Henry Ford Hospital uses Twitter during surgery -- What other trends abound using social network media tools?

Initially, I viewed micro-blogging/communication as a social media tool that largely exploded as a generational phenomena (Gen-X’ers, Gen-Y’ers and Gen-Me: Who Are These People?-- http://workplaceattitudes.blogspot.com/2008/02/greatest-generation-baby-boomers-gen.html ).

I am fascinated to learn how social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc., blogs (i.e., Blogspot.com, WordPress) and wikis (ie.., Wikipedia) are incorporated in a multiplicity (my own term) of ways as a mechanism to facilitate collaborative learning in public/private space.

Case in point: Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit Michigan is using Twitter during surgery
http://www.henryford.com/body.cfm?id=51168 -- the following is from their website: "Please join physicians from Henry Ford for our next live Twitter surgery event on February 9th." Dr. Craig Rogers will lead a surgical team from Henry Ford Hospital as they perform a robotic partial nephrectomy. The public will be able to receive updates and information from OR 25 at Henry Ford Hospital, and communicate with the surgeons via the Twitter microblogging service.

Moodle is an open-source content learning management system using in schools K-12, colleges and universities (Blackboard is its market equivalent) that is used by public and private institutions to deliver e-learning.

One powerful communication technology that is being used as a collaborative learning tool is Skype -- initially an Internet-based phone system which has added face-to-face web conferencing and a multitude of other collaborative add-ons that bring content and learner together, in the same space, delivered in different time zones. Oprah Winfrey is currently using Skype to talk to people world-wide; initially she used it to deliver a course world-wide -- a first of its kind -- (I am NOT endorsing Oprah Winfrey--I mention it to support how these tools are being used in public and private domains).

The PC, Internet, email, etc. were the revolutionary technologies of my day (I'm at then end of the Baby-Boomer era); however, using a micro-communication blogging service is coming full-circle, i.e., Henry Ford Hospital, is embracing these tools for learning.

Barriers to using these tools lay in the fundamental understanding of what they are, what they do, and how they may be implemented/adopted within business -- I can see it's use in the court room; virtual classroom; the sky is the limit.

What do you envision these tools will be employed to do in your work and personal environment? Share your thoughts, links, and action plans.