The Value of WebiScope
Written April 23rd, 2008 by Thomas AmesIf you don’t mind, let’s take a moment to pat ourselves on our backs. WebiScope has come a long way in providing healthcare Web professionals a medium to discuss, collaborate, and come together for camaraderie. I know in my time at WebiScope I’ve had the good fortune of experiencing all three of those qualities.
There are a few reasons WebiScope has been such a great benefit to me in my time as a healthcare Web professional and since I left the general industry. From behind the computer at my somewhat drearily colored cubicle, WebiScope was an opportunity to relate to other Web professionals about similar problems. SEO, Google searches, ROI, and CMSs all tended to be subjects in which everyone was interested. It was great to come to a group where everyone had similar problems, and occasionally someone broke down the wall and found a great solution.. and was wonderful enough to help his or her counterparts.
When WebiScope was becoming bigger and I took a more active role in responding with my own insights, I was asked by Aaron to regularly guest blog. I found that blogging not only accomplished my prerogative of sharing my insights and finding solutions to my problems, but it also offered me a chance to analyze problems in a new way. While writing I often would come up with new perspectives to old or continuing problems. Being able to publicly blog and ask for others’ insights often led to interesting new solutions.
And then the best part came: the WebiScope dinner. Not only was it great because it was free, but it was wonderful to put faces with the very colleagues I had been collaborating with for months. Looking back, the dinner was my favorite part of the trip to Las Vegas: it was where I met some great people, and we all went out and walked the strip after each day of conferences. The friendships were refreshing, and the memories still make me laugh to this day.
So, if you can spare it, take some time to become more active in WebiScope. You’ll find the benefit reaches much further than just professional inquiries and prerogatives; you’ll end up with some lasting friendships, and off of those friendships you will gain a better understanding of your colleagues and their perspectives.
That’s why I find WebiScope invaluable.
What are some ways in which you’ve used WebiScope? Share with us your sea stories, pithy insights, or memories of WebiScope!
If you’re interested in writing for WebiScope, please contact Thomas Ames at thomas@webiscope.com.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I found my current job (Director, Web Technology) when it was posted on the original listserv.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I am fairly new to WebiScope but love that there is a place like this just for healthcare web professionals. We often face a unique set of challenges and it is great to see that I’m not the only one! I love the willingness of others to help each other work through those challenges. I look forward to becoming more involved with WebiScope in the future.
April 24th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
WebiScope has been a very valuable resource for me. I enjoy collaborating with fellow web professionals. It’s great to be able to “compare notes” and bounce ideas off each other. It’s awesome that we have such a great group of members here who are always up with the latest and greatest. The dinner last year was awesome and I hope it happens again. It’s great to finally meet people that you previously only knew through online collaboration. I hope to have made and continue to make lasting connections with my fellow WebiScopers.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
I agree this is a great community for hospital web professionals. I wish it would have been around when I was managing Texas Children’s Hospital’s web site. This would have been an invaluable resource. Now that I am on the other side of the fence, I can truly see the value of a collaborative group such as this. Keep up the good work.