Words such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin, YouTube, Flickr, Google, and blog are now an integral part of the lexicon of contemporary society and represent just a few of the core elements of the social media universe. Many social media sites draw some of the largest audiences on the internet, and therefore have a huge potential to be used by all elements of the dental community for education, information sharing, advertising services and products, communication, and collaboration.

Dr. Lefebvre will provide an overview of the world of social media and discuss the general characteristics of its users. He will also discuss the future evolution of social media and its potential impact on society.

Dr. Thibodeau will discuss some of the benefits and pitfalls of social media tools and review how these tools are currently being used by health and safety organizations, dental schools and the healthcare industry.

**This program was supported through an educational grant from Miele.

1. Identify the tools of social media.
2. Identify the audiences that use various types of social media.

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1. Identify where social media could be used by the dental community.
2. Understand some of the benefits and challenges of using social media.