Get set up

Setting up on Twitter

On Twitter you can be part of a simultaneous conversation with a network of people where you can see what everyone else is saying, in the order it was said. Twitter is based on the public exchange of short messages (140 characters maximum).

You don't need to be registered with Twitter to see what everyone's talking about. But if you wanted to ask a question or make a comment on Surgery Live, you needed to set up your own free Twitter account. This takes just minutes. To set up on Twitter you need to be at least 13 years old.

First go to Twitter.com

Click on 'Join! Then fill in the short form. Twitter displays both your chosen 'username' and your actual name.

Click on 'Create my account' and you're done. Literally just a couple of minutes.

You can check to see if your friends are on Twitter or skip that and go straight to your home page by clicking Home in the menu at the top of the screen.

Ask a question live

You could 'Tweet' your question to us by putting it in the Status 'What are you doing?' box and start the question with #slive. (This linked it with Surgery Live and made it easy to find). We then found it and chose the best questions to ask the surgeon. Unfortunately, not all questions were answered or published on this website. You had to keep your question to 140 characters or less (or they got curtailed).

For Mac Users: # is Alt + 3

Follow the Surgery Live Twitter

You could see your question and find out what everyone else was asking and talking about by going to #slive Twitter search. You didn't need to be registered with Twitter to do this.

You could also follow the discussion in a very simple way by using Tweetdeck.

If you have any difficulties getting set up, both Twitter Support and FAQs for Twitter are helpful.

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Setting up on Facebook

You don't need to be a member of Facebook to see what everyone's talking about. But if you wanted to join in the Surgery Live conversation you needed to set up your own free Facebook account. This takes only a few minutes. To set up on Facebook you need to be at least 13 years old.

To set up on Facebook go to www.facebook.com.

Fill in your details and you're done.

You'll be sent a confirmation email with a link in it to complete the sign up process. Just click on the link in your email to complete your registration. (If you can't find the email within a few minutes, check your junk email box in case it has been filtered to there.)

You can find your friends who are already on Facebook if you like.

Or just go and view your new Facebook profile.

Now you can look at the Surgery Live Facebook Group.

Once you joined the Surgery Live Facebook Group you could actively take part in the discussions.

If you have any difficulties getting set up please check out the Facebook Help Centre.

We established a set of House Rules so that everyone could enjoy the Surgery Live Facebook Group.