CROWD SOURCING: LET SOMEONE ELSE DO YOUR JOB?

Crowd sourcing can be looked at as an application of the wisdom of crowds concept, in which the knowledge and talents of a group of people is leveraged to create content and solve problems. Crowd sourcing can be broken down in to three categories: creation (like Wikipedia); prediction (like Yahoo! Buzz); and organization (like Google). 

WHAT IS AT STAKE?

Jeff Howe (June 2006) first proposed the idea of Crowd sourcing.” Whether you believe crowd sourcing is a gimmick, or the next big thing, it’s important to note that the idea is still in its early, some would say idealistic, years. How it was proposed, and what it may become, will be largely based on how it is interpreted. “

POINTS ON CROWD SOURCING:

An analogy with outsourcing, in which work previously done by company employees is offered to, and performed, by a group of people on the Internet – the news is, the introduction of financial motivation, on the part of people doing the work, who get paid for performance; the company doesn’t make employees from the crowd.

A new capability brought on by the Internet: the ability to work together to a shared goal without the need of company’s infrastructure.

Mass customization and collective customer commitment, are models of crowd sourcing. In mass customization, the crowd is reacting to an open call to design an individual well; in the second, the main focus of participation of crowd is the selection crowd sourcing (product management) task.

MY OWN VIEWS:

TRUTH: Business-to-business brands are or subject to regulatory requirements and need a different approach.

TRUTH AND GOOD: There are many a consumer-focused brands - these would benefit from a totally open creative process.

TRUTH BUT BAD: Many times crowd sourcing projects are evaluated by the quantity not the quality of received submissions.

TRUTH: There are two perspectives (benefit or disadvantage) about crowd sourcing’ concept: engagement of an undefined group, and uninformed execution.

TRUTH AND GOOD: There’s a delicate balance between encouraging participation and surrendering control. Engaging consumers has always been essential for establishing brands.  Of course delivering the process of brand manager to the crowd is another thing altogether.

TRUTH BUT BAD: As it is commonly practiced in the marketing world, crowd sourcing forgoes strategy and outsources execution.

TRUTH: Crowd sourcing works well for large-scale initiatives where gathering data would be otherwise impossible.

TRUTH AND GOOD: One thing is gaining insights into how consumers think about a given brand, but it is not a problem solver.

TRUTH, GOOD OR BAD? The crowd is just another committee that produces results that are incredibly average.

THE FUTURE AND SOME QUESTIONS:

 Crowd sourcing and its counterpart, co-creation have started to become business strategies, if not actual models.  Diverse companies have aggressively pursued ways in which customers can help create or inspire new products (co-creation). These practices, accelerated by the web and social media, raise all kinds of questions:

Will crowd sourcing and co-creation, actually increase innovation? (Using peoples talent)

Will they reduce the cost of development and design, and along with it, the salaries of people who create for a living?

Will they help in solving those large, unsolvable problems; everything, from healthcare to education, to global warming?

Will they change the traditional relationships between employers and employees?

Are crowd sourcing and co-creation here to stay, or are they simply convenient alternatives to business as usual in a miserable economy?

Even after the global financial crisis comes to an end, the new marketplaces that support crowd sourcing will continue to evolve, offering more engaging company’s efficient and creative ways; the company will look for help in the crowd.

WHY? If businesses can find access to more ideas for less, they will, down economy or not. AND, today’s customers and prospects, actually want a voice and a say, in influencing a brand and its products.

 

Cristina Falcão

 

 

 

The Paradox of Paradigm

Paradox is a statement that seems self-contradictory but expresses possible truth. Also it can be something that is contrary to popular opinion.

 Paradigm is something that serves as a model or a pattern.  It can be a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.

 

Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996),wrote a ground breaking book, “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions”, in which he describes a paradigm as a box in which normal science places all its beliefs, commitments,  until a better paradigm emerges. A paradigm shift is when a new breed of extraordinary scientists choose to jump into that newer, better box.

 

Later, Stephen Covey (1990) wrote about the paradigm shift in the business context.

 

A paradigm is the conceptual framework upon which we build our world; it is built upon past experiences; if we are not willing to make shifts in our paradigms, we will remain stagnate in our growth; a paradigm shift is a change from one way of thinking to another; it is something that does not happen like self generation it is driven by change.

 

We could say it is another name for Change, but a paradigm shift goes much deeper, it is about combining change with the challenging of existing assumptions and innovation.

 

Leaders of cultures recognize that their traditional paradigm is out of date, and perhaps this leads them to assume that a 'paradigm-shift' program will provide the remedy. Culture change is not simply about how you see yourself and others. It is about how the system works, i.e. how we do the work together, rather than how we work together. The paradigm shift is to understand how to act on the organization as a system.

 

 However, initiatives which threaten the current operating culture are typically resisted to extinction, and many initiatives simply bear no relation to the economic performance of the organization.

The most critical thing to understand about a paradigm is that, in a paradigm shift, everything goes back to zero. What does that mean? It means that whatever made you successful in the old paradigm may not even be necessary in the new paradigm.

 

And here comes the paradox: The paradox is that changing a culture starts with different thinking about the work.

 

There are two interesting paradoxes: the decision theory paradox and an Economics paradox:

Abilene paradox: People can make decisions based not on what they actually want to do, but on what they think that other people want to do, with the result that everybody decides to do something that nobody really want to do, but only what they thought that everybody else wanted to do.

Allais paradox: A change in a possible outcome, which is shared by different alternatives, affects people's choices among those alternatives; in contradiction with expected utility theory (utility is a measure of relative satisfaction).

 

Before shifting paradigms we should see that business in general is filled with instances of paradox.

 

If it would improve performance to do the work differently, how does it mean we should behave? Focusing on behavior without embedding it in a work context creates an entirely new pathology - people try to play a new game.

 

By contrast, focusing on how we work, anchors improvement in things that are real, and opens the door to working on culture, in a way which has relevance and, more importantly, is palpably relevant.

 

This new global world surrounds us with paradox. In order for companies to master paradox they must first identify the opportunity it contains.

 

Some major businesses are developing an e-commerce in order to sell direct, cut costs and eliminate the small businesses. Yet, small businesses represent a very lucrative, high profit margin market for those businesses.

 

Another paradox is the question “Should you hire the best people?” Sometimes hiring the best people could be your downfall (another paradox).

 

 It all depends on the situation and how you define "best." Should you focus or diversify?” Both, actually (another paradox), diversification can lead to situations where managers ignore the other business lines and pursue their own goals at the expense of company growth as a whole.

 

 Is paradox the new paradigm?

 

 Will future business success depend on the ability of managers and leaders to embrace paradox? Will they succeed holding in their minds two contradictory ideas, each of which can be applied when necessary?

 

By embracing paradox, managers will lose the half-truth thinking that ignores the context so pertinent to business decisions. These seeming paradoxes often exist, in the first place, only because we try to apply business rules across all contexts.

 

 It is natural that business bears the same tension that pervades everything else in our lives. Economies and ecosystems are filled with examples of competing goals and conflicting ideas that somehow work themselves out to create balance and, in many cases, an optimal situation.

 

Only when we have understood the paradoxes of business, can we propose a paradigm shift: changing focus could be the key to getting exactly what we were so focused on to begin with.

 

 

 

Cristina Falcão

 

 

Doors-------------------By Carl Sandburg

 

An open door says, “Come in.”

A shut door says, “Who are you?”

Shadows and ghosts go through shut doors.

If a door is shut and you want it shut,

     why open it?

If a door is open and you want it open,

     why shut it?

Doors forget but only doors know what it is

     doors forget.

What will happen when Euro Currency collapse

 

 

 

 

I wonder what is the fascination you people have with Europe and the Euro!

 

There are never ending question asserting the Euro will collapse. The best way to understand this issue is to understand Europe. You will never make any good prediction before you understand that Europe is made of many countries with many cultures living together for centuries and centuries. We know that. We are strong because of our differences and history. It took us, many years to build EU and we did it because it was necessary for the good of all – it is not some troubled times that will ruin that work. I know your country and I never mistake people from your country with other Asian people. In fact, I have a life bosom friend from your country and it took us some years before we could understand that things she saw as “not right” in my culture were actually right. We came from very different countries and cultures but we managed to make such a strong friendship when we stopped assuming what was right and wrong - it is just different, not bad or better, different and equally good.

 

How do you understand Europe.

 

 

 

 

I live in Europe. There are no two countries alike and in each country, you have some regions with different dialects and cultures. There is not one language alike although there are similarities between some languages that, in theory, would make it easy for you to learn the others but is far from being correct.

The majority of the countries, Portugal excluded, have nationalist parties, which are not that nice. Some countries have many mountains and snow others have almost none. Some countries have ocean and sea; many have no proximity with water. Temperatures are very different from country to country. In all countries, there are nice people and people that are not so nice.

 

 

 

 

We are all different, have centuries of history behind and centuries of history in families too. We all want to keep our differences and it is better you don’t say that Portugal is a province of Spain, we don’t like it at all and the Spanish don’t like it too. The same goes with Wales and Ireland, for instance, don’t ask “are you English”, meaning British. In Spain, Basks and Catalans prefer to be Basks and Catalans. In Italy, people say that after Rome is the “north Africa,” the south of Italy has a different opinion.

Sounds confusing? It is not, we get along very well, and we never ever ask ourselves whether Merry Christmas is “politically correct.”

I politely disagree with the tribe perspective. I do not think the fact that moving from California to Colorado, having to pay taxes for your car again, and getting new certificates to work on the same kind of freelance work means US is a tribe.

I do not think that the fact   US unemployment rate is 8.6% but Florida’s is just over 10% means US is a tribe.

I do not think that the fact Florida’s GDP would rank 20th among world economies (without considering other US States) while California has a GDP of US$1.9 Trillion which would rank her between France and Italy, means US is a tribe.

I do not think that the fact US 50 States sharing the same language, currency, Federal government and banking system yet having different rules in each of those 50 sates means US is a tribe.

 

How do you handle a President of a Company whoi is Obviously Wrong

I will give you the answer I gave in a similar question. The other was about pseudo bosses, this is about the big boss wrong, but the situations I described happened with the President of the company, who also happened to be the boss.

 

“I had to faced that situation twice. I stood my point because if the boss does not know how the job is done the boss cannot question my work, I know how the job is done that is why I was hired. In one situation I left the boss because I was not able to do a good work, the boss knew better. Some years later the boss closed business doors. The other occasion I was raised and promoted. “You can replace boss for President of the company. In the first situation, I rescued his “head” from real trouble several times, because I took care of mistakes, he made and had other people making because of his lack of knowledge. He was responsible, and we are talking criminal responsibility, for all mistakes, made by him or someone under his orders by the Portuguese law regarding healthcare negligence. However, he managed to make it look like everyone was wrong except him; therefore, I had not done my work so well. I was tired and left just after managing to save two people from death, because of another mistake. He was not happy, decided to question my intervention, and did not realize if I did not work well he would have been guilty of criminal negligent homicide. That was enough; I could not work any longer with such a person.

 

 

 

Do you believe in Ghosts?

“Yo no creo en brujas, pero que las hay, las hay.” Although a Spanish saying we say it in Portugal too, in Spanish. As far as I am concerned, I do not believe in ghosts. There are sometimes “phenomena” we cannot explain, or the “déjà vu” thing, that can be very confusing. This has nothing to do with religion, this is me, even if I am more about instinct than rational I never could believe in ghosts, it does not mean anything to me. Many people take horror movies seriously and are scared; I laugh, especially if you take the sound away – the horror is all in the soundtrack. But, as I said there are things we find no explanation and they have happened to me, but ghosts …no.

What negotiating skills do you make use of?

 

I do not discuss politics or religion. There is no point and a waste of time. In business we need often times to let go of a little bit so that both parts come to an agreement and both are happy. In personal life I always try to see the other persons point of view and talk to see if we know what listening to the other means and then reach an agreement. Sometimes, however, that is not possible because the other person is not willing to see your point. In that case I politely disagree and period.

Is the World truely sinking, or is it a Pseudo thought?

If we don’t learn that the world changes so much and we don’t adapt, if we learn nothing with history and will never get out of this never ending crisis, the world will not sink, but life sure is going to be a lot less pleasant.

 

I had some pseudo thoughts, found more people sharing them, we built a pseudo code of ethics, we decided to join forces and with pseudo integrity, pseudo loyalty, pseudo trust, we are going to row against the non-pseudo tide and we are going somewhere and actually get there.

 

Those that don’t prefer the “status quo” will not have their lives sinking, but they will be a lot less pleasant, not compared to me, compared to each one’s standards.

What are the most efficient networking channels for your business?

LinkedIn is good although indirectly, I have never done any business on LinkedIn.

Since I joined a BNI chapter, we have meetings all weeks and we cannot be absent or we might be expelled.

We have lots of training too and “one to one’s”, which are very smart ways to get to know your chapter fellow members better and vice versa.

 We are always networking, by coming 15 minutes before the hour, by having visits each meeting, by having training with members from other chapters.

In my technical translation business there are some other networking websites where you have a profile and can answer questions to help others about some translation issues and network too, there are some network meetings too and I attend them all, I am constantly having new business cards made because I give so many and receive so many.

Can Twitter replace a customer support desk?

How can someone tweet a CS problem  with 140 characters? What kind of impact that would have on customers, and what about the millions of people that do not use it?

 

 

If I took such a decision I would not last 10 days in business.

Do you use podcasts to develop your leadership skills?

Currently I listen to Pharmaceutical industry podcasts and to –BNI podcasts – listening gets my attention better than reading a blog, even because there are conversations going on with the podcast.

What is your most brilliant sales success story? The more creative, the better!

I have may good ones but I remember I solved the problem of having writers and such important people speaking at the Portuguese Book Fair,(with no payment involved.

I managed to gather all them together before each event to have dinner and we would then walk to the place and be there on time.

 

What was your "ah-ha" moment when you realized you were truly in the right career?

I am slowly switching to technical translations with the purpose of making it my main job. The “ah – ah” moment came from the first translation agency that recognized the quality of my work and it is spreading the word.

Who is your favorite contemporary Latin-Americam writer?

Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina)

Does your company have a LinkedIn Policy that all employees must sign?

 

 

 

No we don’t and our employees don’t even know what LinkedIn is, but even if they do, they would never do anything to harm the company, they are with us for nearly 40 years now, we are like a family.

 

As a small business owner, why would you risk your cash flow and health of your business overall just to increase your revenue numbers?

 

 

No, I would not. As a freelance technical translator I have, many projects sent for proofreading when, in fact, agencies want me to retranslate what is always a translation mess. I do not do it. It took me 20 years to be the translator I am, my work is extremely difficult and it is 80% technical knowledge, I refuse to work for some cents, which is devaluating a high quality service.

As I say, for that amount I prefer to clean stairs, because I am paid immediately, the wages are higher and I do not need to invest or spend hours in front of a computer.

 

Social Media and Pharma Industry, a Paradoxical Oxymoron? MarkjOwen's Blog

Social Media and Pharma Industry, a Paradoxical Oxymoron?

Posted on 2011/04/20

The following is an article that was originally posted on PharmaIQ.

The author is Cristina Falcão.

=================================

The world’s most highly regulated industry seems doomed to “forward retreat” tiptoeing into social media. Why? The reason lies on social media’s gist – user generated content (UGC) is the raison d’être but also the main drawback, since the lack of rules on the accuracy of online content (written by the users of websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) makes pharma accountable.

Effective guidance, equally issued by the EU and US drug agencies, is urgently needed, before pharma companies can use social media’s valuable contribution in areas such as pharma-vigilance, clinical trials, R&D, and employee- recruitment.

What is the current guidance situation?

Unlike in the US, the European Directive 2001/83 (Community Code) forbids public advertising of “prescription-only medicines”. On the other hand, EU offers little specific guidance on social media (apart from some EFPIA -guidelines on websites, and the PMCPA’s (UK) “Brief guideline on blogs”), and waits for the US approach; however, FDA rules on pharma, internet and social media, which draft was due at the end of 2010, still have not been issued.

Major concerns

Pharma companies are responsible for the contents of a sponsored website (sponsorship can simply be advertising); yet, it is virtually impossible for the industry to control a website’s UGC without undermining the dynamic nature of social media. Adverse events reporting (AER) is a nightmare: the law states pharma companies must report all those events to the respective regulatory agencies, where they are stored in databases to monitor drug safety. It is impossible for the industry to monitor all AER’s, and marketers fear that user-generated content will include complaints about their drugs’ side effects; what makes it even worse, is the fact that FDA’s databases are regularly searched by lawyers for potential class-action suits.

Nevertheless, there are many pharma companies using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media tools; the only way out, is to monitor activity on any social media platform where they are present, using disclaimers, reserving the right to remove unwanted comments and redirecting drug questions to the company’s website.

Clinical trials

Patient-recruiting for clinical trials through social media, grants decreased R&D costs to the industry. However, clinical trials have several types, designs, and sample groups; social media, alone, is not the universal source. It can prove to be a double-edge sword, if patients interact and exchange information before the whole trial is completed; also it does not ensure evaluable data in the end. Patient- recruiting outside the physician’s own pool of patients has high dropout rates; tweeting about a clinical trial may build awareness of the opportunity, but does not guarantee an engaged PI, who will lead the patient through the clinical trial, thus assuring collection of meaningful data.

Although ‘social media’ is the overhyped buzzword of our time, for pharmaceuticals it will be a treacherous route: regulations will undoubtedly limit (further) interaction with the public, but increase accountability – it not being worth the effort or risk.

All we know for sure is that the debate has only started.

 

Click on this image for the original post

 

HOW TO: Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile, Cristina Falcão

HOW TO: Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

December 15, 2010 by Erica Swallow 183

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With more than 85 million members in more than 200 countries, LinkedIn is a professional social network worth using, understanding and optimizing.

After you’ve covered the basics of setting up your LinkedIn presence, features including recommendations, applications, LinkedIn Answers, and the Resume Builder can add value to your profile. Many of these highly useful features, though, are often overlooked or underused by newcomers.

We spoke with four LinkedIn aficionados to get their top advice on making the best use of these tools. Read on for their thoughts and let us know which tips you’d add for optimizing LinkedIn profiles in the comments below.

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Cover the Basics

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The first step to spiffing up your LinkedIn profile is to fill in as much information about your work experience as possible. It’s your online resume; pay as much attention to it as you would your cover letter or paper resume.

Sharlyn Lauby, president of Internal Talent Management, HR blogger and guest contributor for Mashable, believes that a person’s LinkedIn profile should, at minimum, reflect his or her current situation. That includes an up-to-date headline along with information about his or her most recent position. A recent photo and contact information are also musts.

If you’ve covered those bases, our experts recommend focusing on making connections, joining groups, getting recommendations and posting status updates. Once again, the focus should be on quality additions in each of these areas.

“[A status update] is a great place to share an article of interest or something new you’ve been working on. People do comment on status updates, so it’s a nice way to start a conversation,” says Lauby.

If all else fails, just follow LinkedIn’s built-in status bar for recommendations on how to complete your profile. When you hit the 100% mark, though, don’t think you’re finished; there’s plenty more to be done.

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Ask for Meaningful Recommendations

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Astute recruiters aren’t going to take your word for granted when you describe your top-notch abilities. Instead, just as in offline recruiting, they will want to hear from those who have worked with you and have a grasp on your working style, personality and skills. That’s where recommendations come in.

Lauby notes that gathering recommendations is all about quality over quantity. “If someone has dozens of recommendations that are generic in nature, it’s not as valuable as a handful that are specific about a person’s experience and contribution.”

Focus on asking for meaningful recommendations from your supervisors and colleagues who work closest to you. Before sending out a request on LinkedIn, approach each contact in person to explain the importance of his or her recommendation. Adding a personal touch to your request will probably result in a better response rate, as impersonal, default requests can sometimes fall on deaf ears.

Be sure to thank each of your colleagues who recommend you on LinkedIn, and consider returning the favor with a follow-up recommendation.

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Use Value-Added Applications

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One of the hidden jewels on LinkedIn is its ability to incorporate applications. Check out its Application Directory for a taste of apps that can spice up your profile.

Here are a few of my personal favorites:

• SlideShare Presentations: If you’re a public speaker or publish lots of reports, SlideShare is a useful tool for getting the word out about your work. If you don’t have a SlideShare account, get one. If you do, this app is a great way to showcase your most recent reports or presentations on your LinkedIn profile.
• WordPress: Add personal flair to your LinkedIn profile by importing your latest WordPress blog posts onto your profile. You can choose to display all posts or only those tagged “linkedin.”
• Tweets: If you’re a huge LinkedIn buff with a passion for Twitter, Tweets is a great Twitter client for accessing the microblogging service right from LinkedIn. Plus, you can choose to display your most recent tweets on your profile.
• My Travel: Powered by TripIt, this app enables you to see where your professional network is traveling and post your upcoming trips. It then shows you who in your network will be close to you on your travels.

These apps give visitors to your profile a better idea of who you are as a person and job candidate. Lauby also recommends checking out the Events app, which enables you to discover professional events and indicate which ones you’re attending, giving you more opportunities to connect with fellow attendees.

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Become an Expert With LinkedIn Answers

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LinkedIn Answers is a Q&A platform that enables members to demonstrate their business acumen by answering questions from other members. When questioners choose another user’s answer as best, that user gains points of expertise. These points rank members on the Answers leaderboard, called “This Week’s Top Experts.”

We asked three of this week’s top experts about their best practices on using the product. Each of these experts spend a few hours per day answering up to 50 questions daily, which is the maximum for 24 hours.

Cristina Falcão, lawyer and pharmaceutical manager at Farmácia F. in Portugal, says that the biggest reason for using Answers is networking. “‘Expertise’ [points] is given by the person who asks and categorizes a question. Networking is about meeting people, sharing knowledge, and helping each other,” she said. “I enjoy learning from other professionals and the input from other users’ real life experiences is priceless.” For Falcão, Answers is a platform for demonstrating expertise, as well as a platform for getting answers to her own pressing questions.

“I consider it my daily marketing investment,” said Christine Hueber, a social media and search marketing strategist, referring to her activity on LinkedIn Answers. She said she usually answers questions until she reaches the daily maximum. Her dedication has paid off thus far, as she now sources most of her clients from LinkedIn. She explained:

“Since I started focusing on Answers about a year ago, all of my new clients I’ve gained either directly or indirectly through Answers, since my ranking and demonstrated expertise is very impressive to them. Plus, it’s brought other opportunities my way, like giving presentations on LinkedIn, being featured in YouTube videos, being interviewed by people like you, etc.”

Hueber isn’t alone in having benefited from being an active Answers user. Dinesh Rãmkrishna, NeST technologies business development manager, agreed that his input has been rewarded in the form of “connections, friends, well wishers, business queries and job offers.”

All three experts recommend answering questions in areas that you are well-experienced in — they also get lots of great feedback for answering questions about how to use LinkedIn, in general.

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Use LinkedIn’s Resume Builder Tool

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Remember when crafting the perfect resume entailed sitting at your computer for hours, using the perfect action verbs and nitpicking the formatting? Sadly, much of that process has remained unchanged for decades, but formatting is getting a bit easier, with tools like LinkedIn’s Resume Builder.

The tool enables LinkedIn users to craft resumes by simply choosing a template and customizing the content. Lauby commented on Resume Builder’s usability:

“It’s incredibly easy to use, and I was very impressed with the number of different resume formats available. Keep in mind, the quality of the resume is directly attributed to the quality of information on your profile. If people want to take full advantage of this feature, they will need to keep their profiles updated regularly with the information they ultimately want on their resumes.”

If updating your resume in Microsoft Word, again and again, is one of the monotonous tasks you’d like to shake, check out Resume Builder the next time an update is needed.

These recommendations will help LinkedIn users utilize their profiles as much as possible. Which tips would you add? Let us know in the comments.

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Series Supported by Gillette

 

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The Better Profile Series is supported by Gillette. Learn more about Gillette and its products at Gillette.com.

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More Tech Resources from Mashable:

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- HOW TO: Create Your Own Customized Short URL
- HOW TO: Customize Your Background for the New Twitter
- 21 Creative Blogger Bio Pages
- 7 Services to Find and Reserve Your Name Across the Web
- HOW TO: Enhance Your Online Presence with Video

Image courtesy of Flickr, Lars Plougmann & tychay

The Best Holiday Social Media Campaigns of 2011, Cristina Falcão

Live Events Aren’t Dead

The holidays also gave us live social events from flash mobs to human Christmas trees. Yes, I said human Christmas trees. Cristina Falcão of Portugal told me, “It was a one-day event in Lisbon where we all were human Christmas trees, carrying one widget light around, shaking hands and reconnecting to the meaning of solidarity in very tough times. Besides making us all get out of our shells and actually recognizing that none of us is alone in these difficult times, we saved on trees, on electricity and we managed to contribute to one of the biggest charities in Portugal – “Banco da Fome” (Bank for the hungry) that feeds thousands of people each day.”

I asked her if there were any pictures of the event, but she said, “No, unfortunately no one remembered taking photos, we were so “children like” that day.” Sounds like an IRL event that transcended our need for technology to be connected. 

Those are just a few of the good things in social I see happening this holiday season. What are some of the things you’ve seen that you thought were innovative, amusing or inspiring? I’d love to hear some of your choices. In the meantime, have a very happy and social holiday season!

 

 

http://socialmediaclub.org/blogs/from-the-clubhouse/best-holiday-social-media-campaigns-2011

In a repeated game, like Personalized Medicine ,each player has the opportunity to establish a reputation for cooperation

 

Personalized Medicine (PM) is not about having personal prescriptions delivered at home – PM is about a drug that suits you because you have genetic profile A; your neighbor has genetic profile B; what serves you will not serve him.

PM is the result of the mapping of the entire human genome and the possibility of avoiding illness by prevention. We now talk WELLNESS instead of ILLNESS. That is personalized medicine!

It is not about a new drug – it is about all the structures that will make that new drug work.

PM will involve cooperation between many players or stakeholders as you wish – it is no longer just about pharma – it is about pharma and all the other necessary services.

It is about a game of cooperation, coordination, communication, between all the stakeholders’, including the patient, insurance companies, remote control technology, etc.

Mixed strategies mean more than one Nash equilibrium

It is about the change that PM means.

PM is a disruptive innovation that will require the development of new business models. Just as outsourcing and M&A were disruptive changes to pharma companies.

The Bask country and “Tecnalia” is a PM pilot project – Half the Bask country is now “living PM.”

NASH EQUILIBRIUM

Nash equilibrium is a fundamental concept in the theory of games and the most widely used method of predicting the outcome of a strategic interaction in the social sciences. A game (in strategic or normal form) consists of the following three elements: a set of players, a set of actions (or strategies) available to each player, and a payoff (or utility) function for each player. Strategic interaction occurs in many aspects of life meaning situations in which company A strategy depends on what strategy company B will have.

In a repeated game, each player has the opportunity to establish a reputation for cooperation, and thereby encourage other players to do the same. The factor that might potentially generate cooperation in the current period is that cooperation now will help generate cooperation in the future; but if there is no future, this mechanism is inoperative.

Nash equilibrium is applied to business strategy – please read Harvard’s several papers on the subject. 

A Red, Red Rose

O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly played in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry:

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve,
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' it ware ten thousand mil

 

 

A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns

 

WHY I HATE RELIGION, BUT LOVE JESUS - Jefferson Bethke

• View Bio

Personalized Medicine –A Game with More Than One Nash Equilibrium

Contributor: Cristina Falcão 
Posted: 01/12/2012  12:00:00 AM EST 

Rate this Column: (3.6 Stars | 13 Votes)  0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

Tags: personalized medicine | Cristina Falcão | personalised medicine | human genome 

There is a time and the time is now and is right for me… (1)

Welcome to the age of personalized medicine. With the mapping of the entire human genome, completed in 2003, many doors were unlocked and one of them was personalized medicine – prescription of tailored drugs and therapies based on our specific genetic code.

The key benefits of PM (Personalized Medicine) are better diagnoses and earlier interventions, more efficient drug development, and more effective therapies – in the words of the honorable Mr. Michael Leavitt, secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) - “Personalized Medicine means knowing what works, knowing why it works, knowing whom it works for, and applying the knowledge for patients”.

PM is:

• Personalized, because it is based on an understanding of how genetic variation drives individual treatment
• Extrapolative, because it is able to identify what conditions a person might contract in the future and how will respond to a given treatment, thus enabling a tailored health strategy
• Defensive, because it shifts the focus from illness to wellness
• Involving, because it empowers patients to make informed choices and take responsibility for their own health.

Index:  Main Changes Affecting Health Care, the Stakeholders, the Importance of Training, the Payers View, Governments, FDA, EMEA  

Three Main Changes Affecting Health Care:

New Actors and New Relationships

Consumers can get health information from the Internet, social networking sites, fellow patients, and chat rooms (Miller, 2010).

Remote monitoring devices and mobile health applications allow people to monitor their own weight, blood pressure, pulse, and sugar levels, and send results electronically to health care providers. Patients can store and have access to their medical records online.

The Digital Revolution

Websites such as WebMD.com, MedlinePlus.gov, and many others, answer questions and provide links to discussion groups about particular illnesses. Social networks such as PatientsLikeMe represent another way to share information among chronic condition sufferers.

Genomics

Scientists have made extensive progress over the last two decades in understanding human genetics and the role of proteins and chemicals in gene behavior (Goodman, 2009) and researchers have made progress in determining who is most/less likely to benefit from possible treatments.

Stakeholders

PM is no longer about the pharma industry alone – the players/stakeholders go far beyond the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, presenting a new challenge in assembling diverse technologies and partners working together. Success in this space will require new approaches, new relationships, and new ways of thinking.

PM is a disruptive innovation that will require the development of new business models. Collaboration, Coordination and Communication will be a key to success and all these players/stakeholders will need to co-operate:

• Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology companies
• Diagnostics companies - DTC (direct-to-consumer) genetic testing products for in-home use are empowering consumers with real-time information, enabling them to predict their medical risks, detect disease earlier, and better manage their health status
• Consumer Products Companies - food and beverage companies have long fortified their products with vitamins and other nutrients, and through advancements in science and food manufacturing, they will increasingly tailor their products
• Information Technology (IT)
• Telecomand Mobile Health Systems - one good example is the Bask company, Tecnalia, which covers half of the Basque Country in Spain with remote monitoring. They use a system that is conscious of its surroundings, with networks of sensors and communications, and a mobile robot for therapeutic treatment and care support, enabling elderly/disabled/ill people to increase their independence and to stay a longer part of their lives in their own homes while being able to look after themselves.
• Infrastructure Supporting
• Integration of Data and Clinical Records
• Insurance Companies
• Primary Care Practitioners
• Hospitals
• PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers) will sell personalized medicine services to employers, which are willing to pay them higher fees for improved health outcomes and lower prescription costs. They act as an intermediary between payers and all the other stakeholders in the health-care system. Their offer of new services, such as increasing patient compliance and participation in drug-related decisions with the use of diagnostics and comparative effectiveness can help save their clients’ money

Training of Primary Care Practitioners

Physicians and nurses will need training in genomics and proteomics and their clinical applications if they are to remain relevant in an era of personalized medicine. Without the right tools and the training required to use them effectively, the personalized medicine market will not advance in the provider space or elsewhere. Universities will have to update their programs to educate the next generation of physicians and nurses in the complex issues raised by genomic and proteomic science.

Payers View and Reimbursement Schemes

The payers’ approach to PM is critical, as their reimbursement schemes will influence diverse business models. The fact that in U.S., 25% of individuals change health plans each year (due to employment-based insurance), will make payers rethink coverage.  PM has the potential to reduce payers’ costs in the long term by providing the precise diagnostics required, avoiding unnecessary or ineffective treatments, preventing adverse events, developing prevention strategies, and delivering more effective, targeted therapeutics, and, if PM succeeds in preventing/successfully treating widespread chronic conditions, such as diabetes, the cost savings can be enormous.

Governments, FDA, EMEA 

Governments are the healthcare major funders; therefore, they will play a key role in the progress of PM.

One of the goals of the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative is to accelerate the development of approved biomarkers and related diagnostics. A joint work with EMEA could set global standards that would allow that once a new drug was approved in Europe it would be automatically approved in U.S and vice-versa, streamlining the approval process.

Current EU regulatory framework for pharmaceuticals is ready to deal with PM and some new products have already been authorized. The “Conference of European Perspectives in Personalized Medicine” (12 – 13 May 2011), concluded that there are still many challenges to be addressed at European, national, regional and local levels. The Conference was particularly timely within the context of the development of the Common Strategic Framework (CSF), which will govern EU research and Innovation funding from 2014.

Adriana Jenkins diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer, credited personalized medicine treatment for living nearly ten years more.

There is a time and the time is now and is right for me…

• View Bio

Personalized Medicine –A Game with More Than One Nash Equilibrium

Contributor: Cristina Falcão 
Posted: 01/12/2012  12:00:00 AM EST 

Rate this Column: (3.6 Stars | 13 Votes)  0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

Tags: personalized medicine | Cristina Falcão | personalised medicine | human genome 

There is a time and the time is now and is right for me… (1)

Welcome to the age of personalized medicine. With the mapping of the entire human genome, completed in 2003, many doors were unlocked and one of them was personalized medicine – prescription of tailored drugs and therapies based on our specific genetic code.

The key benefits of PM (Personalized Medicine) are better diagnoses and earlier interventions, more efficient drug development, and more effective therapies – in the words of the honorable Mr. Michael Leavitt, secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) - “Personalized Medicine means knowing what works, knowing why it works, knowing whom it works for, and applying the knowledge for patients”.

PM is:

• Personalized, because it is based on an understanding of how genetic variation drives individual treatment
• Extrapolative, because it is able to identify what conditions a person might contract in the future and how will respond to a given treatment, thus enabling a tailored health strategy
• Defensive, because it shifts the focus from illness to wellness
• Involving, because it empowers patients to make informed choices and take responsibility for their own health.

Index:  Main Changes Affecting Health Care, the Stakeholders, the Importance of Training, the Payers View, Governments, FDA, EMEA  

Three Main Changes Affecting Health Care:

New Actors and New Relationships

Consumers can get health information from the Internet, social networking sites, fellow patients, and chat rooms (Miller, 2010).

Remote monitoring devices and mobile health applications allow people to monitor their own weight, blood pressure, pulse, and sugar levels, and send results electronically to health care providers. Patients can store and have access to their medical records online.

The Digital Revolution

Websites such as WebMD.com, MedlinePlus.gov, and many others, answer questions and provide links to discussion groups about particular illnesses. Social networks such as PatientsLikeMe represent another way to share information among chronic condition sufferers.

Genomics

Scientists have made extensive progress over the last two decades in understanding human genetics and the role of proteins and chemicals in gene behavior (Goodman, 2009) and researchers have made progress in determining who is most/less likely to benefit from possible treatments.

Stakeholders

PM is no longer about the pharma industry alone – the players/stakeholders go far beyond the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, presenting a new challenge in assembling diverse technologies and partners working together. Success in this space will require new approaches, new relationships, and new ways of thinking.

PM is a disruptive innovation that will require the development of new business models. Collaboration, Coordination and Communication will be a key to success and all these players/stakeholders will need to co-operate:

• Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology companies
• Diagnostics companies - DTC (direct-to-consumer) genetic testing products for in-home use are empowering consumers with real-time information, enabling them to predict their medical risks, detect disease earlier, and better manage their health status
• Consumer Products Companies - food and beverage companies have long fortified their products with vitamins and other nutrients, and through advancements in science and food manufacturing, they will increasingly tailor their products
• Information Technology (IT)
• Telecomand Mobile Health Systems - one good example is the Bask company, Tecnalia, which covers half of the Basque Country in Spain with remote monitoring. They use a system that is conscious of its surroundings, with networks of sensors and communications, and a mobile robot for therapeutic treatment and care support, enabling elderly/disabled/ill people to increase their independence and to stay a longer part of their lives in their own homes while being able to look after themselves.
• Infrastructure Supporting
• Integration of Data and Clinical Records
• Insurance Companies
• Primary Care Practitioners
• Hospitals
• PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers) will sell personalized medicine services to employers, which are willing to pay them higher fees for improved health outcomes and lower prescription costs. They act as an intermediary between payers and all the other stakeholders in the health-care system. Their offer of new services, such as increasing patient compliance and participation in drug-related decisions with the use of diagnostics and comparative effectiveness can help save their clients’ money

Training of Primary Care Practitioners

Physicians and nurses will need training in genomics and proteomics and their clinical applications if they are to remain relevant in an era of personalized medicine. Without the right tools and the training required to use them effectively, the personalized medicine market will not advance in the provider space or elsewhere. Universities will have to update their programs to educate the next generation of physicians and nurses in the complex issues raised by genomic and proteomic science.

Payers View and Reimbursement Schemes

The payers’ approach to PM is critical, as their reimbursement schemes will influence diverse business models. The fact that in U.S., 25% of individuals change health plans each year (due to employment-based insurance), will make payers rethink coverage.  PM has the potential to reduce payers’ costs in the long term by providing the precise diagnostics required, avoiding unnecessary or ineffective treatments, preventing adverse events, developing prevention strategies, and delivering more effective, targeted therapeutics, and, if PM succeeds in preventing/successfully treating widespread chronic conditions, such as diabetes, the cost savings can be enormous.

Governments, FDA, EMEA 

Governments are the healthcare major funders; therefore, they will play a key role in the progress of PM.

One of the goals of the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative is to accelerate the development of approved biomarkers and related diagnostics. A joint work with EMEA could set global standards that would allow that once a new drug was approved in Europe it would be automatically approved in U.S and vice-versa, streamlining the approval process.

Current EU regulatory framework for pharmaceuticals is ready to deal with PM and some new products have already been authorized. The “Conference of European Perspectives in Personalized Medicine” (12 – 13 May 2011), concluded that there are still many challenges to be addressed at European, national, regional and local levels. The Conference was particularly timely within the context of the development of the Common Strategic Framework (CSF), which will govern EU research and Innovation funding from 2014.

Adriana Jenkins diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer, credited personalized medicine treatment for living nearly ten years more.

There is a time and the time is now and is right for me…