Table 3.

Comparison of various social media platforms frequently used in regional anesthesia

Platform	Advantages	Disadvantages
Facebook	Largest social media site with greatest number of users; no character limit; group pages can be a great marketing tool for individuals or group practices	Lack of limit on length of posts and replies can be distracting; began as a social website and still seen that way by many; patients must become “friends” with a physician to follow him or her unless a page is created for that physician, potentially creating an awkward position; platform allows for group pages with identical names which can lead to confusion
Podcasts	Portable; can be started and stopped any time; promotes critical thinking; learning can be at any pace	No ability for listeners to be active participants
Twitter	Rapid spread of content; succinct messages increase readability patients can “follow” a physician without becoming personally involved	Character limit can lead to poor grammar and errors in communication; up to 40% of accounts may be inactive, making the significance of number of “followers” uncertain29
YouTube	Videos are viewable regardless of account status	Only contains video content; content typically relies on other social media platforms for publicity