The ASNR 54th Annual meeting is in the books and was a huge success, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Howard Rowley and many others. The ever increasing social media presence of the society and its members continues to complement the live educational content and connect members. This year we saw a large online presence, growing lecture series, and got a glimpse at the different directions social media will head in the years to come.

Online

By including the hashtag #ASNR16, users could participate in the meeting via platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Social media activity continues to grow from past meetings. During the week of the 2016 meeting there were 2,589 tweets and 369 participants on Twitter alone. ^1,2

ASNR 2014-2016 Annual Meeting Twitter Activity. Data obtained from Symplur.com.

A new use of the online social media feed was trialed during the 2016 meeting — live tweeting of questions for panelists. This was successfully implemented for the Gadolinium symposium. Whether in the room or tweeting from home, Twitter users could ask Dr. Max Wintermark and panelists questions using the hashtag #GadSymposium announced at the start of the symposium.

Lectures

This year’s meeting also incorporated social media content into its Healthcare Policy programming and Young Professionals Section (YPS) programming tracks. Dr. Amy Kotsenas (@AmyKotsenas) presented the well-received “Technology Disrupters and the Impact of Social Media” Monday morning. The next day, the YPS track series began with inspiring leadership lectures from Drs. Robert Barr (@rmbxray) and Christine Glastonbury (@CMGlastonbury). This was followed by ‘Why’ and ‘How’ we do it sessions from Twitter super users Drs. Jenny Hoang (@JennyKHoang) and Neil Lall (@NULall). A panel of current and future social media leaders Drs. Chokshi (@FalgunChokshiMD), Fitzgerald (@ryantfitzgerald), Tomblinson (@cmtomblinson), and McGinty (@DrGMcGinty) completed the afternoon by answering questions about the personal benefits of participating in social media as a professional — including tips and tricks to avoid pitfalls and maximize benefits.

Future

Since the 2016 meeting is now a wrap, planning for 2017 (#ASNR17) has already begun. The ASNR social media committee hopes to build upon the strong foundation at this year’s meeting. Social media as it relates to research, education, and academic promotion, as well as hands on how to sessions, are all on the table as potential new programming at next year’s meeting. What would you like to see added to the 2017 meeting?

Keep a look out for more to come. For now, join the conversation – or check out previous AJNR blog posts to help get you started! ³

References:

1. Radmanesh A, Kotsenas AL. Social Media and Scientific Meetings: An Analysis of Twitter Use at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Neuroradiology. American Journal of Neuroradiology. 2016;37(1):25-27.
2. Radmanesh A, Fitzgerald RT. Social Media and the Neuroradiologist: A Brief Introduction. American Journal of Neuroradiology. 2014;36(1):30-31.
3. Lall N. Tips and Tools for Social Media Use. AJNR Blog. May 24, 2016. Web <http://www.ajnrblog.org/2016/05/24/tips-tools-social-media-use/>.