http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_371456.html
S'pore's Facebook flu group
By Yen Feng
SINCE news of Influenza A (H1N1) broke last Sunday, the online world has been buzzing with talk - not least among them the Internet's biggest social-networking darling, Facebook, which saw more than 500 new 'Swine Flu' groups created in just one week.
The groups span across the globe, some with tens of thousands of members, others with just a few.
Their names range from the official-sounding, like 'Swine Flu Resources Centre' to the imagined emotion felt by those afflicted by the virus: 'Swine Flu - AAAHHHHH!'
But of chief concern to netizens here will be one group whose name stood out with a Singaporean twist: SoSwift, which stands for 'Singapore Swine Flu Front Team'.
Its creator is medical officer Kewin Siah, 30, who told The Sunday Times he set up the group to 'help Singaporeans understand the disease and share their experiences with one another'.
Mr Siah created SoSwift on the same day word of the novel influenza strain spread in media around the world.
So far, his group has garnered more than 70 members, most of whom are young doctors and nurses from hospitals here.
Mr Siah keeps the group updated with discussion threads, such as 'Doc, I'm sick' and 'To fly or not to fly' where members discuss their concerns of the growing pandemic.
It also includes links to websites, such as those of the World Health Organisation, Singapore's Health Ministry, and the United States' Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read the full report in The Sunday Times.
S'pore's Facebook flu group
By Yen Feng
SINCE news of Influenza A (H1N1) broke last Sunday, the online world has been buzzing with talk - not least among them the Internet's biggest social-networking darling, Facebook, which saw more than 500 new 'Swine Flu' groups created in just one week.
The groups span across the globe, some with tens of thousands of members, others with just a few.
Their names range from the official-sounding, like 'Swine Flu Resources Centre' to the imagined emotion felt by those afflicted by the virus: 'Swine Flu - AAAHHHHH!'
But of chief concern to netizens here will be one group whose name stood out with a Singaporean twist: SoSwift, which stands for 'Singapore Swine Flu Front Team'.
Its creator is medical officer Kewin Siah, 30, who told The Sunday Times he set up the group to 'help Singaporeans understand the disease and share their experiences with one another'.
Mr Siah created SoSwift on the same day word of the novel influenza strain spread in media around the world.
So far, his group has garnered more than 70 members, most of whom are young doctors and nurses from hospitals here.
Mr Siah keeps the group updated with discussion threads, such as 'Doc, I'm sick' and 'To fly or not to fly' where members discuss their concerns of the growing pandemic.
It also includes links to websites, such as those of the World Health Organisation, Singapore's Health Ministry, and the United States' Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read the full report in The Sunday Times.
