A new dawn of social engagement

Last night we saw a new President-Elect of the United States named. It was fascinating to listen to the acceptance speech of Barack Obama. Our new President has the ability to inspire us to be a better nation and shape a better world. The underlying message in his speech is that we now have the opportunity to make change happen. The election was not the change. It was the springboard. The pre-cursor. Now the work begins.

Another message I took away from his speech is that we should not expect to sit back and be taken care of. One of the themes I have used at HealthCamp is:

"We have to be the change we seek."

It is even more applicable today. If we want change we have to get involved and make it happen.

This election was different because many of us engaged in a conversation about change. We were involved. Just look at what a grassroots team accomplished in a few short weeks with TwitterVoteReport (See my earlier blog for more background on this). This was inspiring.

Back in August, when I was reflecting on my trip to BarCampRDU I made some comments on my blog: I include them here to save you a mouse click:

"Being part of a high performing team starts with ourselves"

"...So often in large organizations people feel helpless. They feel that they can't make a difference. Posing the question "What can I do to make a change?" is the first step to achieving exceptional performance.

We must stop worrying about how we can get the world, or our company, to change. Instead focus on the steps that we can personally take. By doing that we have taken the first critical step to becoming exceptional. Success in small ways becomes contagious.

Lead by example."

I need to remember this as future HealthCamps take place. Each article published and presentation made adds to the public consciousness. It all helps to build the wave of change.

I will challenge each attendee to consider what they can do to make the change they want to see happen. You have been warned!

We need to tap in to our social networks and use them for more than just poking and throwing sheep. Let's work out how to use social networks to encourage change. Let's band together and encourage each other.

We are not alone.

I encourage you to promote change in HealthCare. Let's work to make HealthCare more participatory. Let's network so that we know we are not alone.

Our President-Elect, Barack Obama, is carrying this message to the entire United States. He is challenging us to be everything we can be. He is challenging us to not sit back complacently. He is challenging us to get involved and make the change we want happen.

This call to action re-affirms the message and importance of HealthCamp. We don't have to wait for the industry to get together and agree and negotiate on change. We, as consumers, as equal participants in Health Care, can drive change. We can demand inter-operability. We can demand access to our Health Records. We can push for those records to be available electronically - if we want it. We can demand that we have not just a token involvement, but are central to decisions about who has access to our information.

The United States has shown the power of social networks and connected individuals engaged in important conversations. So let's turn our attention to Health Care. It is on the national agenda.

The Health Care Industry is broken. We can rebuild it.

Let's use the power of Social Networks, Open Standards and Web 2.0 Technology to re-construct a Health Care system we can be involved in and proud of.

Take a step today. Sign up for a HealthCamp. If you want to participate in a HealthCamp in your area then organize one if there isn't one planned.

You can make change happen! Together we can make a difference.