benchmarking twitter hashtag usage at medical conferences
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BENCHMARKING TWITTER HASHTAG USAGE AT MEDICAL CONFERENCESS Palmisano, A Miller, T Parker, P Farmer
MedThink SciCom, Inc, Raleigh, NC
INTRODUCTION• Twitterisamicrobloggingsocialnetworkservicewithapproximately175millionregisteredusers
– Itisavailableinover20differentlanguagesandcanbeaccessedonmostinternetcompatibledevices(eg,computers,smartphones,tablets)
– Itprovidesreal-timeinformationandopinionsregardingtopicsofinterestdefinedbytheusers
– Usersspecifythetopicsorpeopleaboutwhichtheywishtoreceiveinformationbyelectingto“follow”them
• Atmedicalconferences,useofTwitterhashtagsprovidesanavenueforattendeestofollowconferencenewsandcommentary
• MedicalprofessionalsattendingconferencesmayuseTwitterto– Disseminatehigh-valuedatatocolleaguesinreal-time
– Notifycolleaguesaboutinterestingpresentationsattheconference
– Discoverandinteractwithcolleagueswhohavesimilarinterests
– Commendcolleaguesbytweetingorretweetingabouttheirwork
– Evaluatetheacceptanceorpopularityofdataorconclusions
• Consideringthewaysinwhichcommunicationofscientificinformationisevolving,itisincumbentuponmedicalpublicationprofessionalstobeawareofhowsocialmediachannelsareaffectingthepublicationlandscape
• AlthoughTwitterhasincreasedinpopularityovertime,theuseofTwitterhashtagsatmedicalconferenceshasnotbeeninvestigated
OBJECTIVES• Toevaluatetheuseofconference-associatedTwitterhashtagsatmedicalconferences,therebyprovidinga
benchmarkforfutureassessmentsofTwitterusage
METHODS • ConferenceAuthority(Sylogent,Newtown,PA)wasusedtoidentifythetopglobalmedicalconferences(by
attendance)in2011for4majortherapeuticspecialities(ie,oncology/hematology,cardiology/vasculardiseases,gastroenterology/hepatology,andgeneralmedicine)
• Hashtagsforeachconferencewereidentified– Hashtagswereunavailablefor2ofthemajormedicalconferences(ie,JapaneseCirculationSocietyandPrimaryCareConference).Therefore,inclusionwasexpandedintheareasofcardiology/vasculardiseasesandgeneralmedicinesothatallspecialityareascontained5conferencesthatusedconference-associatedhashtags
• Twitteractivity(ie,thenumberoftweetsassociatedwithaconference-specifichashtag)wasassessedforthedurationofeachconferenceusingRadian6(Salesforce.com,SanFrancisco,CA)
• Tweetandretweetvolumeandtotalreach(ie,numberofpeoplewhoreceivedtweetsorretweets)wererecorded
RESULTS• 91%ofthe“top”medicalconferencesinitiallyidentifiedwithConferenceAuthorityhadTwitterhashtags(Table)
• Forthetop5conferenceswithconference-specificTwitterhashtagsineachspecialityarea,Twittervolumewasgreatestfortheoncology/hematologyfield(Figure1)
• Oncology/Hematologyconferenceshadatleast4timesasmanytweetsperattendee(mean,1tweetper7attendees)thanotherspecialityconferences
– AmericanAssociationforCancerResearch(1tweetper4attendees),AmericanHeartAssociation(1tweetper14attendees),DigestiveDiseaseWeek(1tweetper16attendees),andAmericanAcademyofPhysicianAssistants(1tweetper12attendees)hadthegreatestmeannumberofhashtag-associatedtweetsperconferenceattendeeattheoncology/hematology,cardiology/vasculardiseases,gastroenterology/hepatology,andgeneralmedicineconferences,respectively
• ConferencesintheUnitedStateshadagreatermeannumberofhashtag-associatedtweetsthanconferencesoutsideoftheUnitedStates(1457.3vs515.2,respectively)
• Overall,retweetsaccountedforonly30%oftotalhashtag-associatedtweetvolumeatmedicalconferences– Oncology/Hematology(37%)andcardiology/vasculardiseases(33%)conferenceshadagreaterpercentageofretweetsthangeneralmedicine(27%)andgastroenterology/hepatology(24%)conferences
• Totalreach(ie,thenumberofTwitteruserswhoreceivedaconference-specifichashtag-associatedtweetorretweet)wasgreatestforoncology/hematologyandcardiology/vasculardiseasesconferences(Figure2)
• Conferenceattendanceandtotalreachwerenotlinearlyassociatedoverall(R ² =0.4463;Figure3A)
• Alinearrelationshipbetweentotalreachandconferenceattendancewasobservedforoncology/hematologyconferences(R ²=0.8622;Figure3B)butnotforcardiology/vasculardiseases(R ²=0.2211),gastroenterology/hepatology(R ²=0.3217),orgeneralmedicine(R ²=0.523)conferences
– Thecorrelationbetweentotalreachandconferenceattendanceobservedinoncology/hematologyconferencesmaybeattributabletotherapidexchangeofinformationgenerallyseeninthisspecialityarea
CONCLUSIONS• Twitterisrecognizedasauniqueandvaluabletoolbyconferenceattendees
• Theutilityofhashtag-associatedtweetsmayvarywiththerapeuticspeciality(egoncology/hematology),andtheremaybegreateradoptionofTwitterbyconferencesheldwithintheUS(ie,thebirthplaceofTwitter)
• Conferenceattendancewasnotpredictiveofconference-associatedtweeting,suggestingthatotherfactors,suchasadvocacygroupinterestandtendencytowardrapiddisseminationofdata(bothattributesoftheoncologyfield),mayofferpredictivevalue
• Themajorityofhashtag-associatedtweetswereoriginal(ie,notretweets),implyingthatdiscussionandinteraction,notjustdisseminationofinformation,occursatmedicalconferences
ABSTRACTObjective: ThemicrobloggingserviceTwitterusesahashtagtomarkkeywordsortopicsinatweet.HashtagstraditionallyareutilizedatmedicalconferencestoallowTwitteruserstofollowconferencenewsandcommentary.Nobenchmarks,standards,or“amplificationfactor”existfortheuseofhashtagsatmedicalconferences.ThisanalysisintendstobenchmarktheuseofTwitterhashtagsatmedicalconferencestofacilitatefuturecomparisons.
Research design and methods: ConferenceAuthority(Sylogent,Newtown,PA)wasusedtoidentifythetopmedicalconferencesbyattendancein2011for4majortherapeuticcategories(generalmedicine,oncology,gastroenterology,andcardiology).TwitteractivityforthedurationofeachconferencewasassessedusingRadian6(Salesforce.com,SanFrancisco,CA);tweet/retweetvolumeandtotalreachwererecorded.
Results:Hashtagswereutilizedat90%ofthemedicalconferences.Forthetop5conferenceswithhashtags,hashtagusagewashighestforoncology(mean,3279vs758forcardiology,331forgastroenterology,and329forgeneralmedicine).Retweetsaccountedforapproximately30%ofhashtagvolume,extendingthereachoftheinitialcommunication.ConferencesintheUnitedStateshadgreaterhashtagvolume(mean,1457)thannon-USconferences(mean,515).Inoncology,alinearrelationshipbetweenhashtagvolumeandconferenceattendancewasobserved(R ²=0.86).
Conclusions:Ofthe4therapeuticcategoriesanalyzed,oncologyconferenceshadthegreatesttotalhashtagvolume,potentiallyincreasingaudiencereachandprovidingvaluableinformationforpublicationprofessionals.FutureanalyseswillassesschangesinTwitterusageandexaminepracticalapplicationsforpublicationprofessionals.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLICATION PROFESSIONALS• Twitterisrecognizedbymedicalconferencesasanimportantmeansofdisseminatinginformationandis
beingusedbyconferenceattendeestoengageindiscussions;thus,monitoringTwitteractivitymayprovidemedicalpublicationprofessionalswithuniqueinsightsincluding
– Suggestionoftopicsthatshouldbeaddressedmorefullyinasubsequentpublication(eg,safetyconcerns)
– Areasforfutureanalyses
– Identificationofmedicalprofessionalswithaninterestorexpertiseinaspecificarea
• FutureanalysesshouldassesschangesinTwitterusageandexaminepracticalapplicationsforpublicationprofessionals(eg,useasametricforassessmentofdatadissemination)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSTheauthorsareemployeesofMedThinkSciCom,Inc,andhavenofinancialinterestsintheoutcomeofthestudy.Allauthorscontributedtotheresearchandwritingoftheposter.AdditionalcontributorsincludedGinnyBolandforresearchdesignandimplementationandJillianGeeforwritingexpertise.TheauthorswouldliketothankChristinaCartwrightforeditorialsupportandLoftinBarnesforassistanceinthepreparationofthepostergraphics.
Datahavebeenrevisedsincetheabstractwassubmitted.
Table. MajorConferencesIdentifiedbySpeciality
Field ConferenceConference attendees in
2011, nConference-associated
hashtag
Oncology/Hematology ASCO
ASH
AACR
ECCO/ESMOa
ASTRO
32,500
18,000
17,500
15,000
11,500
#ASCO11
#ASH11
#AACR
#emcc2011
#ASTRO11
Cardiology/Vasculardiseases ESCa
AHA
ACC
JCSa
HRS
EuroPCRa
32,500
23,500
20,000
17,850
13,500
12,750
#ESCparis2011
#AHA11
#ACC11
None
#HRS2011
#insidepcr
Gastroenterology/Hepatology DDW
UEGWa
EASLa
AASLD
ACG
16,50014,000
8250
8000
4500
#DDW11
#UEGW
#ILC11
#LiverMeeting
#acg2011
Generalmedicine OMED
ACP
AAPA
PCCa
NMA
WoncaEuropea
10,000
9500
9000
5000-6000
4500
3750
#OMED2011
#im11
#AAPAImpact
None
#nma2011
#WONCA
AACR,AmericanAssociationforCancerResearch;AAPA,AmericanAcademyofPhysicianAssistants;AASLD,AmericanAssociationfortheStudyofLiverDiseases;ACC,AmericanCollegeofCardiology;ACG,AmericanCollegeofGastroenterology;ACP,AmericanCollegeofPhysicians;AHA,AmericanHeartAssociation;ASCO,AmericanSocietyofClinicalOncology;ASH,AmericanSocietyofHematology;ASTRO,AmericanSocietyforRadiationOncology;DDW,DigestiveDiseaseWeek;EASL,EuropeanAssociationfortheStudyoftheLiver;ECCO/ESMO,EuropeanCancerOrganisation/EuropeanSocietyforMedicalOncology;ESC,EuropeanSocietyofCardiology;EuroPCR,EuropeanAssociationofPercutaneousCardiovascularIntervention;HRS,HeartRhythmSociety;JCS,JapaneseCirculationSociety;NMA,NationalMedicalAssociation;OMED,OsteopathicMedicalConference&Exposition;PCC,PrimaryCareConference;UEGW,UnitedEuropeanGastroenterologyFederation;WoncaEurope,WorldOrganizationofNationalColleges,AcademiesandAcademicAssociationsofGeneralPractitioners/FamilyPhysicians,Europeanbranch.aInternationalconference.
Figure 3. Relationshipbetweenconferenceattendanceandtotalhashtag-associatedtweetreachfrom(A)allmedicalconferencesevaluated(N=20)and(B)oncologyconferences(n=5).AACR,AmericanAssociationforCancerResearch;ASCO,AmericanSocietyofClinicalOncology;ASH,AmericanSocietyofHematology;ASTRO,AmericanSocietyforRadiationOncology;ECCO/ESMO,EuropeanCancerOrganisation/EuropeanSocietyforMedicalOncology.
35
A
30 R 2=0.4463
25
Atte
ndan
ce, t
hous
ands
20
15
10
5
00 2 4 6 8
Total reach, millions
10 12 14 16
35
B
30 R 2=0.8622
ASTRO
ECCO/ESMO
ASHAACR
ASCO
25
Atte
ndan
ce, t
hous
ands
20
15
10
5
00 2 4 6 8
Total reach, millions
10 12 14 16
POSTER NUMBER
25
Scan with QR code reader to obtain a PDF of this poster and hear more from one of the authors.
Figure 1. Overalltweetvolumebyconferencespeciality.
3500 3280
758
331 329
3000
2500
Hash
tag-
asso
ciat
ed tw
eets
,m
ean,
n 2000
1500
1000
500
Oncology/Hematology
(n=5)
Cardiology/Vascular diseases
(n=5)
Gastroenterology/Hepatology
(n=5)
Generalmedicine
(n=5)
0
Doesincreasedtweetvolumesuggestamorerapiddisseminationmindset?
Figure 2. TotalnumberofTwitteruserswhoreceivedaconference-associatedtweetdirectlyorthroughretweeting(ie,totalreach)byconferencespeciality.
7
5.9
3.2
0.3 0.3
6
5
Tota
l rea
ch, m
ean,
mill
ions
4
3
2
1
Oncology/Hematology
(n=5)
Cardiology/Vascular diseases
(n=5)
Gastroenterology/Hepatology
(n=5)
Generalmedicine
(n=5)
0
Whywouldoncology/hematologyandcardiology/vasculardiseasesattendeesappeartobemoreengaged?
8th Annual Meeting of ISMPP • April 23-25, 2012 • Baltimore, MD
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