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My Pharmaceutical Company Joined Facebook
posted by Gary Karr on Nov 11, 2009

My Washington colleague Jenna Kozel discusses the FDA social media hearing and the pharmaceutical industry’s role in public/private social media engagement. Jenna is an account supervisor on the DC Digital Public Affairs team.

If you’ve seen MyParentsJoinedFacebook.com, you’ll understand that not everyone meshes with the network, ethos and language of the community a person creates for herself on Facebook. Parents have a funny way of responding to things they shouldn’t and in ways that don’t make sense. Is the world reacting to pharmaceutical companies the same way as kids react to their parents joining Facebook?

Just like there are unwritten social rules about how parents should act, the FDA is looking to set guidance for the pharmaceutical industry on how they should act and what they should say. Specifically, the FDA is raising questions about how pharmaceutical companies fit into the inherently personal, yet public nature of online communities. They will be looking at what kinds of adverse events pharmaceutical companies will be required to report on, how they will be allowed to communicate with patients and who will ensure the information they communicate is accurate.

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As an avid Facebook user, I wonder, where do we draw the line between public and private engagement? If I post a status update that my allergy medicine made me feel woozy, will a pharmaceutical company message me on Facebook? And, if so, should I respond, or should I talk to my doctor? Will I ever feel comfortable posting something similar again? John Richman, WOMMA, PhRMA and many others will be addressing these questions on Thursday and Friday.

MyParentsJoinedFacebook.com jokes “CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR PARENTS JUST JOINED FACEBOOK. YOUR LIFE IS OFFICIALLY OVER.” I’ll admit, I can’t complain too much, I was the first one of my friends to accept my mom’s request on Facebook. I don’t really mind her knowing what I share on the network. Similarly, pharmaceutical companies should have a transparent, authentic presence to gauge what’s happening and provide information I can access when I need it, in a place I frequent. I just don’t want either my mom, or my pharmaceutical company, writing on my Wall.

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Comments (1)

Greg:

Jenna (and Gary), your facebook profile is set to private -- a pharma company wouldn't see your post and wouldn't be able to message you, unless you were a fan/group member of said company. Which leads to the question: what is the value to the user in joining a pharmaceutical page, whether it be a company or a drug?

Pages and groups on Facebook are a useful and fun way for a user to showcase and keep up with things that interest them and causes they may support. Stuff you would normally tell your friends about. But personal health is usually a private matter, and not something you would necessarily want to share. You may have allergies and take medication for them, but are they such an important part of your life that you would want to join a group for it?

I'm curious as to what you think pharma companies can do to not only remain transparent, but also relevant, in on-line communities.

Posted by Greg | November 12, 2009 4:33 PM

Posted on November 12, 2009 16:33

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