I missed the actual #hcsm conversation two weeks ago, but I had a good excuse being it was my seven-year anniversary with my lovely and very patient wife. Going through the tweet stream was great though and I felt that a particular question, Topic Two, needed to be talked about in its own post:
Can employee wellness programs effectiveness/participation be increased by social media? How can social media improve engagement?
The discussion left more questions than answers as most large organizations don’t even allow access to third party social media sites to begin with, for security purposes. Given the benefit of time to digest this question a bit, my take is that there are definitely two parts to it that aren’t addressed in the question itself. The first part is the need for a clear definition and common understanding of what the term wellness means, across the board. If there are ten different dimensions of wellness, as definitionofwellness.com states, which ones are we trying to increase engagement in or improve? Some of them? All of them?
The next question in my mind is: can people actually improve their wellness by increasing their awareness, i.e. completing questionnaires and going to screenings? Or is that just the first step?
I understand that awareness and early detection are instrumental in saving lives. It’s just that the term wellness seems to encompass so much more to me than identification and prevention. Becoming well implies the need to change your behavior if you are not currently well. This change goes beyond answering questions or seeing a doctor. They are good steps, but if nothing else is done after those steps are taken… if behavior doesn’t change, then there is no hope for increased wellness.
Behavior change is what we’re really getting at when we talk about wellness. It’s what the #hcsm question is really about, in my opinion.
So if we add behavior to the question, it reads: Can social media change employee behavior leading to increased wellness? If so, how can social media be applied to each of the definitionofwellness.com’s ten dimensions of wellness:
I think that this is the question that we all need to be asking ourselves. What do you think?
@hallicious
photo by: visualpanic
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DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
Quick… How can you get a whole bunch of corporate types into a room to talk about what social media means for their business?
Give up?
You can start by aligning yourself with the best thinkers in the business . . . and bringing in a renowned expert like Chris Brogan to host an all day boot camp that gets everybody in your business excited about what social can do for them.
That’s what we did last week, working in partnership with Doe-Anderson’s JasonFalls. We in the innovation center linked up with Humana’s HR and IT departments and brought Chris and company to Louisville to host his Inbound Marketing Boot Camp. Talk about an action-packed experience. I think that there was more energy in the room by the end of the day then there was when Chris got the crowd going in the morning. People were ready to move mountains.
Seriously.
If your organization needs a social shot in the arm, then here is a breakdown of our experience:
Chris Brogan – Provided off the cuff commentary on where social media is and where it is going in his signature style. Worth the price of admission alone… but wait – there’s more!
Rick Burnes, Hubspot - Ran everyone through the importance of optimizing blog posts for lead generation
Amber Naslund, Radian6 - Talked about listening and reacting to what people are saying about your brand on-line
Greg Cangialosi, Blue Sky Factory CEO – Gave a great talk on the value of direct E-mail marketing, metrics, and social E-mail
JasonFalls, Doe Anderson – Walked us through the art of Public Relations / Blogger outreach and relationship building
In addition to the direct benefits accrued from the knowledge that these individuals bestowed on the crowd, there were other, more subtle benefits to hosting an event like this one. Here are some that have occurred to me, in no particular order:
Social Media Awareness – Who better to bring in to talk about social media than an expert? And not just any expert, mind you. Chris’ draw was huge, both internally to our organization and regionally, with a packed house (right around 100 attendees) throughout the day. The Humana people I talked to after the event were all very excited to get moving with social after the boot camp and I heard nothing but great things about people’s experiences that day. If you have people in your organization who are on the fence about social media and your business, convince Chris to come to your place of business to throw a boot camp and watch opinions of social media change before your very eyes.
Outing Social Media Sympathizers – Let’s face it, whether they are engaged in social media or not, most people are at least curious to know what all the fuss is about. Throwing an event like this gets people in your organization talking, leading up the event. By identifying the people who are interested in the subject, you are able to find like minds who will eventually help your business become the social enterprise it longs to be… Extra bonus for getting them all in the same room at the same time during the boot camp itself.
Creating Community – We probably could have made it a Humana only event, judging by the interest we had, but by hosting the event and opening up the doors to non-Humana folks I think we gained a lot more as an organization. But social media is all about community and collaboration, and we wanted to share that experience with others outside our own organization. We had the chance to meet and mingle with social media professionals from other organizations, and the importance of that can not be overstated in my opinion. Social media cross-talk is key as we all feel our ways around integration into our business, and strive to support our members/customers in new and engaging ways. Huge plus.
Being the Conversation – A short-term benefit, but a benefit nonetheless, was the conversation that this event generated on Twitter. Participants used the hashtag #imbc and 76 people talked about it throughout the day, many talking about their first time experience with Humana as a company. You can find a list of those people here, thanks to Dave Lowe.
So all in all, as the title of this post states… the Inbound Marketing Boot Camp was a hit. I highly recommend it and can’t say enough about the experience. How are you bringing social to your organization?
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DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
Monday was a big day for my family. My wife went thru commencement and obtained her second degree from Indiana University. She is well on her way to achieving her goals, and I’m very proud of her. As part of the celebration, my family followed our tradition of having the guest of honor select a restaurant of their choice where the entire happy dysfunctional family met to enjoy the moment together.
You can imagine my surprise when my wife selected our local sushi bar. Let me clarify things for you, my wife and I both love sushi but several family members including my eighty year old grandparents are not quite accustomed to it. I was a little apprehensive but things worked out great. I was more than a little surprised to see granny mixing wasabi and trying several types of sushi, while my grandfather worked on his Thai Chicken.
That’s when I wondered if maybe being receptive to new things and remaining social is the key to longevity? My grandparents have been married for over 60 years and still go out several times a week to visit with friends and socialize. What they can do physically has decreased a bit but they stay active working in the yard and around the house. I know mental stimulation is important to happiness and can
decrease the risk of dementia but does it help you to live longer?
I don’t know but I did enjoy that meal and look forward to more surprises from the family. What do you think? Have you done anything with your parents or a grandparent that has surprised you?
photo by: mdid
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DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
I got into video games when my brother received an Atari 2600 for Christmas in the early 80s. I was four or five but I knew enough at the time to understand that I really liked them. Since that time, video games have always seemed to capture my fascination, whether they were console games, PC-based games, or games in an arcade. Especially games in an arcade, for some reason… Over the years I’ve played games on that Atari 2600, on a Nintendo Entertainment System that I requested for two years straight, on a Sega Genesis that I saved up for three months to buy, on a PlayStation that I somehow convinced my parents to buy me while in college, on an Xbox that I bought with a tax refund, on a Sony PlayStation Portable that I picked up along the way, and currently on an Xbox 360 that I bought after selling my Xbox and PSP to raise the funds.
Video games have always been a part of my life, and I haven’t just played them either. I’ve also enjoyed reading and talking about them with friends, both in person and online. I think that there are different aspects to video games than simply turning them on and tuning out, although that is the subject of this post… Video games can be played for entertainment, for diversion, to get together with friends, and as a stress release to name a few.
Let’s talk about video games and stress.
Stress is serious. CBS News talked about stress killing back in 2003. The idea of video games being designed to relieve stress levels has been around and documented from a health standpoint. In addition, surveys have been conducted showing that people who play casual games relieve stress while they play. I think that playing games to reduce stress is a cool way to kill two birds with one stone.
So what if a video game could give you the same stress reducing results as a vacation?
I first heard the term Video Game Vacation when Liam Lynch mentioned it on MTV Cribs. I immediately identified with it because I think that it perfectly describes a phenomenon that I was familiar with, but had not known to call it anything in particular.
Dictionary.com defines the word vacation as: a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday
You can take a vacation by cruising to a beach somewhere exotic, but I’m suggesting that you can also take a vacation to a far away land by locking yourself in your living room, drawing the shades, and loading up the latest blockbuster title until you finish it. I have personally taken video game vacations with Splinter Cell, Halo, Fable, Assassin’s Creed, and Grand Theft Auto IV to name a few. And I’m talking about pulling geek-fest all nighters to advance in the game.
For the money they’re great, and a lot cheaper than airfare + hotel.
The one thing I really like about video game vacations is the sense of immersion I am able to experience for that period of time. The task at hand is all that matters, how do I get to the next screen, stage, level, what-have-you? I find it liberating, and akin to pushing my body to its limits while exercising. I am able to focus intensely for a relatively short period of time, and walk away totally refreshed with a new perspective on the challenges that life brings on a daily basis.
Now that I’ve outed myself, I’m interested in reading what you think about the idea of a video game vacation. What games have you played obsessively until you beat them? What games do you wish that you had more time to play? Let me know in the comments below.
photo by: lylamerle
Popularity: 2% [?]
DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
I slept most of the flight to Salt Lake City. When we were close the sound of the tires descending woke me up and I looked out the window. I saw patches of murky brown swamp and cyanic waters below. The Salt Lake looked a little gross this time of year. But the mountains were gorgeous. Outside it was 70 degrees; yet the mountains were capped with snow.
I always forget that Utah has some of the best scenery this country can offer. They also have more children than I’ve ever seen in my life. They’re everywhere. Like iPhones.
The setting for one of the schools. Photo by flickr User humanagames.
Earl Hurst, President of Humana of Utah told me that his state was one of the largest producers of kids in the country. I am not surprised. Salt Lake is a very family friendly place. There is plenty of stuff to do outdoors and great schools to attend when you’re grown up. That’s one of the reasons why we’re so excited to launch the Horsepower Challenge (HPC) there. We have a new version of the game: 2.0, and its better and more exciting than ever (if you aren’t familiar with the HPC you can read about here). A quick rundown: the HPC is an online, social video game that is powered in the real world by your steps. Participants wear a wireless pedometer called an actiped that earns them points in the game. Points can be used to buy cool stuff for your (horse) avatar and collectively the steps move your team around tracks surrounding different world landmarks (Taj Mahal, White House, Great Pyramids, etc). Schools compete against other schools for prizes. Students learn about their new locations once they’ve walked there. The most active school wins. 2.0 takes all this and makes it look really slick; check it out at horsepowergame.com.
Humana of Utah sponsors the Utah Horsepower Challenge because healthy behavior and wellness needs to start an early age. Parents realize this; it’s why we see students starting to take the ‘walking bus’ to school (http://bit.ly/paTmc) and the success of ‘exergames’ like Wii Fit. Childhood obesity is a problem plaguing our planet. The Horsepower Challenge is one small step toward getting kids to start thinking about health.
The plan was to launch this game at four schools around Salt Lake. This required coordination beyond anything I’d done in a while. 250 participants had to be registered for the program using a brand new system. But I had a lot of help from the Salt Lake Humana Office and we tackled the registration head on. We had four launch events and four registration events in four days and it all went smoothly. We learned a lot about the game and what really motivates sixth graders.
How many of you have already bought something in the game? Photo by Cynthia Dickerson.
The kids were wild about the game. We had crowds of children clamoring for swag, running up and down the isles of gym, and jumping in place to test out their shiny new actipeds (which are actually black plastic with a matte finish). We brought Coach Boylen of the Utah Utes to one school and had TV stations and newspapers show up in droves. We had Big Blue of Utah State and their head basketball coaches at another event—they brought the kids to their feet and their voices to a resounding din. Every time we went to a launch the kids got riled up and excited to compete against the other Utah schools. They were motivated to step it up in order to outfit their horse avatar. They were full of questions and vigor. It was a rush.
My work didn’t end when I left Utah. Now I have the distinct pleasure of helping the schools take care of lost or broken pedometers, figuring out why someone didn’t get their steps, and answering questions like: why does it cost 5,000 steps to buy the afro wig? The answer is: it’s totally worth it. All of it. Because everyday I get comments in my email from the students telling me how much fun they’re having. Kids are taking this home, walking with their parents, challenging their peers, and moving their teams around the world. The newspapers are talking about how kids need to get out and be more active. A reporter on Channel Five Utah is wearing a pedometer. An ecstatic PE teacher hugged me.
Earl Hurst, President of Humana Utah talking to the students. Photo by flickr user humanagames.
This is all about taking something fun and making it healthy. We want to be where people already enjoy going and make their experience better, in every part of the world. What are you doing to stay healthy?
Follow me on Twitter @naimul!
Popularity: 2% [?]
DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
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