Sharing knowledge: The White Journal and the power of social networks

What is it about?

Social media has become an integrated part of the daily life of the majority of many of our digitally connected societies. Social networks, such as Facebook, are among the most widely used social media sites worldwide. As of October 2018, Facebook, which is the most popular social network, had 2.23 billion active users. These figures are still expected to grow as mobile device usage increasingly gain traction. Although social networks are sometimes seen by many as a useful educational tool, some concerns are often raised regarding its widespread use for this aim. In ISUOG and its journal (Journal of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology; UOG), also known as the White Journal, we have been actively engaged in spreading knowledge through social networks since more than eight years. As of November 2018, ISUOG Facebook page has almost 39 000 followers. Furthermore, from the 2016 to 2017 the contribution of social networks to main ISUOG website traffic, containing a large number of educational material (web lectures, guidelines and the CME platform) has almost tripled. To date, there is lack of high quality evidence on the benefit of the use of social networks in medical education. Awaiting such evidence, for institutions and educational bodies which are still skeptic, giving social networks the benefit of the doubt is probably the wisest choice.

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