Using Twitter to Breathe Easier & Beat the Blues

Anyone who wanted to argue that social media is a time-suck would have plenty of evidence to prove their case. But on the flip side social media also allows us to connect on a global scale, promote our businesses, and raise awareness of any number of issues. And now Twitter can even help ER docs manage your asthma… 

University of Arizona Uses Big Data to Predict Asthma Epidemics

Emergency room workers have long jokingly cited the full moon as an indicator of a busy emergency room, but not much else can predict when they may be flooded with any particular type of patient – until now. A new University of Arizona model harnesses the power of Twitter to track asthma-related tweets and predict with 75% accuracy whether area emergency rooms will receive a high, medium, or low volume of asthma patients. This information will help ERs prepare with regard to staffing and equipment, which means asthma sufferers will receive faster care when they need it most. That could be life-saving.

Having a Bad Day? Cheerupper Will Tweet You a Boost

Everyone has the occasional bad day, but often visits to social media make you feel worse instead of better when it seems like everyone is living a more exciting life than you. Not to mention, for all the “friends” we may have on social, we can still feel like no one notices when we really need a lift. Enter Cheerupper, a new website that allows those who are feeling great to offer a little Twitter support to those feeling down. And if you’re in need of some cheering up, you can also ask directly using #CheerMeUp. What a great way to spread some positivity across the Web.

Whether you’re just getting started with social media as a marketing tool, or need a little fresh inspiration, you can check in here each week for a dose of what’s good (or bad) in the social sphere.

Stumbled upon a bit of social news you think we should share? Drop a comment or email us and you may see it in a future post! And be sure to take a look at all we offer if you want to improve your social strategy and get your brand noticed. 

IMAGE CREDIT: TABER ANDREW BAIN