Table 3 Reasons for radiologists to engage in social networking

1. To build, develop and maintain a network of professional contacts

 - Communicate with colleagues from local or personal network

 - Meet colleagues from around the globe

 - Collaborate with colleagues/people with common interests and experience

2. To discover new career, research, or business opportunities

 - Find new (unpublished) opportunities

 - Establish research collaborations (virtual teams)

 - Develop business relationships, new ventures

3. To remove barriers to improved collaboration

 - Share media in all kinds of formats

 - Discuss the latest radiology news, articles, conferences

 - Seek help or consultation from a community of experts

 - Learn from colleagues with common clinical interests/expertise

4. To make themselves more visible to the public, a virtual “face of radiology”

 - Inform the public about radiology examinations

 - Discuss imaging-related topics with patients

5. To access education and research

 - Subscribe to pages of radiological societies

 - Follow and participate in online discussion of cases

 - Participate in online research networks

 - Promote and discuss scientific publications