Sesame Insider Insights

By Dr. Larry Emmott

Are you net savvy? Take this quiz to determine your online footprint.

1. Do you have a practice web page?
2. Has the practice web page been updated in the last year?
3. Do you send e-mails to patients?
4. Do you have an office blog?
5. Are you on Facebook, as a dentist?
6. Do you Tweet?
7. Are you listed in online dental directories?
8. Do you have videos on YouTube?
9. Can people contact you through the Internet?
10. Have you claimed your Google+ place?

Give yourself one point for every yes answer. If you answered no to question 2, your web page is not up to date, subtract 4 points. It is actually worse to have an out of date poor web site than to have none at all.

If you scored a perfect 10 then you are an up to date, 21^st Century, net savvy, Web 2.0, power practice.

On the other hand if you scored 5 or 6 you are typical. If you scored less than 3…well you wouldn’t have because at less than 3 you wouldn’t be reading a blog to begin with.

The point of the quiz is to demonstrate that having an online footprint does not simply mean you have a web page or an office Facebook page. A practice web site is just the beginning. To use the Internet effectively means tapping into the power of dynamic, interactive web sites; social media, e-communications, search engines, social networking and more.