Shopping Online for the Holidays and for Physicians

It’s Tuesday, Dec. 21 and I think I’m done with my holiday shopping. I made some significant purchases this year, but am confident I bought wisely.

Laptop Computer - The particular requirements for this system included a large screen (easy), HD quality resolution, beefy RAM, and a graphics card that allows competitive gaming. Okay, I got the large screen, but had to do some research before deciding upon the graphics card, screen, and RAM. The experienced gamers really liked the system I chose from Office Depot.

Digital SLR Camera - There were not too many requirements for this gift, but they are all expensive. Most high-end gurus pit Nikon against Canon, but I found great reviews about the Pentax I purchased from BuyDig.com. Many of the reviews found the Pentax K-X better than the Canon I thought I wanted.

Surround Sound System - This is tough as I quickly read that the state-of-the-art systems actually now are “sound bars” and not the 5.1 to 7.1 systems of a few years ago. I was pretty intrigued by a Coby DVD988 system that had a built in DVD player. Several reviews complained that the DVD eventually broke. I ended up spending a few more dollars and bought a Sony Soundbar HT-CT150, without DVD. This came from Amazon.

What have I done?

I bought some pretty high-end items and I wanted to be careful about my purchases. I didn’t go to the mall. I chose to go online where I could research the product objectively...and gain insight from others’ evaluations. I believe I made some wise choices and purchased from established online merchants...based upon reviews and experiences of other customers.

When faced with important decisions, we all do our own research. Forget about high-end holiday gifts, when it comes to health concerns, our patients are all over the Internet. New patients are constantly looking for any and all information about us. Others’ comments, bits about our life and personality, another's satisfaction all are important in the decision process in how doctors are chosen these days. Remember, if they can’t find information about you on the Internet, just as I chose not to shop at the mall, you don’t exist.

On the small chance that you aren’t done with your shopping and are looking for the same items. How much more comfortable are you about choosing one of the above items after learning what I’ve done?

What else have you learned from this post? I’ve actually endorsed these products and, if you “follow” me, you might be inclined to choose the same. This is social media at work.Instead of a cameras, computers and surround sound, what if I were talking about doctors? Would you choose the same way? This is the power of social media.

Happy Holidays.