By keeping track of area Twitter traffic, reporter Sarah Jane Tribble of the Cleveland Plain Dealer noticed that the Cleveland Clinic has tweeted almost 500 job openings despite an official hiring freeze. Tribble also took the opportunity to explain to readers the growing trend of Twitter-based job listings.
Further south, Juana Summers of the Austin-American Statesman reports that Texas hospitals are getting into the act as well, with more than 75 folks attending a day-long summit on social media. Hospital representatives learned the basics of tweeting, poking and friending and got advice on navigating the legal minefield of social media.
AHCJ offers a number of resources for health reporters looking to plunge headlong into Twitter to catch the pulse of the community and interact with both readers and sources.
- Start with AHCJ’s introduction to Twitter for health journalists and our tip sheet on multimedia and social networking for journalists
- For those reluctant to get their feet wet, Mónica Guzmán’s AHCJ 2009 presentation on social networking tools for reporters (PDF) lets folks know exactly why Twitter’s awesome
- Take in the basics along with a few best practices with Guzmán’s tip sheet on journalists and social networking (PDF)
- AHCJ has also collected a range of relevant information at our online technology tip sheet
- And, finally, reporters from AHCJ’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter will recognize the contents of this article on the digital revolution in health reporting
