Rasu Shrestha MD MBA
Saturday May 19, 2012
We just witnessed the biggest IPO in Internet history.
Facebook now commands a staggering $105 billion value, instantly giving founder
Mark Zuckerberg a net worth of $20 billion. The huge early hype and the ho-hum
early results of the IPO in terms of the stock numbers does not dispel the fact
that Facebook has redefined the very way in which today’s society stays
connected, and shares and consumes information.
This landmark event makes you ponder the interesting
implications to radiology. We’ve already started to see how the Facebook
generation of radiologists are embracing Web 2.0 and social media not just in
their personal lives, but their professional pursuits too.
Radiologists are embracing various tools and platforms
available today for online collaboration, learning, and information sharing.
They are discovering new, unexplored and sometimes unexpected relationships
based on common interests and experience (research, clinical, everyday
interest). Yottalook and ARRS Goldminer are used extensively for search. Radiology
specific social networking sites, such as RadRounds, allow radiologists to manage
their radiology profiles, network, and participate openly in image sharing and
case discussions.
As Zuckerberg articulated, “Here’s the thing — our mission
isn’t to be a public company. Our mission is to make the world more open and
connected.”
LinkedIn, Twitter, and the almighty Facebook are common
hangouts (no pun intended) too. Google+ is a favorite amongst photographers,
offering higher resolution image display and related tools – and I wonder if
more radiologists will throng here too. ACR, RSNA and many others have
dedicated channels on YouTube.
What’s also interesting is how variations of these tools are
being increasingly used for communications and collaborations within the
hospital environment, and how we’re now starting to see some of these tools
becoming nicely integrated into the imaging workflow.