Websense is a Web filtering tool used by many large organizations. It lets management control employee access to web content based on category definitions provided in a Websense database. There are over 150 categories, and each Websense client can choose what to block and what to allow.
Make sure your site is in the right category, since being in wrong group could limit your visibility.
A recent check of 85 hospital blogs found the following Websense groupings:
44 – Health
16 – Uncategorized
14 – Blogs and Personal Sites
3 – Social Networking
3 – Business and Economy
2 – Educational Institutions
1 – Society and Lifestyles
1 – Sports
1- Traditional Religions
The 17 hospital blogs categorized as “Social Networking” or “Blogs and Personal Sites” could have a problem. Some Websense clients block that group for productivity reasons. Note – Almost all of these hospitals used free hosting services from Blogspot, Typepad or WordPress, and had sub-domain URL’s of these services. (For example, innovishealth.wordpress.com)
Fortunately, you can request a category change in two ways:
1. If your organization uses Websense, sign up for a Support Account and use the Site Lookup tool. This tool will let you check sites and suggest changes.
2. If you are not a Websense customer, then send them an email at suggest@websense.com
Ed’s recommendations:
1. Check your Websense category at least once a quarter – make sure there are no surprises.
2. Get your own domain name, and don’t use the free blogging services. That gets you automatically grouped as a “Blog and Personal Site”
3. Be proactive for others – if you see a site blocked because it’s in the wrong category, suggest a change. It helps everyone.
Wondering about your hospital blog? Check the list here – The Hospital Blog Websense ListNote – link goes to .xls Excel file. Use right-click “save as” to download
I’ve also updated the Twitter stats and Blog list. YouTube and Facebook stats are still available from July 2010.
Other notes – New York now has the most hospitals on the list with 94 entries, California is second with 53. This is because of hard work by W. Brad McCrudden, Communications Specialist at the Healthcare Association of New York State.
The number of Blogs has decreased, from 99 to 87. I removed ones with no updates in the past six months.
Finally, I’ve started gathering LinkedIn data. If you manage a Hospital LinkedIn account, let me know by email
A few weeks ago Chris Boyer sent me a private message on Twitter, inviting me to check out his latest project for Inova Health System.
I’m glad I did! Fit For 50 is a program that looks simple, but actually has significant content and resources. It also integrates social media into everything it offers. Read on for my interview with Chris.
Chris, tell us a bit about yourself.
Chris Boyer
Ed, thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about this project.
I’m the Senior Manager of Digital Communications at Inova Health System, managing the social media and online marketing efforts of this six-hospital system, which serves the Northern Virginia and Washington, DC metro area. i’m an active member of the #HCSM community and is the original author of the blog Hospital Online Marketing. Before working at Inova, I consulted with nearly 100 hospital and health systems, developing a variety of innovative marketing and business development solutions.
What’s the 60 second description of FitFor50?
FitFor50 is a health and wellness partnership between Inova Health System and former Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell Green, designed to promote a fit and active lifestyle. Using a free interactive website , as well as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter communities, FitFor50 shares both inspirational and clinical daily video tips from Darrell and Inova doctors. On the FitFor50 site, participants can create an online playbook to record and track their personal fitness goals and measure their progress. Over the course of 50 days (September 10 through October 30)
, FitFor50 fitness events, clinics and screenings will give the community a chance to meet Darrell in person. In addition, Darrell is writing a blog on the site, and there is a contest where winners can meet Darrell in person.
That’s a major initiative – How does it fit into the marketing / business goals for Inova?
As part of our nonprofit mission and our dedication to the communities we serve, a fitness / wellness campaign is a perfect fit with our overall brand. Inova Health System focuses on not only providing the best medical care, but proactively encouraging preventive care and healthy living. It’s perfect timing because more and more people are now open to learning about fitness and wellness tips, because they know how it affects their health and their daily lives.
From a business standpoint, the FitFor50 program gives us a platform to weave in education about our key service lines (cardiology, ortho, spine, pain management, OB, etc.), so we will be top-of-mind when people need to use those services.
Doctor participation is significant here; part of the content is provided by Inova Health System physicians. This program is a creative way to allow community members to engage with doctors and showcase our strengths (within Stark restrictions of course).
Darrel Green is your spokesman, and has made a big time commitment to this project – what’s his motivation?
Darrell Green is a natural for this project. He has been committed to fitness all of his life: in the NFL, he was known as the fastest man in football — and at 50, he is nearly as fast. Plus, Darrell has been in the Northern Virginia community for more than 27 years. When we approached him to be part of a program to spread wellness and fitness to the community, he naturally jumped at the chance. The fact that Darrell is a local celebrity attracts a lot of attention, and it’s a bonus that the message is authentic to him.
Best of all, we were thrilled to see that Darrell is a natural in front of the camera –his video segments show how fun and entertaining fitness can be.
This is a cross-post from 33charts, the excellent physician blog by Bryan Vartabedian, MD (aka Doctor_V on Twitter) The focus is on hospital blogs, but there’s good advice for any organization. – Ed Bennett
Before You Start a Hospital Blog
By Bryan Vartabedian, MD
I have a friend who works in marketing at a local hospital. He asked me for a little input on what to think about when starting his hospital’s blog.
Over the past year I’ve served as a sounding board for a handful of hospital systems as they’ve struggled with the issue of how to position their blog presence.
Here are a few thoughts before you start a hospital blog:
Blog for show or blog for dough. Most hospitals feel compelled to start a blog but many don’t know why. Consequently, the world is full of dead hospital blogs. Just like the world is full of dead broadcast Twitter feeds and empty, lifeless Facebook pages. If you’re going to expend the resources on a blog, make it functional, make it memorable, make it noteworthy, make it work, or don’t make it at all.
What does a blog get you? While a blog can serve as a ‘platform for crisis communication’ and a ‘forum for public education,’ the best sites in the business serve as a window into a hospital’s human side. Great blogs are an eclectic mix of multimedia activity that breaks down barriers and tells stories. And, if properly set up, it will serve as a natural site for the discussion of uncomfortable hospital issues that make their way into the public light.
Your hospital blog might serve as your social home base. Depending on how your online presence evolves, your blog can potentially serve as your hospital’s social home base. Core stories, experiences, and community commentary can live there while Facebook and Twitter feed you traffic. Your blog, in turn, can drive traffic to your more static properties dedicated to specific programs and initiatives.
What’s the ROI on a hospital blog? Just like no one knows the ROI on the hospital landscaping or the marketing VP’s cell phone, this question serves as the primal defense for those interested in keeping their heads squarely in the sand. A better question might be how much it will cost you to remain alienated from your patient base? You might call over to the Mayo Clinic and launch the question to social media director Lee Aase. His stories of piano playin’ seniors and viral health videos filmed on $100 flip cams have landed his facility on Good Morning America and just about every other mainstream outlet I know. I’m guessing that the Mayo Clinic is beyond the ROI question.
Deliver consistently or don’t deliver at all. When your hospital makes the commitment to show itself through a blog, you’ve got to be consistent. You can argue about what represents consistent content but if you can’t deliver twice a week for the next 12 months you need to consider whether you have the proper resources to take the leap.
The most successful hospital blogs maintain limited editorial teams with a division of labor set along a rough editorial calendar. Look for 6-8 key voices from your institution. Seek ambassadors within your facility who can message from the heart, operate professionally, and keep up what can be a challenging commitment. Grow only as the most genuine voices emerge.
Don’t reinvent the blog. Most importantly, study other hospitals and look at their successes and failures. Decide how you want your site to work based on what you see. Be critical and look at your blog as an opportunity to show the part of your hospital and its staff that no one ever knew existed.
You’ve got to hand it to SXSW. Their panel picker system generates serious publicity for the conference, and helps them select the best sessions. It’s a win for everyone. Anyone can vote – even if you don’t plan to attend. This year they’ve added a health track and there are 82 proposals. Here are my [...]
We’ve got a special profile this time around. Dan Fuoco has done a top-notch job at Detroit Medical Center, leading their social media presence with a personal touch while innovating with surgical events, catchy videos and a clear strategy for his hospital. Read closely, Dan has a lot to share. Please introduce yourself Dan Fuoco, [...]
UPDATE – Added University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to the list. Is your hospital still waiting to try social media? Here’s something to consider: All 14 hospitals listed on the 2010-2011 U.S. News Honor Roll are using social media. 78% of the larger Best Hospitals List are also engaged on Facebook, Twitter and other social [...]
I have added four additional tables to the Hospital Social Networking List - individual lists of: Hospitals Blogs Hospitals on Twitter Hospitals on Facebook Hospitals on YouTube The data on each table can be sorted and filtered, making it easier to research popularity, social media reach and other metrics. As you can imagine, it took a [...]
