Susannah Fox

I help people navigate health and technology.

#bcsm

Should peer health community moderators get paid?

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Evidence is piling up in favor of peer health communities. The question is: How do we sustain them for the long-term? Here are 3 studies (of many) about the benefits of peer-to-peer health advice: A survey of the #bcsm community found that participation lowered people’s anxiety and increased their overall knowledge of breast cancer. A survey of […]

Celebrating #BCSM as a peer health innovation

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Cancer patients were among my first peer health innovation teachers and remain, years later, among my favorite communities to follow. I keep an eye out for hashtags like #gyncsm (gynecological cancer social media), #bcsm (breast cancer social media), and #lcsm (lung cancer social media) on Twitter. I listen to podcasts like The Cancer Mavericks (and […]

What health care can learn from Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel

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Google is upgrading health search…again. In 2010, I was inspired by Animal Farm to write that Google saw some health sites as more equal than others. This time I turned to Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, by Virginia Lee Burton.

Persistence vs. flow

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The Pew Research Center has released its latest report celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Web. This one looks forward to 2025, with experts’ predictions. Here’s my favorite quote so far, from the “Pithy Additions” section: Jerry Michalski, founder of REX, the Relationship Economy eXpedition, observed, “The Internet gives us Persistence — the ability to leave things for […]

Sincerity in the storm (welcome to our world)

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Hurricane Sandy “slapped the snark out of Twitter” for media reporter David Carr. In his column today, Carr discusses a newfound sense of community, which will sound familiar to anyone who uses social media to navigate an acute or chronic health condition: – Twitter turns serious during a crisis – Certain users and hashtags can […]