FDA Social Media Hearings #FDASM
The pharmaceutical industry is glued on the FDA hearings on social media happening in the US. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a government agency of the US Department of Health & Human Sciences and acts as the main regulator of US market for drugs, worth $275 billion-a-year.
Pharma companies and social media
Healthcare in Europe is vastly different to healthcare in the US. The key difference that UK visitors notice on a trip to the US is the plethora of prescription-only medicines advertised on television. In contrast, this kind of brand marketing to consumers is forbidden in Europe and all prescription-only drug marketing is tightly regulated.
Cervical cancer jab: Please help inject some sensible advice into Google's results
Google risks undermining the cervical cancer vaccine program with the negative, scaremongering slant of its search results. Any parents searching for information on the vaccine in the light of the tragic death of Natalie Morton are presented with a page of negative and alarming stories.
There's something we can all do about this - that's link to the relevant NHS page and try to get that in the top 10 results for relevant Google searches. Here's how YOU can help.
The workaround: technology strikes back
People have been finding workarounds for poorly designed systems for many years. Although both the technology and the workarounds have become more sophisticated, the problem, and its solution, remains the same.
Many years ago, before web-based interfaces, we were asked to investigate why an online ordering system wasn’t delivering the promised productivity benefits. Our research, which involved videoing staff dealing with telephone orders and then interviewing them about the process, soon revealed the problem.
Tributes.com: Social networking may fail, but obits are booming
With advertising revenue taking a nosedive, many online startups are shifting their business models. But it's not often that such changes are as tied up in the issue of mortality as with the creation of Tributes.com.
This weekend Boston.com profiled Jeff Taylor, the founder of job classifieds site Monster.com. Since leaving Monster, Taylor created a social networking site for boomers called. Eons Inc. But as the economic winds have shifted, Taylor has moved the focus of his company from lifestyles of the 50-something set to an online obituaries desitination called Tributes.com. As if baby boomers didn't already have enough trouble contemplating their imminent demise.
Thinking outside the box and other bad advice
Earlier this month I opened CREATE 2009, a forum for academics and practitioners to share creative and innovative ideas for human computer interaction (HCI).
The conference's theme was ‘Creative inventions and innovations for everyday HCI’ so to start things off I outlined my four step approach to help designers find more creative solutions to their problems.
Case Study: How a small business more than doubled leads with local paid search
Think senior citizens aren't using the Web to research and buy products? Tim Pelton did. Tim is a sales manager for Bedco Mobility, a company that sells and services products such as wheelchair stair lifts in the Baltimore/Washington DC corridor. For close to 100 years, Bedco advertised in local newspapers and yellow pages.
But calls and leads were dropping precipitously.
Bedco has a website, but never attempted online marketing because the thinking at the company was that senior citizens just plain weren't online. Wrong. The 70-75 year old age bracket is one of the fastest-growing segments of the online population, according to the Pew Center for the Internet and American Life. In 2005, 25 percent of them used the Internet. Last year, 45 percent went online. Older surfers use the Web primarily for searches for things such as health information, e-mail, and buying products.
Facebook Fan Box and what it means for brands
Facebook has just launched Fan Box, a new widget. This is great news for brands wanting to grow a Facebook fan page. But it's probably going to drive traffic in the wrong direction for most brands.
PRSA Counselors Academy says mastering social media skills is vital this year
An online survey conducted in April and May among 450 members of the Counselors Academy, a Professional Interest Section of the Public Relations Society of America, revealed that mastering social media skills is one of the top three issues for PR professionals in 2009/2010.
Never run out of toilet paper again
Down to one square of TP? Is the dog out of kibble, the soap in the bathroom down to a sliver, and you can't find an envelope to mail that letter or a bandage for your blister? Don't blame Alice if you can't think, plan or shop ahead.
Alice.com launched today in beta. The new commerce site sells "household essentials," those necessary staples such as soap and shampoo, tissues and detergent, pet food and aluminum foil...and doesn't charge a shipping fee. Instead, they rely on customer loyalty -- the fact that consumers need to keep buying all this stuff
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
