Social Networks

Entries related to social networks, group psychology, anthropology, and really any of the social sciences.

Foursquare For Good?

Recently, CHC joined the Social Media Health Network. (Note: I work for CHC, but this is a personal blog post, reflecting my own views, and not necessarily opinions of CHC). On the Social Media Health Network, I read a little bit about hospitals on Foursquare. The blog post pointed to a survey of hospitals on Foursquare as well as provided some interesting ideas about what health organizations should be doing with Foursquare.

With this in the back of my mind, I attended a meeting this afternoon, where we were talking about using social media to improve teens’ health. I started talking about Foursquare and dug around a little bit.

Eli Cannon’s a pub in Middletown has had 329 different people check-in for a total of 783 check-ins. There are a dozen tips about things to do at Eli Cannon’s, with half of them reported as being done by multiple people.

In contrast, the the YWCA in New Britain only has five people that have check-in, for a total of seven check-ins, and no tips. It made me think, can we use Foursquare for good? Can we get people to try the arm curls instead of the curly fries? Are their other venues and other actions that we can encourage people to visit and do?

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Wordless Wednesday



#hcr construction bringing jobs to CT, originally uploaded by Aldon.

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Wordless Wednesday



20110203_005b.jpg, originally uploaded by Aldon.

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#FF @nachc @MarcwNACHC @aabayasekara @gracesonia @LNReynolds @lynnwms @MarileeBenson @Willie_Matis @khynes2000

This Follow Friday, I am highlighting friends from the National Association of Community Health Centers (@nachc). They have a new website up called Health Center Voice. It is designed for people interested in advocating for community health centers.

Now is a time that this site is especially important. The proposed cuts from the House Appropriation bill to the Continuing Resolution bill, includes $1.3 billion dollars in cuts to community health centers. From a NACHC press release:

If this cut were to be approved, it will mean that America’s Health Centers will lose the capacity to serve 11 million patients over the next year, with well over 3.3 million current patients losing their care within the next few months. That is equivalent to terminating all health care to the entire population of Chicago, or to everyone living in the states of Wyoming, Vermont, North and South Dakota, and Alaska combined.

That is what I call being penny wise and pound foolish. Will those 11 million people stop needing health care? No, they will just get it in other ways, like going to the emergency room which is much more expensive.

Related to this is a plan to eliminate AmeriCorps. (See this petition).

Each year, AmeriCorps offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups

One important AmeriCorps program is the Community HealthCorps.

Founded in 1995 by the National Association of Community Health Centers, Community HealthCorps is the largest health-focused, national AmeriCorps program that promotes health care for America’s underserved, while developing tomorrow’s health care workforce.

The plans to eliminate AmeriCorps is yet another penny wise and pound foolish effort.

So, I salute my friends on Health Center Voice that use twitter and encourage you to follow them.

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Wordless Wednesday



The #gkas team, originally uploaded by Aldon.

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