Social media surgeries are friendly and informal gatherings of people who want to learn how to use the web to communicate, campaign or collaborate. They are deliberately relaxed. There are no presentations, no jargon, no one telling people what they think they should know. Instead you get to sit next to someone who has done whatever it is you want to learn to do and can show you how.

Common bits of advice dealt with at surgeries include: setting up a blog, Facebook profile or page or Twitter account and using them effectively. Social media surgeries are a great example of non-profit community self-help. They have been held at different locations all over Birmingham (where the idea was originally thought up).  Anyone can organise a surgery.  The idea has now spread to many other parts of the world.

 

You might want to come to a social media surgery to learn, to teach, or both.  You could use them to get help setting up the social media highlighted in this guide.  But, maybe there’s more? How could your own local advice surgeries be more like social media surgeries?

 

Where next?

Have a look at the Social Media Surgery website

Summary of this section on Social Media

Who, Where and When of Social Media

Come on down to Dr Feelgood’s surgery (for a shot of old style Canvey Island R&B – via YouTube)