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ePatient conference: Ten most memorable quotes and stats (Day 2)

Another set of fantastic quotes from the floor of the ePatient conference. Read the best of Day 1 here.

1. “The idea that I can pretend I know everything is just wrong. There is huge power in being willing to say I don’t know. Let’s look it up together.” - Danny Sands, MD, on how medicine needs to open up to empowered patients


2. "“I wanted to understand the literature as well or better than any physician I would go to see” - Craig Lipset, Pfizer, on his own experience as an ePatient


3. "...And expect the patients, now informed and comprehending,
   To sit idly by awaiting your instructions?" - part of a poem delivered by patient advocated Regina Holliday


4. "Health activists are the top 10% of epatients, reaching 15,000 patients on average." - Jack Barrette, with WEGO (Cool quote but I'm a little dubious of his overall POV - one of his slides showed the "1% Rule" - data date: 2006. Forrester has updated that to almost 25%)


5. “Our generation of physicians was never satisfied not communicating well with people. These tools give people choices and an ability to be there with patients.” - Ted Eytan, MD, MPH, Kaiser Permanente, on why better tools make practicing medicine more fulfilling


6. “Because of this site, now I know what my doctor is talking about”- Jeanne Barnett, CysticFibrosis.com on what community members say to one another


7. "Are we expecting them to broadcast that they like their herpes medicine … and then someone to comment back?" - Jonathan Richman, Dose of Digital Blog, Bridge Worldwide, on the limits of what pharma can really expect from social sharing


8. “I’m not in the business of changing systems; I’m in the business of helping people use the system as it is.” - Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent, on what it takes to navigate the healthcare system today


9. “It would be nice to talk about sex and stuff with a doctor who hasn’t known me since I was seven years old” - one simple, but really powerful line, from Novartis' Becoming Christopher film


10. "Instead of trying to tell an entire story in one commercial – what about a series of three?"- Jonathan Mayberry, author of Patient Zero, on how to make better connections in advertising

ePatient conference: Ten big ideas (Day 1)

Seth Quillin (the EVP of innovation in GSW's digital lab) and I are in Philadephia for ePatient 2010 - a conference that brings together lots of people like us who are dedicated to reaching, engaging and educating epatients and caregivers. Who are they? Patients and caregivers who’ve become empowered and engaged advocates for their own care through the social web and connected communities.

We both did a slew of live blogging from the conference floor (you can read those detailed posts at WhatsYourDigitaliQ.com). I guess this would be called slightly delayed blogging - the kind you reflect on in the hotel bar.

Ten big ideas from Day 1:

1. The new ROI for pharma is sustained behavioral change. Every speaker I heard today talked about it.


2. We have new opportunities today to reach people where they really are. Ben Sawyer, Digital Mill mentioned a really compelling example: New York state is looking at how to put the emergency broadcast system into Xbox Live because that’s what people are interacting with in real time


3. When it comes to games (for health or entertainment) perceived competence is a big barrier and also a big myth. Two presenters showed how quickly most people pick up games - once they stop saying "I can't."


4. Healthcare is increasingly focused on innvoation outside the research lab. We met Joe Shields - the new innovation chief at Pfizer. The announcement of his new global innovation role mirrors similar recent hires at J&J, Lilly and elsewhere along the cooridor.


5. Challenge for innovators is designing information into the things around us; changing daily behavior with packaging. In a case study about GlowCaps, David Rose showed how something as simple as a night light can bump adherence from 71% to 98%


6. The age of ubiqutous peer influence is over. Susannah Fox, Pew Internet & American Life Project, and others talked about how much more balanced the value we put on inputs is today - 9:10 people say healthcare professional are the most valuable source for getting an accurate diagnosi; 5:10 say HCPs for daily tips and advice (same number as friends, family, other expert patients); vast majority choose friends, family, other patients for emotional support


7. Making stories and messages more personal really has an impact. Victor Strecher with HealthMedia showed case studies from campaigns that connected people's personal core values to desired changes in behavior. He not only showed head-to-head compare stats, but also MRI scans. The more tailored the message, the more likely to activate the medial prefrontal cortex – the decision making part of the brain – and the precuneus – where ideas are attached to long term memory. Real science? Totally cool.


8. We need to pass on valuable communities. 4,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every day. Tools like CaringBridge can make that terrible diagnosis easier for almost everyone. The weight on the shoulders of people with cancer isn't just fear, it's figuring out how to tell and support their loved ones.


9. Big trend for 2011 is providing value to patients beyond pills. Brian O’Donnel from Klick talked about the big market pressures on pharma (the elephant: end of the blockbuster drugs) and figuring out how to support brands in this new climate


10. Love this one >> Myth: patient communities are all about sharing and emotional suppor; Fact: they see themselves as being about science, about making people better. Not about hugs. Here here. (Susannah Fox, Pew Internet & American Life Project)

Conspicuous authenticity

Growing up, my parents spent the last half of every summer in the basement. They fed tomatoes through a tortorous-looking grinder bolted to an old wooden table. They sliced corn off its cob. They blanched beans. Boiled enormous vats of water to seal mason jars. Twist-tied hundreds of bags of freezer-ready veg.

They had an organic farm (which to me just meant they fertilized things with cow poo - ew). And, they preserved summer (and all its full flavored authenticity) with all manner of cans and jams and pickeled things.

Of course at the time, my sister and I were not big fans. How many times can you eat corn on the cob in August? (answer: 31) What we didn't know: Pat and Dave were just ahead of their time. They'd be the coolest thing going in 2010.

I heard a fascinating interview about this new cool on Marketplace yesterday. Tess Vigeland was talking with Andrew Potter - the author of a new book called The Authenticity Hoax: How we got lost finding ourselves.

Potter says what we eat - and how we talk about it - is all part of how we see ourselves ... or, more importantly, how we want the world to see us.

The drive to authenticity (the most local food, an unspoiled vacation spot, reclaimed flooring, etc.) is a very public expression of what kind of person we are. It's a successor movement to the high-rolling days conspicuoous consumption.

As our nation got wealthier, it became less socially acceptable to show off overt displays of wealth or taste. According to Potter, we turned - over time - to "conspicuous authenticity," displays of consumption or experience that express how deep or spiritual or inolved we are. To return to the local food movement - The idea is that I'm not the kind of person who shops just to own something. I shop to sustain a local community that matters to me and my kin. (Kin :)

It's a trend that does create shakey economic ground. Any time you have "positional goods," they're valuable only to the extent to which other people can't really have them. To get the best local food, you have to have some inside knowledge, some connections, some know how. That status seeking element to authenticity is what makes us feel better, more unique. It also creates the in crowd, the posers, and all the other lunch tables we remember from school.

I should caution - Potter has an interesting positioning of his own. He's a "social critic" - meaning, I think, that he's a cultural faultfinder by his very job description. Some of what he says is a dark view of our everyday motivations. But, it's interesting to think that, say, the food we buy is less of a choice about health or diet and more of one about what kind of person we really are - deep in our mushy insides.

Go mobile: Five signs mobile optimization should be a top priority for your brand

The latest data from Pew (a notoriously conservative research house) finds that over 1/3 of us (38%) use our cell phones to access the internet. That's up 52% from last year. If the trend continues, over half of Americans will be using their cell phones to access the web a year from now.

That's a surge of change. The next big move in how we connect and communicate.

Here's the question: Are you still designing for the big screen?

Those websites that offer amazing experiences at 17 inches are downright painful to view and navigate on the little screen. That's led many consumer brands to optimize their sites for mobile - either as a m-site (that detects that the user is accessing the site from a mobile device and automatically directs them to the mobile-friendly version) or as an app. Earlier this summer, Google evened the playing field between those two choices by showing both sites and apps in its mobile search results.

Not mobile friendly? If you answer yes to any of the five questions below, it's absolutely time to start thinking about that little screen-

Is your brand WOM worthy? Here's what happens at happy hours, dinner parties, offsite lunches and other causual encounters today:

Person1: Have you seen [this cool thing]?

Person2: No, I haven't heard of that

Person1: Let me show you (pulls out iPhone, iPad, blackberry, etc., and dials up a site or an app to share)

Today, WOM is technology enabled. We expect to be able to instantly share not only ideas, but experiences. If you think your customers are talking about you, it's time to make it easier for them to show you off.

Is your audience uber mobile? Some audiences are more mobile than others. Teenagers, sure. But also doctors (72% of them use smartphones) and IT professionals. What do you know about how your audience uses the computers in their pockets?

Are you advertising in public places or on outdoor boards? If you're seen by people on the go, you want them to be able to access you on the go. Make it clear that there's an easy mobile experience and give them a memorable URL. Who knows - they could be headed to the bank or Starbucks where they'll be waiting in line with plenty of time to visit your site. Great example is the Best Buy minonator app. It was advertised largely onscreen and in theater displays. Call to action was to download an app that would decode the squeeky little credits at the end of the Despicable Me movie. Something fun to download and play with while you're waiting for your popcorn (or for all those turn of your cellphone PSAs to play through :).

Do you have a salesforce? If you have people out in the field or on the salesfloor, chances are they're going to want to share some aspect of your site with a customer. How can you make it easier (faster to load, easier to read, more relevant)? Go mobile. The initial interaction is better and the customer knows they can access that same content on their own any time from any device.

Would you like to make more immediate calls to action? A lot of brands are experimenting with fast calls to action. It could be putting a QR tag on a print piece or a bit.ly URL on a TV spot or even a single click from a Facebook status update. People who use those immediate technologies? Mobile people. If you're on a social network, the chances are about even that someone is accessing your updates via mobile device. And, if you're using a QR tag, it's more like 90%.

Next post: 5 tips for optimizing the experience (not just the content) for the little screen

Rise of the Great White Forty-Somethings

It turns out I'm dating one of the most influential people in the social world right now.

A 40-something on Facebook.

He looks kind of unassuming, doesn't he? Not like a force behind the next big shift in social media. But, he and other 40-somethings with young kids and disposable income are taking over the social web.

I don't know when it happened. It used to be the 30-somethings with their big ideas and the 20-somethings with their play-by-play who ruled the social web. Glibly trading observations on modern life; swapping favorite Daily Show quips; and spotting all the best new music, destinations and eats.

No more, friends. We've been sidelined.

The piracy sites that used to be home to the newest Radiohead album are now packed with episodes of iCarly and Thomas the Train. The fastest rising video on the viral charts is about a mini van - nay, a swagger wagon:

3 million people think that's hysterical.

And, if that's not confusing enough, there's the whole Betty White phemonomon. That's right, the 40-somethings are organized. They used Facebook and other social media to propel a Golden Girl onto SNL. I don't even want to tell you what they're doing for politics - passing petitions and POVs and counter-media ideas en masse.

Think through your own Facebook friends. Who are the most frequent posters (once you "hide" the farm and mobwars people, of course). Chances are they're 40-something moms with workout updates, social goings on, and lots of pictures. 

How will we connect with this newly socially-empowered group? Products are already hitting the market that are designed to be part of the next wave of social adaption - not the full-scale asks for digital natives, but easy moves for the complex age bracket that's both pirating iCarly and promoting Betty White. Check out Zoove for one example.

Social retailing at the crossroads of recommendations and social search

That post last week about Cap's new Facebook Connect-powered tour experience got us talking again about the promise and possibility of integrating brand content with live social input.

Of course, we looked at all the usual examples (including the still-creepy-over-a-year-later Prototype Experience), but there's one that stands out as an easy, powerful integration more brands should be making:

Levi's Friends Store

 

It's a friendly, personal little shopping experience that asks you to log in with Facebook Connect to see both what other Facebook users like and what your actual friends say about their favorite denim. All the brand's coupons and offers from their own Facebook page appear in the right rail.

 

I'd love to see this built into Facebook itself, but the experience on this outpost is nearly as good. You do have a sense of what people like you are choosing - with a much more personal face on it than the algorithms Amazon uses ... the ones that somehow decided I should really buy The Rambler and a 38-piece casserole set (pass, thank you).

That said, looking at my personal friends store, I'd guess this isn't highly adopted technology yet ... all my recommendations seem to come from other ad bloggers (@griner is the next review down). Still, this feels like a step in the right direction.

Will social win out over search?

Big, conversation-changing idea from Tac Anderson over at New Comm Biz in a post called 3 Reasons Why Social Media is Killing Search: 

"Bit.ly and Google both have the same purpose: deliver you to a useful website. That’s it. The difference is that one is performed by search queries (and) the other is initiated by a recommendation."

Social networking has fast been gaining ground on search. For a few days in December it actually beat it. Our wandering curiosity may be being replaced by an appreciation of good curating. After all, why would we dig around for the next great idea, beautiful thing, innovative stain fighter, first date, etc., when those things are being fed to us by our trusted network?   

Anderson attributes social’s emerging supremecy to three things: 

1. Faster news.  Think where you went when you last heard office chatter of the latest breaking news (politicians philandering, planes plummenting, people perservering)? I went to Twitter. Most of the news sites are 30 minutes behind. Google just started time-based search. Those gossipy little follows of mine on Twitter always seem to have it first. 


2. Better filter. You find the best stuff people have read on social; you find everything on search 


3. Faster innovation. Social developers just seem more responsive to user needs and behaviors 

Creative brief: Owners wanted for break-through clinical innovation.

What will happen to advertising when business fundamentally changes from rewarding problem solving to rewarding solution finding? When knowledge is too big and problems too discreet for any one business to own the answer or even the process to find the answer?

Just tagged a fascinating article on that those business changes by some of the solution-seekers at InnoCentive, Eli Lilly and Hive Pharma.

Their basic premise boils down to two things: 

1. Getting new drugs to market is increasingly expensive and uncertain (for lots of reasons)


2. Drugs are getting increasingly personal (meaning we needs more types of drugs for increasingly smaller segments of humans)

The combined effect challenges the traditional large, fully integrated pharmaceutical company model. If they can’t guarantee blockbusters (think Viagra and Prozac), how do they continue to thrive?

The authors make a number of short-range recommendations to bridge the gap, but their long-term view is to an entirely new model. The winners, they say, will establish orchestrated drug-development networks. This is beyond individual company strategies to acquire and license pipeline innovations. It’s an industry-wide knowledge base centered around agreed-upon standards for digitally representing drug assets.

That probably got a little confusing, right? Inside any pharma company there’s a mass amount of research going on. Some of it leads to new drugs. Some of it to new questions. Some of it just sits there as an underdeveloped asset. Today, the way those companies store that data is idiosyncratic at best (lots of different systems) so there’s no easy way for them to compare or sell it to one another. Which means there’s a lot of duplication out there and a lot of unused ideas (or hints of ideas) sitting on the shelf.

The emergence of a fluid drug development network (where knowledge could be monetized and shared across players) has broad-ranging impact. Not only could smaller players broadcast their intellectual property, but importantly, “foundations or even patient groups could have drugs developed that targeted markets too small for the big players.” Yeah, the people who needed it could fish it out and pay for its development instead of waiting to become someone else’s priority.

How monumental would that be? Crowdsourcing groups of owners who through pooled funding could change – or even save – their own lives. This is the promise of the next era. Not more tweeting about what we had for dinner but more, higher-value sharing and tailored collaboration. 

How will trends like this change advertising? What if we’d no longer be selling a product, but bringing together the people who will create it? Will agencies with category expertise have significant advantage? Or will a new industry crop up altogether? Exciting times.