Cessation of content curation via the Scoop.it platform

As alluded to in a previous post, one of my advocacy roles in the online space had involved content curation via the Scoop.it platform - www.scoop.it mainly pertaining to the topics of organ donation and organ transplantation.

However nothing in the online space remains static from year to year (think Facebook and the Cambridge Analytica story in 2018). Hence it can be expected that the developers and/or business owners of the various social media platforms will introduce changes on a regular basis. In addition individual users of social media platforms have to balance the rewards of using any particular online platform versus the risks and costs.

Hence from April 2018 how I go about my various advocacy roles in the online space will evolve.

The following changes will now occur-

A) Cessation of use of the Scoop.it platform predominantly due to the increasing charges being levelled by the owners for the same degree of functionality. This no doubt partly reflects the success of pitching this particular tool to users in the online space who are heavy users of content curation for specific purposes.

This means there will be no more new posts onto either of the following two sites-

            1) Organ Donation Transplant Matters www.scoop.it/t/organ-donation-transplant-matters

            2) Organ Donation Transplant Matters Resources www.scoop.it/t/organ-donation-transplant-matters-resources

B) Greater emphasis on the use of the second Twitter Handle @ODT_M https://twitter.com/ODT_M for pushing out content specifically on organ donation and transplantation

C) Ongoing use of Google+ and Linked In for advocacy purposes

D) An ongoing search for another content curation tool which is fit for purpose for this blogger

Decided about organ and tissue donation? - DonateLife Australia Video

This well put together video has been produced in order to inform Australians of the importance of organ and tissue donation and what is required to ensure that as many people as possible can then benefit

Organ Donation: Three essential 'A's.

You may notice that the postings on to this site mainly provide information on 3 topics - organ donation, organ transplantation and use of social media. So what would you say it you were told that there are important common messages contained within these topics? What does this represent? Well it comes down to three important words all beginning with ‘A’.

A is for Awareness, a term used frequently over the last 10-20 years for various campaigns promoting organ donation around the world. So do you think that having lots of ‘Awareness’ leads to higher organ donor rates? What would you say if you were told that the country with the highest organ donor rate in the world-Spain- does not run ‘awareness’ campaigns? Can you say that you or your family are truly aware of the importance of organ donation or what is involved? How about your friends or work colleagues? What steps have you taken to find out more about organ donation even though you may be ‘aware’ of its importance? This is where one other word beginning with ‘A’ becomes important.

A is for Action, a term used when individuals or organisations take steps to convert their ‘Awareness’ of a problem or issue into steps that lead to real change and hence results. Without taking action ‘Awareness’ on its own will not achieve any lasting impact. Probably the greatest example of awareness not leading to appropriate action for health is the world-wide obesity epidemic. Despite clear documentation of an increasing problem for e.g. CDC statistics, numerous campaigns via both media and professional organisations including, reports from the Institute of Medicine, the problem continues. You can view an Obesity info graphic from the Australian Science Media Centre which outlines the projected rates of obesity in that country if action is or is not taken.

So what do you need to do to take action on organ donation? Well first you need to find out the facts and there are a number of good web sites which include Organdonor.gov, United Kingdom NHS Then you need to talk to your family. You can also note your decision via your Facebook timeline if you wish. If you belong to an organisation with an interest in organ donation, then you will be combining Awareness with Action which are two essential components as depicted in order to help form a platform for leading and driving change

A is for Advocacy, a term used to signal the action being taken by individuals, groups or organisations who want change [or reform] to occur, including within the health care system and at policy level, for the barriers to organ donation to be overcome.



Three essential A's required for change

So there you have it, the 3 A’s as they relate to organ donation as depicted above, which is of enormous importance for organ transplantation. You cannot have one without the other two. As for social media, well this is now a conduit via which relevant information [for both Awareness and Action] is being relayed both by individuals and organisations with an Advocacy role. This is in order to facilitate the changes that are required in many countries to ensure that the maximum benefits of organ donation are realised.