If you’re being asked to pay $1,500 just to share your side venture in a Facebook group, it might be time to rethink the kind of online communities you’re participating in.
For many of us, especially in healthcare, Facebook groups have become vital spaces. They’re where we ask questions, share resources, build connections, and even grow our professional brands. But lately, some of these spaces have strayed from their original purpose. When group rules lack transparency and selectively silence certain voices, we lose the very essence of what a true community should be.
As a physician active in several Facebook groups, I’ve experienced this firsthand. Despite engaging in thoughtful conversation and offering help where I can, I’ve found myself censored – unable to respond to peer questions or share projects I’ve poured my heart into. Not because my content lacked value, but because the rules were unclear, inconsistently enforced, or worse, influenced by pay-to-play dynamics.
Let’s be real: side ventures and passion projects aren’t just hobbies for physicians. They’re often born from lived experiences, frustrations within our system, or a deep desire to innovate. To be told we can only speak about them after paying hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars?
That’s not community. That’s gatekeeping.
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We need better spaces.
This was my premise years back, when I first started getting censored. People I thought were friendly peers noticed I was on to something, and it caused them to slowly shut me out from their own groups, even when played “nice”.
And so I set out to redefine what it meant to be a true physician leader – one that regularly takes into account the needs of peers and builds up with those in mind.
One way doesn’t work? Maybe there’s a different way we can do it that does.
Don’t feel included? Let’s brainstorm on how we can make it better.
We need spaces where the rules are clear, fair, and applied equally. Where members, regardless of their follower count or financial backing, can share ideas, build businesses, and offer value without fear of being muted.
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That’s the goal of the broader SoMeDocs community, and the different interactive spaces we have grown and are gradually nurturing.
Here, we spotlight real experts doing meaningful work, without requiring them to pay exorbitant fees to be seen. We celebrate thought leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation within medicine, because we know that empowered physicians empower others.
So here’s an open invitation: bring your peers. Invite the colleagues who’ve been silenced elsewhere. Share this with the friends who have a side gig, a new idea, or just a voice that deserves to be heard. Let’s create the kind of community we wish we had from the start – collaborative, inclusive, and supportive.
No one should have to take out a loan just to be part of a conversation.
Let’s build better. Together.
