What TuAnalyze has Taught Us about TuDiabetes

Posted on January 11, 2011 by askmanny

What TuAnalyze has Taught Us about TuDiabetes

View more webinars from Diabetes Hands Foundation.

Have you recently updated your A1c on TuAnalyze? Do it now: it only takes a moment.

Big Blue Test 2010: the numbers and the lessons

Posted on December 1, 2010 by askmanny

So November (diabetes awareness month) is over and the Big Blue Test event we held this year is also behind us. We are so proud and happy about the results that I wanted to share them here, so we could all celebrate together as a TuDiabetes family!

The BG numbers

The memories and the excitement of 2009 were still fresh in everyone’s mind. And it was exciting all over again to discover the impact that 14 minutes of exercise can have on blood sugars.

1,154 people entered their BG numbers on BigBlueTest.org (you can enter your numbers any time you want, even if it’s not World Diabetes Day!):

The median BG before exercising was 133.6 mg/dL
The median BG after exercising was 111.6 mg/dL

The median change was -19 mg/dL (a 14% drop)

157 people entered their BG numbers on GranPruebaAzul.org (in Spanish):

The median BG before exercising was 129 mg/dL
The median BG after exercising was 110 mg/dL

The median change was -17 mg/dL (a 13% drop)

The video numbers

This year we promoted the Big Blue Test through a very special video. Roche committed to donate $0.75 for each time the video got viewed, for the first 100,000 views. This would add up to $75,000 should we reach or pass 100,000 views before the end of Nov. 14, World Diabetes Day.

The video was translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French and German, expanding the number of people who could watch it, understand the message and share it around the world.

We also relied on many partners to get the word out about it: diabetes partners, nonprofit partners as well as media partners. This included Roche. Besides making the donation in connection to the number of views, they also gave more visibility to the video by including it as part of a box that appeared on the home page of all their affiliate sites in the days leading up to World Diabetes Day. You can read more about the partnerships that drove success for the Big Blue Test on this blog post by John Haydon.

Ultimately it was ALL of you who saw the video that made the project a success! Here’s a beautiful comment from a mother of a 6-year old girl with type 1 diabetes about the video:

“I showed [the video] to my daughter… and she was thrilled. She was so excited to see people just like her doing so many amazing things and when I explained that it was to help other people that didn’t have the same support she did, she wanted to watch it over and over again. Thank you for simplify the message that anything is still possible, because when you are 6 I think seeing is believe.”

The impact on others

What impact did the views have?

Maybe you know the story by now, but in case you don’t, the video has accumulated more than 123,000 views and we passed 100,000 views some time between Nov. 13 and Nov. 14 (depending on where in the world you live). So we reached the goal!

As a result of this, Roche will soon be sending their donation of $75,000 to the Diabetes Hands Foundation. Of these funds, $74,000 will be regranted to two charities:

Half will go to Insulin For Life.
The other half, to International Diabetes Federation, earmarked for their Life for a Child program.

Both are humanitarian programs that assist children with diabetes in need in third world countries (at times, Insulin For Life works with Life For a Child to source particular needs). Based on their past record track and their past financial reports, we estimated that roughly each of the first 100,000 views (the ones that counted towards the donation) translated into approximately one week’s worth of insulin given to a child in need.

So, if you do the math, nearly 2,000 children

will be getting a year’s worth of insulin

as a result of this initiative.

This comment shared by one of the viewers of the video sums it up very well:

“So many people think diabetes as ‘sad’ because of the need for shots and finger pricks. But for all too many, it is a death sentence as they can’t afford the life saving drug called insulin. We have the power to change that reality.”

We have the power and we used it! We did it, you guys! We did it!

I want to make sure to thank a few people by name before wrapping up this post about Big Blue Test 2010:

David Edelman from DiabetesDaily.com, Riva Greenberg from DiabetesStories.com and Boudewijn Bertsch: for being such amazing production partners.
Sean Ross: for working his MAGIC directing, shooting, editing and motion designing the video.
Andreina Davila, from Diabetes Hands Foundation: for her acute eye and opportune feedback that shaped the creative direction of the video.
Rob Muller (Social Media Consultant at Roche) and Todd Siesky (PR Manager at Roche): for championing the project from the beginning at Roche.

Why Malcolm Gladwell is Wrong!

Posted on November 9, 2010 by askmanny

A few weeks ago, Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, wrote in The New Yorker about Twitter, Facebook and social media. In his article, near the end he argued:

[Social media] makes it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that expression to have any impact.

I have enjoyed many of Gladwell’s books and highly respect him. But I think he got this one wrong. The best example of this is this year’s Big Blue Test video:

We asked the community (the diabetic blogosphere, nonprofit geeks, friends, family… you name it) to watch this video and share it, because (literally), each view equals a donation that will help a child with diabetes in need.

How is this possible? Roche Diabetes Care will make a donation of 75 cents for every view the video receives between Nov. 1 and Nov. 14 (World Diabetes Day) up to 100,000 views, for a maximum donation of $75,000. These funds will be donated to the Diabetes Hands Foundation and they will use the donation to help the Life for a Child program, run by the International Diabetes Federation, and Insulin For Life, two global, humanitarian organizations that provide diabetes medication and supplies to children in the world’s poorest countries.

What kind of impact can $75,000 make for these programs? Ron Raab, President of Insulin For Life told us:

“Every time someone watches this video, it will make a real contribution to someone actually staying alive. These donations go a long, long way. In places we assist, like Ecuador, less than 50 dollars keeps a person needing insulin alive for an entire year as it covers the transport cost for us to send the donated insulin.”

What has the response to the campaign been so far?
Amazing! We’re about to hit 70,000 views, 700 likes and 300 comments and have five more days ahead of us to reach the 100,000 views goal. On Twitter, there have been more than 2,200 tweets including #bigbluetest in the past 7 seven days.

By the time, the donation is made, the lives of thousands of children with diabetes in need will have been saved. If THAT is not making an impact, then I don’t know what to say to Gladwell… So, if you have not watched the video yet, please check out the Big Blue Test video. If you have watched it, take a couple of minutes and watch it again. Regardless, watch it and share it.

And if you are Malcolm Gladwell and you are reading this… please watch it and share it too!

Update:
As of Nov. 19, 2010, the video had been watched nearly 120,000 times. We reached the goal of 100,000 the evening of Saturday, Nov. 13 and Roche will be making the donation of $75,000 they pledged to help children with diabetes in need.

Big Blue Test campaign countdown begins…

Posted on October 27, 2010 by askmanny

These are some stills from the video we will be unveiling Nov. 1, to support the Big Blue Test. This year, the Big Blue Test will be bigger than ever!

Before November Starts, Mapping My Projects

Posted on October 23, 2010 by askmanny

Reading this great post by Chris Brogan on the importance of Mapping Your Projects, I realized this would be a useful exercise as November is literally around the corner.

Speaking… speaking… speaking…
The past few weeks I had three speaking engagements. ePatient Connections 2010 (in Philadelphia) and Health 2.0 (in San Francisco), where I spoke about HealthSeeker; and more recently, BlogWorld Expo’s Social Health track, where I spoke about How People Are Using Social Media to Improve their Health.

In November, I will be part of a panel at AIMA Symposium 2010, talking about “Building Online Social Networks for Crowdsourcing Knowledge about Chronic Disease” in Washington D.C.

These are all great opportunities to get the word out about our work (and a good way to put on frequent flyer miles too). At the same time, every time I came back home from a conference, I am way behind on getting other things done and also very tired.

November: Diabetes Awareness Month and World Diabetes Day
November is diabetes month (write it down!) and November 14 is World Diabetes Day. So naturally a lot of diabetes organizations have their hands full. This is what we have done in recent weeks and will be doing in the coming weeks:

HealthSeeker en Español: back in June, we launched HealthSeeker, a Facebook game to help players develop and rediscover healthy choices with the support of their FB Friends. In November, we’re launching a Spanish version, that will become HealthSeeker to anyone who has their Facebook Language set to Spanish.
TuAnalyze: in May, we launched the TuAnalyze app on TuDiabetes, to help members track, share and compare their A1c numbers. In September, expanded mapping capabilities in TuAnalyze to include Canada. In October, we launched a survey module on TuAnalyze and in late November, we will make TuAnalyze available in Spanish on EsTuDiabetes and start mapping A1c aggregate values from Mexico!
The Big Blue Test (La Gran Prueba Azul):This year, we will be repeating the Big Blue Test (La Gran Prueba Azul) once more, but we’ve added two important elements:
1) Blood glucose entries before and after doing 14 minutes of exercise at 2 pm, Nov. 14, will be entered on a dedicated page (to be announced in a few days), available in both languages, which will show “real-time” stats about the # of participants and median of the values entered and changes in blood sugar levels due to physical activity in between readings.
2) Between Nov. 1 and Nov. 14 the views of the video we’re working on to promote the Big Blue Test will count towards a max. $75,000 donation from Roche Diagnostics to benefit Insulin for Life and Life For a Child, two life-saving humanitarian assistance programs for people with diabetes around the world. If we pass 100,000 views, they will make a donation of $75,000. Up to 100K views, they will donate an amount proportional to the views.

Other side projects
As if all this wasn’t enough to stay busy, busy, I have taken on a few other projects on the side, mostly to help with additional income.

I wrote a chapter for an upcoming Salud 2.0 (Health 2.0) book in Spanish, which I have still to review one last time.
I have taken on a consulting project with my friends at Madera Group, to help drive the amazing Make YOURS a Million $ Business program of the non-profit Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence.
Currently, I am into my second chapter of helping Joe Waters and Joanna MacDonald with their upcoming Cause Marketing for Dummies, which will be published mid-2011.

Life
Why did I leave life for last? Because as a result of all the projects I have gotten myself into I barely have enough time left for myself… or family life. This is something I intend on reassessing after November, because time passes and I don’t want to wake up one day and realize that my son is a teenager (he is now seven) and I missed what could be some great times with him!

How can $10 make a difference to people touched by diabetes?

Posted on September 14, 2010 by askmanny

In the past 14 days, we’ve raised just over $6,000. Today is the last day of our campaign to help us raise $10,000. Impossible? I don’t think so. Wanna know why? Because we count on you!

Maybe you have found comfort and support in TuDiabetes in days when you needed it most, while struggling with high blood sugars. Or you may have found information that has allowed you to better control your diabetes.

Whatever the case, if you are reading these lines, we hope you will think how TuDiabetes has helped YOU and translate that into a tax-deductible donation today.

If only 20% of the people who visit TuDiabetes any given day donate $10, we’ll reach our goal. You can donate $1 to $10 via Paypal or schedule a monthly or quarterly contribution.

If you can donate more than $10, that helps even more! All donations to the Diabetes Hands Foundation are eligible for very special thank you gifts.

So, please make a tax-deductible donation today to the Diabetes Hands Foundation, the nonprofit that runs TuDiabetes. You can also mail donations to: Diabetes Hands Foundation, P.O. Box 9421, Berkeley, CA 94709.

Thank you for your generous help!

Help Diabetes Hands Foundation reach its fundraising goal!

Posted on August 31, 2010 by askmanny

Between August 31, 2010 and Sept. 14, 2010, we are holding a fundraising campaign to benefit the Diabetes Hands Foundation, the nonprofit behind TuDiabetes.org.

Our goal is to raise $10,000 for the Diabetes Hands Foundation by September 14, 2010. All donations made are tax-deductible.

HELP US CONNECT PEOPLE TOUCHED BY DIABETES

Whole Foods Market Missions app: a HealthSeeker ripoff?

Posted on August 29, 2010 by askmanny

Aug. 18, 2010 Whole Foods Market launched the new Whole Foods Market Missions iPhone app. Read the app description below, taken from the iTunes Preview page (the bolded words are mine, to point out the coincidences between this app and another app we launched on Facebook two months ago):

Get on a mission to better health! The Whole Foods Market Missions (WFMissions) app will help you broaden your palate by introducing you to a range of delicious, nutrient dense foods. Learn more about healthy eating and start a conversation with your social networks about the road to good health.

************************************************************************
Missions — Complete steps of varying difficulty and earn badges through fun and healthy Missions.
Tips – Get simple, practical advice on cooking, nutrition, green living, food storage and more. Save your favorites for easy reference.
Profile – Keep track of your accomplishments and brag about them via email, Facebook, and Twitter

More than two months before, the Diabetes Hands Foundation launched HealthSeeker™, a new Facebook® game, with the goal of helping players make specific lifestyle changes that focus on healthy eating. While the benefits of the game are available to anyone, HealthSeeker™ specifically helps people with diabetes make more informed lifestyle decisions in an innovative way that complements their daily use of social media.

There are MISSIONS and ACTION STEPS to help players achieve LIFESTYLE GOALS and create an opportunity to advance in the game. These LIFESTYLE GOALS include eating more healthfully, achieving or maintaining a healthy weight, improving one’s diabetes control and lowering cardiovascular risk factors. As ACTION STEPS are completed and players return to report their progress, they receive experience points and other awards for their achievements.

HealthSeeker™ combines a supportive social networking environment with important information on managing diabetes. The game utilizes the player’s own Facebook® friends as sources of inspiration and support on the road to better health.

On HealthSeeker game, missions are made up of action steps as shown:

This is how a comparable screen looks on the Whole Foods App:

When you complete a mission on HealthSeeker, it appears as follows:

This is how it looks on the Whole Foods App:

This is how my achievements page looks on HealthSeeker:

This is how the badges tab looks on the Whole Foods app:

Has Whole Foods Market been patterned off HealthSeeker™? Is it a ripoff? I would like to hear your thoughts…

All I can say is: there seem to be a LOT of similarities. Considering how broad this space is and how much resources Whole Foods should be able to put behind developing a truly innovative and groundbreaking app, I would have imagined that they’d try to avoid repeating the same thing that others are already doing out there… but I digress. What do YOU guys think?

Ask Manny Hernandez

A Venezuelan in Berkeley blogging about social media, nonprofits, diabetes and health 2.0.

Tag Archives: diabetes

What TuAnalyze has Taught Us about TuDiabetes

Big Blue Test campaign countdown begins…

How can $10 make a difference to people touched by diabetes?

Help Diabetes Hands Foundation reach its fundraising goal!