Help to connect more midwives around the world (and be a ‘Twitter Buddy!’)

With the International Day of the Midwife imminent, and the countdown to the International Confederation of Midwives 30^th Triennial Congress (ICM) from 1-5th June, I want to try to engage with midwives around the world, to encourage and support them to connect through Twitter. I started ‘tweeting’ approximately 18 months ago, and I haven’t looked back. Here’s a glimpse of what Twitter does for me.

 

Nurses and midwives are generally reluctant to use Twitter. Not Facebook, just Twitter. Yet those using it can’t imagine life without it-Twitter has opened so many doors for them, and offered oodles of support. @WeNurses founder and social media expert Teresa Chinn @AgencyNurse is also a registered nurse, and offers thoughts on her blog why nurses and midwives SHOULD engage with Twitter , and some of the reasons why they don’t!  If you are worried about using social media professionally, then listen to this podcast by Dean Royles @NHSE_Dean  CEO of NHS Employers, as he slays some of the myths.

Infographic with kind permission from   @AgencyNurse

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN TWITTER, JOIN UP HERE. If you are going to ICM in June, and considering using Twitter, please do so BEFORE you leave home. It will be much easier! If you are a health organisation, and you would like to know more about using Facebook or Twitter, check out Social Media toolkit for the NHS. I have facilitated a midwives chat space for 12 months…@WeMidwives (part of @WeNurses) has gone from zero to 3,133 followers, many from around the world. And now it’s time to really try and engage with more! SO….. Would you be a Twitter Buddy? At the ICM I am charged with sharing the event’s highlights through Twitter and other social media platforms, and I will be producing Storify updates each day. I will also be delivering workshops on using social media, but this won’t include ‘how to’. For that, I need ‘Twitter Buddies”. Twitter Buddy If you are going to ICM in person or joining LIVE online streaming, or you are planning to tweet during ICM using #ICMLIVE then read on! I am building a team of  midwife and student midwife ‘Twitter Buddies‘ on the recommendation of social media expert @VictoriaBetton.  If you would like to help spread the advantages of Twitter by sharing your skill with least one other person during ICM week (1-5th June), then I’d love you to be part of the project! Here is the simple plan:

1. If you want to be a Twitter Buddy let me know, via Twitter, using #TwitterBuddy. I’ll then add your name below!
2. During ICM week connect and sit with an interested midwife colleague, and show her/him how to use Twitter on a 121 basis. Aim for at least one midwife recruit per day!
3. Tweet me the Twitter handles of the new midwife Tweeters, and at the end of the week the results will be collated.
4. The Twitter Buddy who launches the most midwives on a new Twitter journey will be announced the week after the conference!
5. Direct your Twitter recruit to this blog post for encouragement.

ANOTHER REMINDER IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN TWITTER, JOIN UP HERE.  If you are going to ICM in June, and considering using Twitter, please do so BEFORE you leave home. It will be much easier!  COME AND JOIN IN THE CONVERSATION And HOT OFF THE PRESS, my daughter Anna Byrom and I have written our first article together. It’s about social media, so you may find it interesting! Here it is

 CONFIRMED TWITTER BUDDIES!

1. Anna Byrom @acbmidwife  
2. Shawn Walker @SisterShawnRM
3. Simone Valk @sljvalk 
4. @linsyrjls
5. @llisa01
6. Jane Morrow @MorrowJane
7. Cassie McNamara @MamaConference
8. Carmel McCalmont @UHCW_Midwife
9. Jenny Clarke @JennyTheM
10. Nalonya vd Laan @nalonya
11. Sarah Johnson @sarahjohnson222
12. Elly Copp @EleanorCopp
13. Tracey Cooper @drtraceyt
14. Amanda Firth @LaughingMrsM
15. Heather Franklin @Twidmife
16. Midwife Supervision @midwiferyWAHT 
17. Lola the E-Midwife Lola_emidwife
18. Carolyn Hastie @CarolynHastie 
19. Sara Bayes @SaraBayes
20. Alison Brodrick @AliBrodrick
21. Lizzie Bee @Li33ieBee 
22. Pam Wild @pamoneuk 
23. @Dashing_d_leo
24. Claire Fryer-Croxall @ClaireCroxall
25. Hana Ruth Abel @Hana_Studentmid 
26. Ali Searle @alisearle 
27. Karen Yates @karenyatesjcu
28. Lyn Ward @linward
29. Nicky @twixynicky1
30. Anita Fleming @AnitaFleming7
31. Lorna @berrybird71
32. Trudy Brock @TrudyBrock1
33. Geraldine Butcher @gbutcher17
34. NHS Midwife @midwife_foz
35. Anjuli Lord @anjulilord
36. Linda Wylie @uwslindawylie
37. Janet Fyle @consideredview
38. Joanne Camac @CamacJoanne  
39. Jane @Midwife2b0514
40. Claire Omand @clarabell080
41. Mary Stewart @midwife_mary
42. Francesca @Francesca343
43. Hannah Bowater @funking-nora 
44. Sarah Johnson @sarahjohnson222
45. Kathryn Ashton @KathrynAshton1
46. Birthing Instincts @birthinstincts
47. Dawn Gilkes  @dawnmidwife 
48. Debby Gould @DebbyGould
49. Sarah @sarah_pallett
50. Laura Fyall @LauraFyall
51. Tracey Hunter (need link)
52. Alison Taylor (need link)
53. Elsie b @LesleyBland
54. Alison Power @alisonpower31
55. Aku Bidan, Kamu? @BidanBidanku
56. Linda Ball @BallLinn
57. MaggieMoo @MaggieBakesBuns
58. Mhairi @Stmwmhairi
59. Kate @Dottymom
60. Jude @beetrooter
61. Kylie @smileyhudders
62. Lillian Bondo @LillianBondo
63. Mitra Kadarish @mee_tra
64. Annabel Nicholas @annienicholas68
65. Jenny Clarke @JennyTheM
66. Jacque Gerrard @JacqueGRCM
67. Kelly Stadelbaur @KellyStadelbaur
68. Brigid McConville @Brigid_McC
69. Natalie Buschman @Birthsandmore
70. Jayne Case @jaynecase8
71. Sarah Stewart @SarahStewart
72. Beth McRae @outbackmidwife1 
73. M. Michel-Schuldt @emma_von_mumm
74. Vanessa Shand @vshand 
75. Julie Wray @JuWray 
76. Hari Ani @hunnyhunnymuch
77. Soffa Abdillah @soffa_abdillah
78. Fardila Elba @elba_cholia
79. Kerry Spencer @miffymoffit
80. Macavity @elusivesarah
81. Marjolein Gravendeel @MGravendeel 
82. Wendy Warrington @wendywarringto1
83. Nicolette Peel @NicolettePeel 
84. Hannah Harvey @hannahharv13
85. Helen Young @helenyoungmw
86. Ashleigh @ashleey_latham
87. Linda Bryceland @LyndaBryceland
88. Claire Macdiarmid @Mcdaddymacswife 
89. Janie @janiealalawi 
90. Sophie @sophieinpariss
91. Leigh @Leighree
92. Laura Williams @Laura4_x
93. NHS Midwife @NHSmidwife
94. Maria Anderson @MariaAnderson17
95. Louise Randall @LouiseAJRandall 
96. Mary Ross-Davie @MaryRossDavie
97. Ans Luyben @luybenans
98. Roa @Roretta 
99. Inisial Z @zidemanjaya 
100. Jupuut @juliaputriutami 
101. Berty @me_b3rty 
102. Mel @Mel_meilina
103. Qorin @QorinDias
104. Yennita Maharani @nypinyip
105. Michelle Anderson @michellemidirs
106. Cathy Ashwin @CathyAshwin 
107. Jane Pilston @janepilston 
108. Kookie Salt @kookie31
109. Joanna Lake @JoLake87
110. Hannah Telford @TelfordHannah
111. Mahasiswa Kebidanan @Mahasiswa_Bidan
112. Sisilh @Hilmasilsil
113. Indira A U_tami @indie_utami
114. Ikka Zullianti @ikkazz
115. Nuy @stnurjanah08