The FDA has called for a much-needed public hearing on social media and the internet.  The hearing is scheduled for November 12 and 13, with registration closing on October 9. The FDA will accept written and electronic comments through February 28, 2010.  This is an important opportunity for healthcare communicators to have input into new regulatory policy that will impact their ability to manage their organization’s reputation in the digital world. For valuable commentary on the opportunities and challenges posed by this hearing, read Shwen Gwee’s take on Med 2.0. Mark Senak makes excellent suggestions on what industry communicators can do to prepare effective comments, and provides a link to the announcement on the Federal Register, at his blog  Eye On FDA.

The other potentially big news right now — certainly a potentially big headache –  is google’s SideWiki. Be prepared: anyone can use the SideWiki to post their uncensored comments right next to your web site.  Some commentators I have read say the SideWiki is too geeky and too difficult to upload to get much pick up.  I disagree, having just uploaded it this morning, very easily.  The big issue here is, can a company be held responsible for discussions on or next to its site over which it has no control?  For some thoughtful takes on this new development, read Steve Woodruff’s post on Impactivi and Fard Johnson’s post on Walking the Path.

Let me know if this was interesting or helpful to you.  Also, please feel free to let me know what social media topics you would like to see covered here.