tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10642706.post415021816947711474..comments2024-02-25T03:52:26.176-06:00Comments on Signalwriter: Social ControlRichard Laurence Baronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14971141017467268455noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10642706.post-49050832189591779432008-06-22T09:29:00.000-05:002008-06-22T09:29:00.000-05:00Paul: Thanks, first of all, for being one of the m...Paul: Thanks, first of all, for being one of the most arresting speakers the AMA-Houston Healthcare SIG has had lately. Your use of our event for releasing the latest MedTouch news is also quite an honor. Since I work on the "committee," I can say you delivered the kind of messages our audience really need and want to hear.<BR/> <BR/>Thanks, also, for your response to this blog post; I enjoyed your appreciation of our mutual editorializing. I do strategize and write for healthcare from time to time, I welcome your reinforcement of hospitals' need for clear (as well as branded) messages to all their stakeholders. <BR/><BR/>Our goals are similar, I think; and I am struck once again by how well blog.medtouch.com encompasses so many sides of the social conversation that US healthcare needs rather desperately.<BR/><BR/>Now if only I had an uncle who’s adept at videography.Richard Laurence Baronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14971141017467268455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10642706.post-17804130900317724262008-06-21T20:29:00.000-05:002008-06-21T20:29:00.000-05:00Hi Rich,Paul Griffiths, from MedTouch here.Fun to ...Hi Rich,<BR/><BR/>Paul Griffiths, from <A HREF="http://www.medtouch.com" REL="nofollow">MedTouch</A> here.<BR/><BR/>Fun to come across your perspective of the event and, since you blogged about it, I would be remiss if I didn't contribute to the conversation. (I found out about it thanks to an RSS feed I subscribe to about which finds new mentions of "MedTouch" on the web.)<BR/><BR/>I think I'll use this space to clarify one key point: writing as a discipline is far from dead! As far as I can tell, we'll always need writers around! But what is true is that we've reached the point where the costs of supplying high quality content can't go down any more. Since most hospitals need to generate more -- not less -- quality content, I wanted to stress the other options available to them.<BR/><BR/>Freelancing was the great innovation that lowered the costs of writing and allowed folks like you to setup shop, come to work in your kitchen, and (hopefully) take a lot more vacations than those of us who have to go to the office. By creating specialists outside large agencies, freelance writers are a more effective and efficient option.<BR/><BR/>That same innovation is happening today to audio and video content -- the technical costs of production are so low, your uncle can shoot a decent video with the right equipment. Note that one cannot make that same case for writing -- e.g. your uncle + a word processor does not = Faulkner.<BR/><BR/>This production innovation comes at the same time a new delivery mechanism, the Internet, has made it cheap to supply and consume the content. It just so happens that the web is a <B>screen based medium</B> first and foremost and it has taken 20 years for the technology to mature. Simply because it is easier for me to type this message, I am contibuting this way -- otherwise, I might leave an audio or video remark. <BR/><BR/>So let me give you one idea. Instead of kicking against the goads, why don't you pitch yourself as a screenwriter for social media videos? Whereas a big production company might hire a writer as one member of a large team, you could provide a more cost-effective and innovative option: create simple video scripts for clients and then hire your uncle -- who owns that awesome video camera -- as a director. <BR/><BR/>It's a change to way you might think of your services, but like all innovations, once you embrace the idea, you open up to the possibilites for more, not less, creativity. Who knows? Maybe we'd end up working together?<BR/><BR/>Best of luck and thanks for joining in the conversation. Feel free to keep up with me at <A HREF="http://blog.medtouch.com" REL="nofollow">blog.medtouch.com</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10642706.post-24983381870312868772008-06-21T07:40:00.000-05:002008-06-21T07:40:00.000-05:00Interesting and unexpected post. I am sorry to sa...Interesting and unexpected post. I am sorry to say I missed the morning event. The focus was a bit different than I remember us discussing but I heard the attendance was very good. Congrats. Have a nice weekend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10642706.post-83289812340241713942008-06-20T20:47:00.000-05:002008-06-20T20:47:00.000-05:00Oh Lord, I forgot about Twitter. Everyone's on Twi...Oh Lord, I forgot about Twitter. Everyone's on Twitter. Ed Schipul's on Twitter. MD Anderson is on Twitter. I believe I am the only human being in the solar system that is not able to Twitter. Yet.<BR/><BR/>Don't YOU forget about Twitter.Richard Laurence Baronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14971141017467268455noreply@blogger.com