A conference about Web 2.0 as it relates to medicine and health

Medicine 2.0™ is an international conference on Web 2.0 applications in health and medicine, organized and co-sponsored by the Journal of Medical Internet Research, the International Medical Informatics Association, the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, CHIRAD, and others. (When I first saw the announcement, I squirmed a bit at the "2.0" modifier and its trademark notice--doesn't 2.0 seem to be overused these days?) Anyhow, here's how the conference organizers define Medicine 2.0:

Medical experts wanted

By now, I think that it is safe to say that Wikipedia plays a ubiquitous role in the world of online information. This is even true for health information. At our Spring 2007 conference on Biocitizens and New Media Technology, Health Horizons Program Director Rod Falcon noted in his presentation that, "Wikipedia is the most frequently cited source [of user-generated health content] and appears on the first page of 63% of health searches" (emphasis is mine--I marvel at this phenomenon). 

A new player will soon be entering the field of online medical information: MedPedia.

Putting in context another newly-launched health-related social networking site

Trusera--a website that allows people to share their real-world health experiences--launched last month. Its tag is "Come experience the Power of Been There." When I first came across the announcement on the bbgm blog, I wondered what would set Tujera apart from similar sites, like Daily Strength or iMedix, which I blogged about here.

Welcome to Digital Mobs

A husband writes an impassioned letter on one of the popular Internet bulletin boards denouncing a college student he suspects of having an affair with his wife.  Immediately, throngs of people join in the attack, and within days the numbers grow to tens of thousands, with “teams of strangers hunting down the student, hounding him out of his university, and causing the family to barricade themselves inside the home."  http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/03/.

Revolution Health's health?

Just as I was starting to look for something to blog about today, I got an e-mail from a client asking what I know about whether Revolution Health is going under or merging or otherwise transforming itself. Launched officially in April 2007, Revolution Health was intended by its chairman/CEO, AOL co-founder Steve Case, to . . .well, revolutionize health care by providing health-related online tools and content from a variety of trusted sources and enabling individuals to take greater control of their health management.

Clay Shirky Talks About Online Community on the Colbert Report

Last night I saw Clay Shirky, Jimmy Wales, Tim Wu and Jonathan Zittrain on a panel at the NYU Law School. Apparently I missed Clay's appearance 2 weeks ago on the Colbert Report, talking about his new book.