The following presentation is an update to one I gave at the California Healthcare Foundation in 2007, and includes updated data and experience since then. I gave the presentation to staff at The Advisory Board, who produce the very useful iHealthBeat publication. iHealthBeat has just begun accepting user generated content to spur discussion. Please head over and write a few comments on the perspective pieces if you can.

Key changes since 2007:

• Biog writing is slowing
• Blog reading is increasing and plateauing across all age groups
• General participation is increasing
• Note the slight dip in news reading for Generation Y relative to blog reading

I like the Forrester Social Technographics approach, which place blog writing at the highest tier of participation. It seems that the Web2.0 ecosystem will come to resemble the human one - a small percentage of people will lead, a larger percentage will participate and follow, and a small percentage will not participate.

Thanks a ton, again, to The Pew Internet and American Life Project for making their data so freely available. I was able to find the magic Excel file with data meticulously categorized and trended on this page on the Pew Internet site. It’s a huge help. Here’s the full presentation. Click on any slide to see fuller size:

The Genie Industries video is especially compelling because everything they discuss is applicable in health care. What if we substituted “patient care” for making scissor lifts - we would see huge strides in improvement. Also, just upgraded the software that powers this blog. Viva open source.

• Genie Industries, Spotlight - A nice video of Genie Industry's work promoting LEAN and the customer focus in its manufacturing efforts
• Popularity Context Plugin Fix for Wordpress 2.5 -
• The Wisdom of Patients: Health Care Meets Online Social Media - CHCF.org -
• From Al Gore?s Chief Speechwriter: Simple Tips for a Damn Good Presentation (Plus: Breakdancing) - Great advice on giving presentations. The one I like best - it’s not about you, it’s about the audience.