#hcsmca Time to Take a Bow
As #hcsmca celebrates 5 great years, I’m preparing a succession plan.
#hcsmca has been my playground – an incredible place to experiment, learn and grow. Re-reading this 2011 Globe and Mail article about #hcsmca, I’m reminded what #hcsmca has done in 5 years, 235 chats and 8 meetups; and what’s special about this community.
But for me personally the point has been reached where it is time to change my leading role in #hcsmca.
This comes at a time when the #hcsmca community is planning one of its biggest and most important ventures to date – our first all-day #hcsmca National Symposium – so in no sense should the succession statement above be viewed as a calamity.
Online communities mature and evolve. This has always been the case for #hcsmca.
Two years ago, Pat Rich posted a blog in which he asked quite explicitly whether #hcsmca remained relevant as a Twitter-based community and at that time the answer was a resounding yes. With the confidence of the community behind me, I worked with Shirley Williams and Pat to develop a new vision and mission with #hcsmca, which I think of as one of my proudest moments.
But in the wake of that process and in giving #hcsmca a strong philosophical and organizational basis a funny thing happened – my personal involvement in social media and online community building expanded in exciting new directions, primarily re-imaging online communities for the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media and Mayo Clinic Connect.
#hcsmca, in part, helped pave the way for vibrant social media health communities such as #bcsm, #hcldr and #medx. We helped advance the Patients Included movement here in Canada and beyond, including co-authorship of the Patients Included Charter.
The reality is that #hcsmca cannot and should not survive if only one person can commit to giving it the type of ongoing, volunteer support it requires.
Make no mistake – for the next several months as we lead up to the #hcsmca National Symposium in Vancouver in February – #hcsmca will remain an important priority for me. The Planning Committee working on the symposium is top-notch and the day will showcase just what the Canadian social media community can bring to improving health care. And #hcsmca weekly chats will continue at least until February 2016.
A 5th anniversary is something to celebrate, but also time for serious reflections. So in that spirit I would like to take time on Wednesday, Oct 7 at 1pm ET (time zone converter) to think about the following questions:
- T1 What does #hcsmca mean to you?
- T2 How can we continue to foster a health care social media community in Canada when weekly #hcsmca chats stop in Feb ’16?
- T3 What would your #hcsmca succession plan look like?
Photo credit: Flickr CC
Colleen Young 
Colleen has created a gracious and encouraging atmos with a ‘tude that says ‘come on in to a community that’s open to listening and learning, to exploring and deep diving’
No matter that my social media focus is oft beyond scope (end of life, medication safety, health literacy and tech) #hcsmca is still the hashtag I automatically add (assuming main hash isn’t stupidly long):
I know the caliber, depth and breadth, the acceptance and encouragement within the community. My hope is that the community will want to continue, perhaps absent the ‘value added’ that’s differentiated #hcsmca – the meetups, ‘speed dating’, pecha kucha, haikus etc spearheaded by our Community Creator .
On a personal note, I can say with some confidence that I am Colleen’s go-to person for necklaces on an as-needed-for-conference basis. Thus I am assured one-on-one with her neck. Then, too, there’s the power I hold in the contents of the pink flask that accompanies our Innovation Incubation walk n talks.
May the spirit of Colleen’s #hcsmca endure.
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