Obstacles Internet users face

These days Turkish Internet users face different obstacles. From the first day that the government decided to filter Internet according to their own world view we as users have been protesting in various forms. However, none of them mattered and we have been happily filtered for the last three days.

So far there have been some technical difficulties for some users. Many users couldn’t connect with their old speed. I am sure these will be overcome. However there have been some difficulties about reaching desirable content and I think that it is here to stay. For example it was not possible to reach websites about condoms and lingerie. The government representatives thought that it was harmful for children to look at lingerie. As journalists we have been writing about how bad it is to let a few people to choose which websites that people can connect to.

Meanwhile, Turkish entrepreneurs thrive in the Internet realm. Lately, I have had the chance to meet and discuss how the Internet will change the face of pharmaceutical companies. Many of you probably followed the changes in health industry in Turkey. The government is applying lots of pressure to the industry. The firms used to take doctors to many conferences each year to let them know about their drugs and research. However, from now on doctors will only be able to attend five conferences each year and each firm will be able to take two of them. Furthermore, the sales representatives will not be able to reach doctors whenever they want to.

Therefore, all the firms are looking at ways in which they can reach doctors in meaningful ways. That’s where the Internet comes in. Almost all the doctors are good Internet users. They have wide access to Internet at their work places and homes.

AdX founder Leyla Feyzioğlu is getting ready to initiate a new era. She is preparing the Turkish Society of Cardiology’s first “e-cardiology” conference. Doctors will present papers online and audiences will be able to watch them at their own time and comment on them. “We are performing the first e-cardiology conference for the ultimate medical expertise institutions in Turkey, the Turkish Society of Cardiology,” she said.

Physicians will participate scientific sessions as they do in the actual one. They will watch the live scientific debates, be able to ask questions to the debaters and vote on the results of the discussions. Also they can watch cardiovascular operations live and ask questions to the surgeons. The first e-conference of Turkish Society of Cardiology will start in March 2012