Dodge Communications

Health Tweeder – Unveiled last month, the Health Tweeder is a data visualization tool that aggregates tweets on a variety of health-related topics. The tool uses “petri dishes to culture cells of dialog,” and each “cell” represents a single tweet that was sent out pertaining to a certain topic, represented by its “petri dish.” The tweets are aggregated by using relevant Twitter search terms, hashtags, and users that have been identified to follow. By clicking on a petri dish, visitors to the site can pull up the complete list of tweets related to that particular topic, and each tweet includes the link to the original posting. This allows the user to see what else that person has been tweeting about and to begin following that person if they so choose.

DIDGET – In a time where businesses engaging in social media are concerned with the bottom line, it’s easy to forget just how useful these technologies can be, even for those who couldn’t care less about ROI. DIDGET is a blood glucose meter for children that can be plugged into a Nintendo DS gaming system and rewards children for consistent testing and test results within their target range. Users get points that can be used to buy items or unlock new levels in the game. The social part comes in with the DIDGET World, a password protected Web community for users of the DIDGET meter. Here, children can join the community, and, as with the Nintendo DS, they can earn points for keeping up with their testing and redeem them to buy items in the game, to unlock other mini-games and to customize their online experience.

Where can you dine at a Brazilian churrascaria, visit Paradise Garden and discuss EHR adoption, all in the same week? During the HIMSS10 conference in Atlanta, of course! Check the Healthcare IT News Destination HIMSS10 blog for the latest installments of our guide to Atlanta’s best.  Recent posts feature lists of international eateries like Sal Grosso Churrascaria, and great local museums like the High Museum of Art; one of the High’s installations showcases several objects from Paradise Garden, an outdoor museum created by the Reverend Howard Finster, a Southern folk artist. We’ve also included suggestions for local music venues (both big and small), shopping destinations and decadent desserts. Now that we think about it—is one week really going to be long enough?

Atlanta is home to two of our favorite things: HIMSS10 and great hamburgers! Yes, you can learn about the future of healthcare and enjoy delicious beef patties, all in the same day. Some of the tastiest options available are described in our latest post on the Healthcare IT News Destination HIMSS10 blog. From unique locations like Ann’s Snack Bar to living history at The Varsity to creative versions available at Flip Burger Boutique and The Vortex Bar and Grill, there are many ways for you to get your meat on (or its vegetarian equivalent). Liberal use of your napkin is advised.

Thoora – Thoora is an online aggregator that gathers the most popular news stories from around the Internet. In addition to pulling together the stories, Thoora keeps count of how many traditional outlets and blogs have posted articles on the various topics and how many tweets per hour the topic is producing on Twitter. Each unique article (traditional and blog) is linked to, and a live Twitter feed is provided in the sidebar so you can see what is currently being said right from the Thoora dashboard.

Across the top of the page are tabs for top stories and other predetermined news topics, such as business, sports, entertainment and politics, and within some of these topics are more specific headings. For example, under the Sci/Tech tab is a full section on health-related stories. These discuss anything from medication and treatments to iPhone apps helping to fight pandemics. All of these predetermined headings and subheadings allow the user to subscribe to an RSS feed, and the main headings all have a unique Twitter account where the most popular stories are constantly being pushed out. There is also a search bar which allows the user to search for keywords across the entire site.

If you’re attending HIMSS10 you’ll probably spend a lot of time going to and from conference sessions, showcases, receptions and exhibits—so much so that figuring out where to grab a good lunch can feel like a chore. But we’ve done the work for you. Just visit the Healthcare IT News Destination HIMSS10 blog, where you’ll find our list of 10 terrific lunch spots. From fancier options to home-cooked Southern food to quick-and-cheap eats, we cover our favorite places to refuel and prepare to conquer whatever is on the agenda in the afternoon. Check back often as more information on Atlanta activities and eateries is yet to come.

Google Buzz – Google Buzz is the newest offering from the Internet giant, and it invites users to “go beyond status messages.” Unveiled just this week in the inboxes of Google’s 176 million Gmail users, Google Buzz is a social media platform designed to compete with Facebook and Twitter. Buzz shares several things in common with each of these social media mainstays, and it allows users to share links, images, videos, or simple status updates. Unlike Twitter, however, shared items are fully integrated into the Buzz interface, and there is no character limit. Buzz can be linked to other Google services such as Picasa and Google Reader, so that any shared items from those sites appear as Buzz items, and non-Google properties like Flickr and Twitter can also be linked up.

Google has jumpstarted the use of Buzz not only by placing it right into Gmail, but each user’s follower list has been automatically populated with their frequent email and Gchat contacts. By eliminating all the “hard” work for users (i.e. seeking out the service and building a contact list), Google has made it easy for us to begin “buzzing” immediately. Very smart.

Google Buzz comes in the wake of the seemingly unsuccessful Google Wave. After that previous foray into social media, it’s fair to wonder if Buzz will be successful in ways that Wave was not. This article from PCWorld explains several key differences between the two, the main difference being that Wave is about collaboration and communication, while Buzz is about sharing. As far as the futures of Buzz and Wave are concerned, the article sums it up like this: “So my guess, as well as the guess of others, is that once you’re comfortable with Buzz, you might be more willing to use Wave for collaborative online projects. But the trick will be to get you to buy into using Google Buzz, and that may be a tough sell if you’re already used to sharing items with your existing networks on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.”

We know all you HIMSS10 attendees are going to be busy taking advantage of the many opportunities available at the conference. But we must suggest you set aside some time to experience Atlanta’s superb restaurant culture as well. Put down that soda and bag of chips you got from the hotel vending machine, and have yourself a real meal. Need some suggestions for where to go? Travel to the latest post of the Dodge Communications guide to the city’s best on the Healthcare IT News Destination HIMSS10 blog to see our recommendations for upscale eateries. Restaurants near all the conference hotel locations are covered. So get going and make some reservations!

Two new installments were recently added to the Dodge Communications Guide to Atlanta’s Best on the Healthcare IT News Destination HIMSS10 blog. Those of you planning out your Atlanta itineraries for the HIMSS10 conference may want to review our list of great area activities for families (or anyone who’s young at heart).  And before setting out for a full day of adventures—or a full day of conference activities—fuel up with a tasty morning meal at one of our favorite breakfast spots. More local tips on where to find good eating and entertainment will be coming soon!

bit.ly – In a social media world nearly saturated with URL shorteners, bit.ly has found a way to differentiate itself from the multitude of other options. The first advantage of using bit.ly is that it uses a small number of characters in its custom URLs. This allows users to maximize their 140-character allotment in Twitter posts. But to take advantage of the best services that bit.ly has to offer, you need to sign up for a free account. With an account, users can keep a history of created links with a running total of clicks to each link that was shortened. You can also link your bit.ly account with your Twitter account. This allows you to post tweets from the bit.ly site without having to copy/paste the shortened URL into another site.

There are also two bookmarks that users can drag to the bookmark toolbar in their browser. These add a level of convenience that most other shorteners do not offer. The two bookmarks are “Shorten with bit.ly” and “bit.ly Sidebar,” and they work like this:

• “Shorten with bit.ly” – When clicking on this bookmark from any site that you want to share, a new tab/page opens in your browser with the custom link already created. From this page, you can post to Twitter or just copy the URL to use however you please.
• “bit.ly Sidebar” – When visiting any site, this sidebar gives you a new custom URL, allows you to tweet right from that site, and also gives stats on how many clicks to that site have come from bit.ly links that already exist. If visiting a site for which you have already created a custom link, the current total of clicks from your link is also displayed.