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I have decided to take a break from the forum (stop cheering) seriously, I am not getting any younger and need to prioritise my time. I started this forum with Mo, Paul, Graham and Jan. Our main aim was to assist newbies and long term diabetics struggling to gain control. Clearly, that has not happened. Most of the time we are preaching to the converted, people join and never post, and the majority of posts are from a handful of people. But, all's not lost, the forum has received countless thousands of reads. We will never know how many we have helped, but helped we have, I am totally convinced that’s a fact.
Why has the forum failed to meet our hopes and expectations? I suspect there are many reasons for that. Years ago when old timers like me, Graham and Chris started to get involved with social media and forums, options were limited. Now countless millions have blogs, posting great information for diabetics, so many blogs set up by highly knowledgeable medical professionals.
The bottom line, diabetes forums are well past their sell by date in my opinion. I will give you an example. The diabetes forum that styles itself as “The Largest Diabetes Forum In Europe” is going backwards. Check out the percentage of new joiners over the last year, and the number appears well down, compared to when the forum was at it’s peak. Also, it is clear to see, only a tiny percentage of members of the claimed total 200,000 members ever post, and many have never posted, last time I checked out the members list.
I fully appreciate there is more to being an active member of a diabetes forum, than talking about diabetes. Who wants to read about long diabetes trials and studies post after post. By all means they are important and valuable, but a forum must be more, for many, in some ways, a kind of social club, a meeting place of like minded individuals, a place for some fun and slapstick humour, some light relief from the daily grind of being a diabetic. That being said, many must wonder what goes on in my mind.
So, what’s brought this about. As I said I want to prioritise my time. Our eighth year running website needs urgent updating and a complete re-write, many of the links are broken, and things have moved on. The website was designed by myself and one of my sons on long gone software, that has not been supported for a long time. Even if we could get our old MS frontpage to work it’s completely obsolete. There is another reason for wanting to sharpen up my act. I get emails from the aforementioned website from people looking for help, this can be very time consuming, but very rewarding. Never have I received an email from someone wanting to help me. Yesterday afternoon that all changed.
Around mid afternoon an email came in from a long term type one diabetic, a person who has suffered with retinopathy and toe amputations. Like so many, this person had received abysmal information in his early days of becoming a diabetic, especially in the way of diet. When I read the person's CV and academic credentials I was flabbergasted. A long list of degrees including MD. My first thought was how much have I had to drink today. I then thought this has got to be a complete wind up. But I noticed the email ended with full name and address and private telephone number. I checked it out and all was legit. I then phoned the sender and we had a very long telephone conversation. It was a revelation, the person's knowledge was encyclopaedic, yet even this person had succumbed to complications, albeit in the past, and when he was using the standard type of NHS diet. I asked the person have you ever considered an insulin pump, “why would I” was the reply, “I have no trouble holding 4’s on my meter” The bottom line, I want to work with this person, I have so much I can learn. The email ended with “I don’t know how many epidemiologists you having working for you for nothing. If you could use one I’d be quite happy to do what I could. My published papers number over one hundred, but I’ve attached a list of the most important for you to peruse”
To conclude. Thank you to the people who read the forum, a special thank you to those who have posted. Thank you to Mo and Paul (happy birthday for tomorrow Paul) although they seem to have gone walkabout, who could blame them. To Graham, a man who has become a brother to me over the last eight years, and my staunchest of allies through thick and thin, the cheque is in the post mate. And to my most amazing Wife, who has never had a weight problem and is not a diabetic, yet spends hours every day, encouraging others and looking for low carb recipes, and posting on forums and blogs. Without a doubt the finest human being I have ever known, and worth ten of me. To be successful and happy in this life, you need the right people around you, how lucky I have been, to have been gifted with such a great family and some fantastic friends. I try never to forget that.
So, keep reading and posting peeps and good luck and health to you all.
Eddie
Why has the forum failed to meet our hopes and expectations? I suspect there are many reasons for that. Years ago when old timers like me, Graham and Chris started to get involved with social media and forums, options were limited. Now countless millions have blogs, posting great information for diabetics, so many blogs set up by highly knowledgeable medical professionals.
The bottom line, diabetes forums are well past their sell by date in my opinion. I will give you an example. The diabetes forum that styles itself as “The Largest Diabetes Forum In Europe” is going backwards. Check out the percentage of new joiners over the last year, and the number appears well down, compared to when the forum was at it’s peak. Also, it is clear to see, only a tiny percentage of members of the claimed total 200,000 members ever post, and many have never posted, last time I checked out the members list.
I fully appreciate there is more to being an active member of a diabetes forum, than talking about diabetes. Who wants to read about long diabetes trials and studies post after post. By all means they are important and valuable, but a forum must be more, for many, in some ways, a kind of social club, a meeting place of like minded individuals, a place for some fun and slapstick humour, some light relief from the daily grind of being a diabetic. That being said, many must wonder what goes on in my mind.
So, what’s brought this about. As I said I want to prioritise my time. Our eighth year running website needs urgent updating and a complete re-write, many of the links are broken, and things have moved on. The website was designed by myself and one of my sons on long gone software, that has not been supported for a long time. Even if we could get our old MS frontpage to work it’s completely obsolete. There is another reason for wanting to sharpen up my act. I get emails from the aforementioned website from people looking for help, this can be very time consuming, but very rewarding. Never have I received an email from someone wanting to help me. Yesterday afternoon that all changed.
Around mid afternoon an email came in from a long term type one diabetic, a person who has suffered with retinopathy and toe amputations. Like so many, this person had received abysmal information in his early days of becoming a diabetic, especially in the way of diet. When I read the person's CV and academic credentials I was flabbergasted. A long list of degrees including MD. My first thought was how much have I had to drink today. I then thought this has got to be a complete wind up. But I noticed the email ended with full name and address and private telephone number. I checked it out and all was legit. I then phoned the sender and we had a very long telephone conversation. It was a revelation, the person's knowledge was encyclopaedic, yet even this person had succumbed to complications, albeit in the past, and when he was using the standard type of NHS diet. I asked the person have you ever considered an insulin pump, “why would I” was the reply, “I have no trouble holding 4’s on my meter” The bottom line, I want to work with this person, I have so much I can learn. The email ended with “I don’t know how many epidemiologists you having working for you for nothing. If you could use one I’d be quite happy to do what I could. My published papers number over one hundred, but I’ve attached a list of the most important for you to peruse”
To conclude. Thank you to the people who read the forum, a special thank you to those who have posted. Thank you to Mo and Paul (happy birthday for tomorrow Paul) although they seem to have gone walkabout, who could blame them. To Graham, a man who has become a brother to me over the last eight years, and my staunchest of allies through thick and thin, the cheque is in the post mate. And to my most amazing Wife, who has never had a weight problem and is not a diabetic, yet spends hours every day, encouraging others and looking for low carb recipes, and posting on forums and blogs. Without a doubt the finest human being I have ever known, and worth ten of me. To be successful and happy in this life, you need the right people around you, how lucky I have been, to have been gifted with such a great family and some fantastic friends. I try never to forget that.
So, keep reading and posting peeps and good luck and health to you all.
Eddie
