regulatory constraints, it can be utilized to keep the public informed about prospective new medicines and promote a company’s image or brand. There is no question that the public perception of the pharmaceutical industry has been severely tarnished over the last few years.  The industry’s continued lack of transparency and failure to adequately disclose potential safety risks about some approved products continues perpetuate a negative image. One way to restore public trust and confidence is to use social media to actively engage the public in conversation on wellness, addressing unmet medical needs and prospective new medicines and treatments that are being developed. Also, social media platforms could be employed to showcase community outreach programs and discuss educational initiatives to improve science education and training.

Social media is no longer a new phenomenon or technology. It is a legitimate form of communication which has become an integral part of the Web 2.0 experience. I suspect that the life sciences industry will have to make a decision about social media in the not so distant future—or possibly miss a potentially game-changing business opportunity. And, as Ken Kesey aptly said in Tom Wolfe’s ‘The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test’—“You’re either on the bus…or off the bus.”

 Until next time...

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

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There has been no shortage of conversation lately about current problems facing the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. These industries are faced with the effects of the global recession because of a dangerous combination of falling revenues and spiraling costs. Life sciences company executives are looking for ways to cut production costs and cope with the current decline in drug sales.

“Social networking sites are great to catch-up with old friends, share photographs, music and links but in this climate does the executive community have time for this?” asked Spencer Green CEO of MeettheBoss.com “Credit isn’t the only casualty of the crunch: time is another scarce resource for executives, they need immediate value when online to inform stakeholders and update the public on need developments.

MeettheBoss.com, first launched for the financial services sector in 2008, has just unveiled a new and improved version – redesigned with increased functionality and features, and specifically launched to keep life sciences professionals abreast of late breaking news and trends in the industry. Free Video Roundtables, executive broadcasts and “smartwords” are some of the new functions for the executives to communicate with stakeholders and the public at large. More importantly, it provides instant access to a network of your peers. Also included in the new launch is an upgraded version of MeettheBossTV,an online television channel dedicated to business leaders. The first week of MeettheBoss pharma will feature John Earley, global head of lean and supply at AstraZeneca and Steve Dreamer, VP and head of engineering at Novartis.

While similar to BioCrowd, a social and business networking site for ALL bioprofessionals, MeettheBoss.com is almost exclusively focused on the "goings on" in the pharmaceutical industry.

Please drop me a line and let me know whether or not you like MeettheBoss

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Networking!!!!!!!!
 

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As we all know, the H1NI pandemic has been raging on for close too 10 ten days now. Curiously, “Fear & The Flu: The New Age of Pandemics” is the title this week’s cover story in Newsweek magazine. From an informational standpoint point, “this may be too little, too late”—as the old saying goes. While the Internet has been around for over twenty years now, government agencies, most notably the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continue to rely almost exclusively on old media to communicate with the American public during infectious disease outbreaks. Apparently, the administrators who run these government agencies haven’t been listening closely enough to President Obama’s assertion that “we live in the digital age.”

Communications between the public and government health officials is vital when trying to manage and control infectious disease outbreaks. “Every single government agency as well as companies and non-profits need to be digitally literate and competent in a time of pandemic” asserts Eye on FDA blogger Mark Senak. For their performances in recent infectious disease outbreaks, Mark gives CDC an “A” for effort—although there is substantial room for improvement. FDA on the other hand didn’t fair as well. “The FDA is not nearly as sophisticated in terms of digital. Their only Twitter account is for food recalls.  And their YouTube channels are all confusing and unorganized. They have a long way to go.”

The Internet was originally designed as a digital tool to transmit and move large amounts of information from one place to another. That said, it is also a powerful communication vehicle that can be used to broadcast valuable, scientifically-accurate information during infectious disease outbreaks by leveraging social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and instant messaging. To that end, it’s time for public health agencies to recognize the power of digital media and craft communication plans that can be implemented in the next infectious disease outbreak.

Until next time...

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

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Unlike others, life scientists have been slow to use social media to look for jobs or network to enhance career opportunities.  Many scientists  have  Facebook accounts but view it and other social media tools like Twitter simply as a means to stay in touch with family and friends.  However, social media can be a very powerful tool for scientists who are looking for jobs or the next big career move.

To that end, I presented a seminar at Experimental Biology this past weekend in New Orleans entitled "Social Media and Career Development for Life Sciences" that offer suggestions on how to use social media to land a job or jumpstart a career in the life sciences industry.  For those of you who may be interested, I posted the presentation below:

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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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Earlier this week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent warning letters to 14 different pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to advise them that their approach to Internet advertising is violating federal pharmaceutical advertising and marketing guidelines and regulations. While the agency’s attempt to regulate Internet-based drug advertising is laudable, the fact that warning letters were sent to 14 different life sciences companies means that there is a poor understanding of the regulations regarding use of Internet—and more recently, social media—to market and advertise drugs, medical devices and diagnostics. This isn’t surprising because FDA has yet to issue any meaningful guidance on the use of the Internet and social media to market life sciences industry products. The reluctance of the agency to issue guidance is very puzzling—the use of web based-advertising and social media by life sciences companies has exploded in the past few years.

In a post today on the EyeOnFDA blog, Mark Sendak pointed out that Twitter is fast becoming the medium of choice for life sciences messaging, branding and product promotion. Despite FDA’s lack of guidance on the use of social media, an increasing number of life sciences companies and organizations are using it to stay in touch with their stakeholders and constituents. For example, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Lancet, the New Scientist, Roche, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Boehringer, Cell Therapeutics and Novartis and others have Twitter accounts. Many of these companies also have fan pages or accounts on Facebook. 

It is becoming increasingly evident that the agency will have to issue guidance on social media sooner rather than later. The wide reach, immediacy and highly interactive nature of social media suggest that the current wait-and-see attitude of FDA is no longer feasible. To jump start the discussion, Social Pharmer, a group of life sciences social media enthusiasts are holding an “unconference” in Boston on April 21, 2009. I hope that FDA sends representatives to this grassroots meeting!!!

Until next time....

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

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Using Facebook and Twitter to find jobs is becoming routine in many industries including healthcare. However, the life sciences industry is lagging behind most others when it comes to social media and recruitment. Nevertheless, many companies and academic institutions are beginning to realize that Facebook (FB), Twitter and other science social networks are good source of qualified candidates for  those difficult-to fill job openings. 

Lindsey Pollak, a GenY career guru who, writes on the use of social media for job searching, alerted me to a post (via Twitter @biojobblog) that describes how to effectively use FB to find a job.  While FB may be useful to scientist looking for work, there are many other bioscience social networks like BioCrowd (@biocrowd) that regularly post jobs and career opportunities for life scientists.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting 

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This morning, while doing my usual Twitter review, I came across a tweet from the Scientist.com about John McCain’s recent anti-science Twitter rants.  Based on his tweets (and snarky comments) he considers the following projects blatant examples of pork barrel spending:

"$209,000 to improve blueberry production and efficiency in GA"

"$819, 000 for catfish genetics research in Alabama"

"$900,000 for fish management - how does one manage a fish"

Older McCain tweets include:

"$1,427,250 for genetic improvements of switchgrass - I thought switchgrass genes were pretty good already, guess I was wrong."

"$250,000 to enhance research on Ice Seal populations"

"$2.1 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in New York - quick peel me a grape."

"$650,000 for beaver management in North Carolina and Mississippi"

McCain’s tweets underscore how little politicians—especially republicans(what do you expect from a party that endorses intelligent design over evolution) —understand about how science works. That said, some of the proposed projects cited by McCain may require additional scrutiny (by science experts not him) and may turn out to be projects that don't warrant funding.  Nevertheless,I believe that McCain's tweets are part of a well crafted Republican-led initiative intended to publicly discredit  these earmarked projects so that he and other Republican's can redirect public monies to their own pork barrel initiatives. Shame on McCain and his cronies for attempting to hijack Twitter to discredit worthy scientific, environmental,agricultural and conservation projects. 

Let’s try to disrupt McCain’s plan by tweeting that he is anti-science! 

Tweet away peeps!

Hat tip to the The Scientist!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Twittering!

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Twitter, the microblogging platform, is the current rage in social media. According to @Shwen, who writes the Med 2.0 Blog, it grew by 752% in 2008. Shwen is a social media enthusiast who is trying to convince the life sciences industry that Twitter and other social networks can be leveraged to improve drug development and deliver healthcare.

According to a recent post on Med. 2.0, there are currently three pharmaceutical companies that are actively using Twitter: Novartis (@novartis), Boehringer Ingelheim (@Boehringer) and Astra Zeneca (AstraZenecaUS). Also, it appears that Johnson and Johnson (@JNJcomm) launched an account last week. Tweets from @novartis and @Boehringer occur fairly regularly whereas AstraZenecaUS tweets are rare. Unlike YouTube, where pharmaceutical sponsors who create channels can regulate and control content, it is much more difficult to manage Twitter because tweets are in real time, uncensored (for the most part) and can be globally disseminated within seconds.

Despite these issues, Med 2.0’s Shwen muses “I can only imagine that more pharma companies are going to be jumping on board the Twitter-train sooner rather than later. How they use it to engage, on the other hand, is going to vary greatly from company to company. At the very least, I see companies setting up accounts as “listening posts”, but others may choose to engage, like @boehringer does in an informal manner. Whatever the case, Twitter is fast becoming the new dominant space for listening and/or engaging the life sciences community.”

Like Shwen, I believe that it a matter of time before pharma and biotech realize that they must embrace social media (in all of its various forms) to remain competitive in today’s increasingly interconnected marketplace.

For those of you who may be interested, you can follow BioJobBlog (@Biojobblog) and Biocrowd (@Biocrowd) on Twitter too!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Twittering

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For those of you who want to learn about  why Vincent and I created BioCrowd, listen to our very first podcast!   Anybody who is interested in doing a podcast for BioCrowd, please send us a note along with your ideas and when you might be available for recording the session.

Hope to see you at the Bcrowd!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Listening

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About a year ago, I was eating lunch and bunch of pharma executives were at the table next to me. I inadvertently overhead bits of their conversation and I heard the words, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube mentioned. This suggested to me that pharma was more aware of social media (and its business implications) than pharma publicly cared to admit. Pharma has been reluctant to embrace social media because of possible legal and regulatory ramifications. Nevertheless, a few companies have decided to boldly go where no pharma company has gone before—to YouTube.

The Eye on FDA blog, which is very bullish on social media, has been keeping aof pharma companies that have created channels on YouTube, the video site owned by Google. To date, Sanofi Pasteur, GSK, Abbot and JNJ have taken the YouTube plunge (see SanofiPasteurTV , GSKVision, AbbottChannel, andJNJHealth).  I suspect that pharma companies are willing to take a risk on YouTube, because unlike other social media platforms, they can disable the functionality that allows viewer to leave comments, kudos or kvetches after viewing videos. This shields the companies from unwarranted claims, misinformation about its products and negative publicity.

At present, the US Food and Drug Administration, has issued little or no guidance on the use of social media by drug makers. This means that drug makers are in uncharted territory and can experiment with social media without fear of much regulatory oversight or scrutiny.  Now that pharma has broken the social media barrier, I wonder whether MySpace, Facebook and Twitter (the hottest new social media tool at the moment) will be next. Interestingly, I learned yesterday that Novartis uses twitter and can be followed @Novartis.

Off the record conversations with MySpace representatives suggest that a number of pharmaceuticals have quietly created branded product pages on MySpace for years.  As the MySpace rep put it, how can you ignore an audience of 60 million people?  Further, Facebook’s fan pages are growing in popularity and don’t be surprise to see pharma pages begin to appear there. It will be interesting to see how pharma will incorporate social media into its business and marketing models in the future.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Video Watching!!!!!!!!

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Vincent Racaniello, a pioneer in RNA virology and world class researcher on the pathogenesis of polio, believes that social media can be used to enhance scientific research and improve science education. Vincent recently blogged about this on his virology blog and graciously allowed me to repost it to BioJobBlog. It is an interesting perspective from an innovative and creative scientist.

Science and the Social Web

In a previous post about why I blog and podcast, I discussed how these activities allow me to think more about virology and to teach far more people than I ever could in a laboratory or classroom. Is there even more value in the web for scientists?

There are three different web activities, besides blogging and podcasting that enhance science in new ways. The first is the ability to post comments on blogs and podcasts. In so doing, people can interact in ways that were not previously possible. Scientists who have never met, or students hoping to learn, all can connect and create an instructive and creative dialog. Don’t understand something in a post? Just ask. Have something different to contribute? Post it. Science can only benefit from interactions not limited by geography or time.

The second powerful web tool for science is the social networks. We know how MySpace and Facebook made it easy to meet and interact with new people. These networks also allow scientists to connect and talk about their profession. There are various groups on Facebook that enable focused, productive discussions among scientists. Even more useful are the social networks that have been developed specifically for scientists - well over 20 according to this  blog post. These networks exist to foster interactions - meeting other scientists, looking for jobs, troubleshooting experiments, finding answers to thorny questions. The value of scientific social networks is that they enable dialogue far beyond what you could achieve on your floor, in your building, by telephone or email. The result is scientific interactions at unprecedented levels.

The third web tool for scientists is Twitter. This microblogging platform restricts users to posts of 140 characters or less - the end result is concentrated information. For scientists, Twitter can be either a distraction or a gold mine. If you choose to follow individuals who are interested in science, you will, in the course of a day, find tweets with links to interesting science - news or journal articles; comments on science; questions about science or science methods - in brief, the kind of exchange originally facilitated by email but far more immediate and pithy. Follow the right people on Twitter, and receive useful information. I keep an eye on Twitter to find tips on how scientists use the web, the latest science news, and comments on science in general. In turn, when I learn of an interesting science news event or article, I tweet it. Mr. Tweet’s discussion of  the evolution of a twitter user crystallizes this concept.

There is also great value for scientists at FriendFeed. No, it’s not a fourth category - it’s an aggregator of the three activities described above, one-stop for all your blogging, podcasting, social networking, and twittering.

These three aspects of the social web are revolutionizing science. By using them, I am learning more about my field than I ever have before. Those who choose not to take advantage of the social web will miss the opportunity to become more creative and productive scientists.

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BioCrowd, a new social networking site for bioprofessionals was officially launched today.  We are still making last minute fixes and cosmetic changes so please bear with us over the next few weeks.

BioCrowd's main goal is to provide a venue for career development and business interactions for students, scientists and other bioprofessionals.  We plan on adding new applications and functionality as the network evolves.  That said, please let us know what you think, what you like and don't like and how we can improve BioCrowd to meet your needs.

Thanks and I hope that you become a member of the BioCrowd!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

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Do you ever wonder how popular twitter is or how many followers the average twitter has? Well wonder no more. You can find answers to these questions and more by reading ‘State of the Twittersphere (Hubspot Edition)’ that was recently posted on Tech Crunch.

I started tweeting in earnest about two months ago and I am convinced that Twitter and other microblogging platforms are the next generation of social media tools. So, move over LinkedIn, Facebook and My Space because the Twitterverse is expanding.

BTW, you can follow BioJobBlog on twitter @ BioJobBlog.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Tweeting!!!!!

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I first thought about starting a social network for life sciences professionals about a year ago after joined I Facebook and LinkedIn and then learned about SciLink, one of the first social networks for scientists. Apparently, others had the same idea and today, there are currently, by my reckoning, no fewer than 20 social networks for scientists—each promoting a unique approach to networking for scientists.

David Bradley, a UK-based science writer who can be followed on Twitter as sciencebase, did me a favor by posting a piece oh his blog in early November that reviews many of these networks. Surprisingly, most of them were designed almost exclusively for academic scientists! I was thrilled to learn this because we created BioCrowd , our new social network, for ALL life science professionals not just academicians and industry scientists. David has graciously agreed to allow me to repost his article entitled "Social Media for Scientists" below.

Social Media For Scientists

Towards the end of October, I received a flurry of emails asking me to check out new social networking sites for scientists, I’ve already reviewed the nanoscience community, of course. I suspect that, the academic year having moved into full swing, there were a few scientists hoping to tap into the power of social media tools and the whole web-two-point-ohhhh thing.

This from Brian Krueger:

“I came across your blog during my weekly Google search for “science social network.” I thought you might be interested in my website, LabSpaces.net. It’s a social network for the sciences that I’ve had on-line for the last two years and I recently got my University to send out a press release about it. I think you should stop by and check it out. Let me know what you think, I’m always looking for suggestions on how to improve the site.”

LabSpaces has all of the features of a social-networking site with the addition of a daily science newsfeed, lab profiles, a science forum, blogs, and a science protocol database. Apparently, the site provides space for researchers to create their own user profile, add their publication history, upload technical research protocols, blog about science, and share research articles with the community. The site will soon host a free video conferencing service to facilitate long distance collaborations and journal clubs.

New Zealander Peter Matthews who works in Japan emailed:

“I am a full-time researcher from NZ, working in Japan, at a museum with many international research visitors. This multilingual environment made me very aware of: (1) the difficulties that non-English based researchers face when using English, and (2) the difficulties that English mono-linguals face when trying to access or publish research in other important research languages, such as Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, French, and so on. Hence my website: The Research Cooperative - http://cooperative.ning.com. Please have a look, join if you want, and please tell any friends and colleagues about this site if you think they might find it useful.”

Pascal Boels, Managing Director of SurgyTec.com emailed with a medical tale:

“Our website is for and by medical professionals. It’s a video-sharing site for surgeons and medical professionals to show off their newly minted skills. It makes it easy for medical professionals to upload videos or slideshows and share those with the community. You can search for videos by specialty, organ/region, tissue, etiology, operation type, or technique. Many surgeons perform original and high-quality techniques in their operating room and equally many surgeons would like to learn from these new and inspiring techniques. Up till now it was very difficult, time consuming and expensive to take a look in each others operating room and share practical knowledge, tips and tricks. Surgytec.com provides the solution for this problem. We are currently serving over 4000 surgeons from more than 124 countries, sharing over 400 procedures

Priyan Weerappuli had long been interested in scientific research but felt that applied research was guarded by private institutions while basic research was held within the confines of colleges and universities by overpriced journals and an oversimplification that occurred whenever research results were translated for more general audiences. His forum/platform will attempt to open this research to a general audience - http://www.theopensourcescienceproject.com

Some correspondents are claiming they’re approaching web 3.0 nirvana:

“ResearchGATE is proud to announce a major update: We greatly improved our search functionality and called it ReFind. The name symbolizes the importance of an efficient and result-driven search functionality within research in general and within our network in particular. ReFind is one of the first search engines based on semantic, “intelligent” correlations. It enables you to find groups, papers, fellow researchers and everything else within and outside of ResearchGATE without having to read through dozens of irrelevant results. Just type a few sentences into ReFind or simply copy and paste your abstract. Our semantic algorithm will then search the leading databases for similar work, providing you with truly relevant results.” [Sounds like my Zemanta/ResearchBlogging.org idea, DB]

One observer pointed out, however, that ResearchGate’s semantic search is maybe not the greatest thing to happen to search in a decade (especially, when we have the likes of True Knowledge Ubiquity, and Zemanta. Indeed, some users have said it is not much of an improvement on conventional search.

Then there was:

“ScienceStage.com - Science in the 21st century - A wide forum for science - on an interdisciplinary, international and individual level. ScienceStage.com, the only universal online portal for science, advanced teaching and academic research, bridges a major gap in scientific research and learning. ScienceStage.com is a virtual conference room, lecture hall, laboratory, library and meeting venue all in one.”

But, perhaps the best is saved for last. An Oxford graduate student, who has completed his PhD, Richard Price, has launched Academia.edu, which he says does two things:

“It displays academics around the world in a ‘tree’ format, according to which institution/department they are affiliated with. And, it enables researchers to keep track of the latest developments in theirfield - the latest people, papers, and talks.”

Price wants to see every academic in the world on his tree and already has Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking, Paul Krugman, and Noam Chomsky as members. But, that’s the hype what about its potential? It resembles BioMedExperts because both use a “social” publishing tree, but is that enough to engage scientists?

It will be interesting to see whether any of these sites gain the traction their creators hope for and how things will pan out as the credit crunch bites harder. “There are a bunch of them out there,” Krueger told me, “It’s kind of scary how many came out after Nature and I went on-line in 2006. There’s definitely a lot of competition out there, it seems like a new one appears every month. I wonder how the economy and loss of tech funding is going to affect the larger start-ups.”

Then, there are those perhaps more well-known social media sites and networks for scientists, that are listed in no particular order:

Nature Network - uber network from the publishing giant

BioMedExperts - Scientific social networking

BioWizard - Blogged up Pubmed search

Mendeley - Digital paper repository and sharing

Labmeeting - Ditto

YourLabData - socialised LIMS

SciLink - Sci-Linkedin

Myexperiment.com - mostly workflows.

Laboratree.org similar to Researchgate. Not particularly social beyond groups and sharing documents with collaborators, but email is better, and arguably more secure.

scitizen.com - collaborative science news publishing

SocialMD - Med-Linkedin

Ozmosis - Ditto

DNA Network - network of DNA/genetics bloggers

ResearchCrossroads - Socialised grant databases

MyNetResearch - Socialised LIMS at a price

SciVee - YouTube for scientists (see also Watch with Sciencebase page

Scientist Solutions - science chat

There are so many, I can barely keep up, but if you have any you think I should add to the list, let me know via the comments box below. Or, more importantly, if you have used any of these systems please leave your thoughts.

Meanwhile, my apologies if you were expecting a lesson in how to use the likes of Twotter, FiendFreed, Ding, Pyuke, or Facebok’s feeble science apps, to help you get on in science socially, but I thought it was about time I did some linking out to the web 3.0 brigade in the world of science, so here they are.

Addendum: Since David published this piece in early November, BioJobBlog learned about several other social networks for scientists including labroots, beaker, scientistsolutions and wizfolio.

Until next time…

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!

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The other day I was chatting with Tony Stubblebine of CrowdVine (the social networking company building BioCrowd for us) and I was lamenting the possible burst of the social networking bubble before BioCrowd is launched. Tony reassured me and said that “Everyone thinks that after the dot-com bubble burst that almost all Internet-based businesses failed. However, when you look more closely, you will find that this simply isn’t true—there were many survivors who were able to build robust business as the Internet matured.”  While I felt a bit better after hearing that (Tony generally knows what he is talking about) I wasn’t totally convinced that he was right. After all, I am one of his customers who are building a new social network. That said, the very next day after my chat with Tony, I found an unusually. insightful article in the New York Times entitled “Lessons of Survival, From the Dot-Com Attic.”

The authors of the article suggest that based on their analysis of existing data that 48% of dot-com companies founded in 1996 were still in business in 2004 (more than four years after the Nasdaq’s peak in March 2000 and the so called dot-com bubble burst). According to the authors, “most people are stunned by this figure: they tend to guess that about 90% of the companies failed.” Further they suggest that “the dot-com survival rate is as good as or better than that for technologies like automobiles, tires and televisions during their formative years.”

How did the dot-com survivors do it? Instead of trying to a make a big splash in high profile market sectors, they identified niche markets that didn’t offer ROIs of hundreds of millions of dollars returns but represented viable Internet-based, business opportunities that could flourish if nurtured correctly. This largely assuaged most of my concerns about a possible impending social network bubble bust and proved to me that Tony knows his stuff! So, whether or not the social network bubble is going to burst, BioCrowd will be launched and we hope that like any new member of a species that it will be strong and fit enough to survive! 

Until next time.

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

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I want to let my readers know that a beta-version of BioCrowd is ready for review. For those of you who may not know about BioCrowd, it is a social network for life sciences students and professionals that was created by Vincent Racaniello a Professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and me. 

The reason we started BioCrowd was that Vincent and I both perceived a need for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to more effectively network with established scientists and life sciences professionals to further advance their careers or find jobs. The social interactivity of Facebook and the business connectivity of LinkedIn are what led to the creation of BioCrowd.

We are looking for a few brave women and men who want to help to beta-test BioCrowd before we launch.  If you are interested, please visit us at www.biocrowd.com and drop us a line.   For those of you who don't want to participate at the moment, but want to learn about our progress, you can follow us on Twitter and FriendFeed ,

Until next time...

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

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I never truly understood the power and reach of Twitter until I caved in and started using it about a month ago. Over the past couple of weeks, I realized that Twitter is an ideal tool for networking and job hunting. Apparently, I am not alone. Miriam Salpeter from Keppie Careers has graciously agreed to shares some tips on using Twitter to help you search for a Job. Follow Miriam on Twitter @Keppie_careers. 

Tweeting Your Way to a Job

Would you believe that you can tweet yourself to a job opportunity 140 characters at a time? It’s been done! Statistics show that job search networking is much more effective when you make “loose” connections - touching base with people beyond your immediate circle whose networks and contacts are much different from your own. With over 3 million users, Twitter offers an unparalleled opportunity to create an extended network.

Not convinced that Twitter is actually a high-powered job search tool? Read on to learn how Twitter can uniquely position you for job-hunting success!

What Can Twitter Do For You?

1. Afford access to other professionals in your field. When you follow industry leaders, you’ll know who spends time with them, what conferences they attend (and what they think of the speakers!), what they’re reading and what is on their minds. This is great information to leverage for your search.
2. Provide exposure and credibility as well as personal and professional relationships when you connect to others in your industry.
3. Offer you a venue to demonstrate your expertise and share information in quick, pithy bursts of wisdom. This is perfect if you don’t have the time or energy to create a blog.

Unique Aspects of Twitter

1. It is casual and immediate and a great place to “meet” informally.
2. You’ll find an array of people on Twitter, including CEOs, top-level executives, hiring managers, recruiters and everyone in-between! It’s one-stop shopping for your networking needs. You’ll be surprised to find that stars in your field (mentors) may follow you if you reach out to them!
3. Unlike Facebook, where it is kind of creepy if you start trying to “friend” people who are connected to your contacts, it is acceptable (and expected) to follow people on Twitter because another friend or colleague does.
4. It forces you to be brief. Coming up with your “Twit-Pitch” - what you have to offer in 140 characters or less - will help you clarify your value proposition. Remember: less is more!

 It Really Does Work!

1. Kyle Flaherty used Twitter to find a job that moved him and his family to Austin, TX from Boston. He tweeted to approximately 650 contacts that he had left his job. He included a link to a blog post outlining his interest in connecting. He explains, “Within hours I had several emails, IMs, phone calls and tweets about the topic and it actually ended up that I took a new job.” Follow this link for an interview with Kyle’s new boss, Pam O’Neil, who explains how she and Kyle used Twitter to fill the position.
2. Heidi Miller, the “Podcasting Princess,” found a freelance project using Twitter by tweeting updates about her job hunt. Many of her colleagues questioned the wisdom of being so open about her search; they worried she look desperate or foolish. However, the ends justified the means.

As more and more get involved (dare I say addicted?) to Twitter, opportunities to leverage this tool for job search networking will grow exponentially. Don’t be the one left behind! Get on board and start connecting for success!

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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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