Comments on: In praise of online communities

By: Kathy

Kathy — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:58:23 +0000

Very nice, Elizabeth. Thanks for reminding people that these technologies *can help connect* people (ie, they aren’t inherently “isolating”)

By: Scott Robertson

Scott Robertson — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:48:47 +0000

Nice piece, Elizabeth. Thanks for writing it. It’s a sad day. Take care.

By: Erika Webb

Erika Webb — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:31:44 +0000

years ago, I was in a similar group. It was the best place for advice, help, support, grief and connections.

By: Jim Buie

Jim Buie — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:48:25 +0000

Elizabeth -- this is very well-stated. I retweeted it. Online communities can be very important. I wonder if health care professionals are starting to refer patients to sites like "the circle"? I'm very interested in the trend toward e-health, as described in the blog, E-patients.net. I have a neighbor who is a physician who is very involved in the web 2.0 movement for health care. I worked on it 1997-2000 through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on end-of-life care. Though that project is no longer funded, I'm sure the overall movement in "e-health" has advanced a great deal since then.