Think social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are just a waste of time? UBC Dietetics alumnus Gloria Tsang, RD, editor-in-chief of HealthCastle.com, disagrees. She’s using these tools to gather support from new contacts and engage with a broad, worldwide community to further a cause she’s passionate about: sharing the goodness of nutrition.

Gloria uses Twitter and Facebook to connect with people she’d never reach locally who are also passionate about nutrition. They then spread the message to friends and family, both in the real world and online, creating a growing network of friends and fans open to learning about nutrition.

To create a broader network, Gloria participates in Twitter chats – live, real-time conversations on Twitter – through which she can share the importance of good nutrition with people she has not yet connected with directly.

“I was invited by #foodchat to talk about healthy eating in January,” Gloria said. “Through that chat, I connected with many farmers, both small and large, and learned about issues I would not have heard about in any other setting.”

She also regularly joins #RDChat to connect with RDs from around the world and discuss issues relevant to nutrition and the RD profession.

Also, Gloria uses LinkedIn Events to connect with fellow conference attendees before arriving at an event. A brief pre-event meet-up with these connections allows Gloria to build a solid base of contacts that will help her spread her nutrition message – before she even hits the conference room.