If you’re someone who has heard about a social networking tool called Twitter but have no idea what it is, today is your chance to learn. Over 150 hospitals are currently using Twitter as an additional channel in their communication strategy, plus you’ll find state hospital associations (we are @iowahospital), doctors and other health care professionals using it on a daily basis to share information.

Tweetcamp II

Lee Aase, Manager of Syndication and Social Media for Mayo Clinic, will be hosting a free, hour-long training session today, Thursday, April 23, at 3pm CST.

This session, Tweetcamp II, is the second iteration of this course, based on the immense success of the first Tweetcamp training hosted last week.

Tweetcamp II will cover some of the same material as Tweetcamp I, but will have expanded examples of practical applications and case studies, particularly related to health care.

This course was primarily drawn up for Mayo Clinic employees, but will also be available via live webcast due to the number of interested participants. ABC’s Good Morning America ran a video story after the first training titled, “Why Doctors are Tweeting During Surgery,” which also profiles Twitter’s use in hospitals across the U.S.

How to Attend Today’s Training

1. Leave a comment on the original Tweetcamp II post with your name and organizational affiliation. Your email address will not be published, but is simply needed to verify your submission.
2. Follow Lee’s “3 Steps to Preparing for Tweetcamp II“:
   • Sign up for a Twitter account. If you need assistance, go through Twitter 102: Creating an Account.
   • Log into the #tweetcamp2 “room” in TweetChat using your Twitter username. Post a message announcing your plans to attend Tweetcamp II and include the following link: http://bit.ly/q9hgu
   • Watch the Mayo Clinic Music Fun video on Sharing Mayo Clinic.
3. Access the live webcast beginning at 2:55 pm CST to follow along with Lee’s presentation.

Following these steps will help you understand some of the power of Twitter. Tweetcamp II will give you even more hands-on experience, plus case studies for how it is already being used in health care.

Once the session is completed, don’t forget that you can follow the Iowa Hospital Association on Twitter as @iowahospital.

Update: the slides for today’s presentation are below.