Social networking is one of the flavours of the month and many people are looking at its possibilities beyond the social contact elements. Rod Ward has provided a useful report of the ways in which the NHS Faculty of Health Informatics is looking at it.

As my colleague Rod Ward reports on his Informaticopia blog - and it is the top item on Google if you use the right search terms - the NHS Faculty of Health Informatics held a 'Masterclass' on 15 May on 'The power and the perils of social networking tools in the NHS.

I won't cover all of Rod's points, but you encourage you to read his post - and if you were there, add a comment to his post or this one. A few points that he did raise, though - or reported the speakers as raising:

• some social tools eg Flikr may be a way for getting those with less IT skills switched on to IT use, through the element of fun;
  
  
  
  
• a risk of the multiplicity of tools available reducing communication rather than improving it;
  
  
  
  
• collectivised wisdom as a social benefit.

The report is timely as various parts of the BCS are looking at the use of social networking tools (although many are looking at using existing, external tools).

However, there is already the start of questioning of the value of social networking tools and whether, as some people are suggesting is the case with email, people will be overwhelmed by them. It is also the case that using them other than simply 'consuming' takes time, and few people actually contribute resources to growing the networks.

A couple of 'reality check items' that might be of interest - one showing positive benefits, the other raising questions (and I am on the positive. enthusiastic side of the discussion on using social networking):

Trust Driving People to Web Social Networks for Health Info

- Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, www.ihealthbeat.org 23 April 2008



Real People Don't Have Time for Social Media

- Sarah Perez, www.thereadwriteweb.com April 16, 2008