Let’s play a game. Let’s play a word association game. You know how this works, right? I say a word and you say the first thing that comes to your mind. Ready?

Flu. Was a pig or swine the first thing you thought of? Maybe it was a symptom of the flu. OK. Let’s try it again. Ready? Government. I’m going to wager a guess that the first thing that came to your mind wasn’t “connected”, “internet savvy” or “social media”.  Just a guess.
While this administration has set a healthy tone for bringing the government up to speed with the technological advances of recent years, many people still have the perception that the government is slow to change and extremely bureaucratic. And to be fair, in many (maybe even most) cases it is indeed slow and occasionally behind the times. Some things take quite some time to trickle down, or trickle up for that matter. However, as one of our more recent health scares demonstrated, one government entity upped its ante in the social media and technology spheres.  Ah yes, the H1N1 virus, the artist formerly known as swine flu, catapulted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) to the front pages of newspapers all over the country.  Everyone was talking about it. Some people bought masks, others avoided the subways. In the midst of the pandemonium, a government agency was attempting to get accurate and up to date information out into the public sector.

How do you get your information out in the age of citizen journalism and Twitter updates? If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Like we’ve mentioned before, in this age of millions of people connecting through sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, there’s a place for socializing and learning in health-related scenarios.  While a condition like the regular flu (or flus) may be common, new outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics can create a sense of panic and urgency like we experience with the H1N1 virus. New information, disease tracking and reporting needs to be conveyed and disseminated quickly. The CDC is on the ball.  There are buttons for embedding on websites, widgets to download to track the flu.  There are 3 different twitter accounts – one for Emergency Information, one for healthcare professionals, and one for Flu Updates. They have an RSS feed, eCards to send to friends and family (although this is sometimes awkward) and Podcasts. And let’s not forget the CDC profiles on Facebook, MySpace and DailyStrength.  The agency is also involved with image sharing on Flickr, has a YouTube channel and a mobile site (meaning it’s accessible from a mobile phone).  While some of these things seem to be in nascent stages, the fact that the CDC is participating so heavily in eHealth marketing and social media is astounding. And yet, simultaneously it makes complete sense.  79% of online consumers have watched a video in the past 12 months and 62% of online consumers have visited YouTube. So it makes sense to have a presence in a medium that so many people turn to – especially when one needs to disseminate up-to-the-minute information. Stories break in a matter of seconds on Twitter. Even Facebook’s status updates operate more like a Twitterfeed after the revamping a few months ago. 

While the CDC still has some ground to cover and needs to stay involved, the agency deserves some praise for working with current technologies instead of playing ostrich like many other health and pharmaceutical companies. Who would’ve guessed the government would lead the charge on use of technology for health purposes?

If you’re into mobile technology or social networking as it relates to health, follow us on Twitter - @manhattanresear (without the ch) for more interested tidbits on the intersection of health, technology and the Internet. If you have questions, comments, or a topic you’d like to suggest for a podcast, please feel free to email us at podcast@manhattanresearch.com.  That concludes today’s podcast, and thank you for joining us today.

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