BREASTFEEDING MEDICINE Volume 9, Number 4, 2014 ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/bfm.2014.9989
President’s Corner
Spreading the ABM Message in the Digital Age Wendy E. Brodribb
O
ver the past 20–30 years the way we communicate with each other and the way information is delivered have altered beyond recognition. Gone are the letters painstakingly written by hand or manual typewriter and received days (or sometimes weeks if overseas) after they were posted, or the expensive long distance and overseas phone calls with uncertain quality and unexpected technical glitches. We now expect everything to be at our fingertips both figuratively and literally, with the keyboard of the computer or other electronic device being our gateway to the wider world. Without a Web presence, businesses or organizations cease to exist for many people, so having an easily accessible, recognizable Web site is essential for ABM. At the present time over 8,000 people access the ABM Web site (www.bfmed.org) each month. It provides an overview of the organization, membership information, and important announcements about upcoming events such as the annual conference. It also houses our freely available, evidence-based protocols that have more than 10,000 views per month. These protocols are written to educate and guide clinical practice on topics as diverse as mastitis, breastfeeding and drug-dependent women, and allergic proctocolitis in the exclusively breastfed infant. Physicians, nurses, midwives, lactation consultants, and hospitals can use them in their day-to-day interactions with mothers, and they can help set local guidelines, procedures, and protocols. Annotated bibliographies that inform the protocols are also available in the ‘‘members only’’ section of the Web site, as is a list of members. The Web site is presently being updated to improve its functionality and provide further services for members and nonmembers. The Web site is only one component of the digital communication ABM undertakes on a weekly basis. For example, the listserv is an avenue for members to share ideas and develop personal and professional relationships, and e-mails generated by the ABM office are an essential communication tool. However, social media is no doubt the way of the present and future, offering many opportunities not only to share information with an audience much wider than the ABM mem-
bership, but also to engage in two-way conversations and debates about important issues. The Communications Committee, in conjunction with our paid staff, oversees ABM’s Facebook page, twitter account, and blog. ABM’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ pages/Academy-of-Breastfeeding-Medicine/323867490324) was launched in February 2010 and now has more than 15,500 fans, up 5,000 from a similar time last year. Although the majority of these fans are from the United States, there are substantial numbers from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Greece, Indonesia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Egypt, with a further 33 countries having some fans. Facebook posts include links to relevant and important media stories and journal articles as well as information about ABM-related activities, responses to events and comments, protocol updates, and press releases. Our wordpress blogs (www.bfmed.wordpress.com), where members of ABM share their views and opinions on breastfeeding-related stories in the news, recent research studies, articles in Breastfeeding Medicine, professional experience managing breastfeeding issues, and other topics, has an even greater reach, with nearly 20,000 page views in October 2013 alone. Twitter fans and those joined with LinkedIn have doubled in the past 12 months to over 4,000 and over 1,000, respectively, with more than 2,000 tweets per month. Having a strong social media presence is an essential element to extending ABM’s reach to communities that would otherwise be unaware of the organization, its mission and goals, and the information and resources we can provide. However, the success of social media is dependent on the people who contribute to it. If you have not accessed the ABM Facebook page, joined twitter, or visited the blog, why not have a look? It may open a new world of breastfeeding information and discussion for you.
235
—Wendy E. Brodribb, MBBS, PhD, FABM President, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
President’s Corner
Spreading the ABM Message in the Digital Age Wendy E. Brodribb
O
ver the past 20–30 years the way we communicate with each other and the way information is delivered have altered beyond recognition. Gone are the letters painstakingly written by hand or manual typewriter and received days (or sometimes weeks if overseas) after they were posted, or the expensive long distance and overseas phone calls with uncertain quality and unexpected technical glitches. We now expect everything to be at our fingertips both figuratively and literally, with the keyboard of the computer or other electronic device being our gateway to the wider world. Without a Web presence, businesses or organizations cease to exist for many people, so having an easily accessible, recognizable Web site is essential for ABM. At the present time over 8,000 people access the ABM Web site (www.bfmed.org) each month. It provides an overview of the organization, membership information, and important announcements about upcoming events such as the annual conference. It also houses our freely available, evidence-based protocols that have more than 10,000 views per month. These protocols are written to educate and guide clinical practice on topics as diverse as mastitis, breastfeeding and drug-dependent women, and allergic proctocolitis in the exclusively breastfed infant. Physicians, nurses, midwives, lactation consultants, and hospitals can use them in their day-to-day interactions with mothers, and they can help set local guidelines, procedures, and protocols. Annotated bibliographies that inform the protocols are also available in the ‘‘members only’’ section of the Web site, as is a list of members. The Web site is presently being updated to improve its functionality and provide further services for members and nonmembers. The Web site is only one component of the digital communication ABM undertakes on a weekly basis. For example, the listserv is an avenue for members to share ideas and develop personal and professional relationships, and e-mails generated by the ABM office are an essential communication tool. However, social media is no doubt the way of the present and future, offering many opportunities not only to share information with an audience much wider than the ABM mem-
bership, but also to engage in two-way conversations and debates about important issues. The Communications Committee, in conjunction with our paid staff, oversees ABM’s Facebook page, twitter account, and blog. ABM’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ pages/Academy-of-Breastfeeding-Medicine/323867490324) was launched in February 2010 and now has more than 15,500 fans, up 5,000 from a similar time last year. Although the majority of these fans are from the United States, there are substantial numbers from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Greece, Indonesia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Egypt, with a further 33 countries having some fans. Facebook posts include links to relevant and important media stories and journal articles as well as information about ABM-related activities, responses to events and comments, protocol updates, and press releases. Our wordpress blogs (www.bfmed.wordpress.com), where members of ABM share their views and opinions on breastfeeding-related stories in the news, recent research studies, articles in Breastfeeding Medicine, professional experience managing breastfeeding issues, and other topics, has an even greater reach, with nearly 20,000 page views in October 2013 alone. Twitter fans and those joined with LinkedIn have doubled in the past 12 months to over 4,000 and over 1,000, respectively, with more than 2,000 tweets per month. Having a strong social media presence is an essential element to extending ABM’s reach to communities that would otherwise be unaware of the organization, its mission and goals, and the information and resources we can provide. However, the success of social media is dependent on the people who contribute to it. If you have not accessed the ABM Facebook page, joined twitter, or visited the blog, why not have a look? It may open a new world of breastfeeding information and discussion for you.
235
—Wendy E. Brodribb, MBBS, PhD, FABM President, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
