Suggestion: AAAAI and ACAAI Should Consider Using YouTube and iTunes for Content Distribution

Ask the Expert by AAAAI

Dr. Phil Lieberman is the main author of the popular Ask the Expert service by the AAAAI. He is a former president of the AAAAI and has published over 225 scientific articles and abstracts.

Dr. Lieberman was the author of 2 excellent presentations I attended recently and while listening to him, I was thinking that his remarkable work on answering the questions of practicing allergists on the AAAAI website could be made even more interactive by using new distribution channels such as YouTube and iTunes.

Making some of the answers available as short video recordings on YouTube would allow the practicing allergists to embed those videos in their own websites. There is no hosting cost to the author since YouTube is free to use, and as a Google service, it is generally very reliable in terms of up time.

Top Hospitals Use YouTube

The Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic and Vanderbilt University Medical Center already have dedicated video channels on YouTube and this media may deserve further exploration by the AAAAI and ACAAI.

Example:


Xolair For Asthma from Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Uploading videos to YouTube is easy and free. I have my own channel which is used mostly for uploading videos from the Cleveland Zoo and Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo.

George D. Lundberg, MD, the editor-in-chief of Medscape uses a video format for his editorials.

Embeddable Videos

The news media organizations are moving away from the model "bring visitors to my website" to the new model "let them take the content wherever they want." For example, CNN.com recently made all its video embeddable. The same model is used by NBC, ABC and CBS.

Web Feeds

The web feeds (RSS, Atom) allow the website authors to establish a relationship with their visitors via feed subscription: "instead of you following the website, the website follows you."

Suggestion: AAAAI and ACAAI Should Consider Using YouTube and iTunes for Content Distribution

In summary, the excellent Ask the Expert service by the AAAAI can probably be enhanced by using two Web 2.0 tools:

1. Video answers on YouTube and iTunes.
2. Web feeds in RSS/Atom format.

Related:
Ask the Expert is available to all WAO Members.

Updated: 11/18/2008